5 Easy Activities to Increase Your Referrals

“Networking can help you generate new sales leads, deepen connections with existing contacts and learn useful information about your markets.” Heather White

However, it can be particularly challenging to find and build a network as a small business owner.

Here are some activities you can implement weekly, which if done consistently, will help grow your business network.

TIP – First things first, define your target market. What does your ideal customer look like? What problem are you solving for them? What are their demographics? Answer these questions and update your customer profile regularly as this is a critical element for growing your business and will help to keep you focused.

Here are some activities you can implement weekly, which if done consistently, will help grow your business network.

Follow Up

Don’t make your contact ‘work’ to remember you. As soon as possible after your meeting, contact those you resonated with and you’d like to follow up. The longer you leave it, the less likely the contact will recall who you are.

Connect Online

Social platforms such as LinkedIn are valuable tools for professionals and business owners to increase their touchpoints with referrals and prospective clients. Mention in your follow-up that you are going to send them a connection request on LinkedIn so that you can offer an introduction to someone in your network (should they need it). Doing so provides value for the recipient. Then, when you sent that LinkedIn connection request, remind the person how you met so that they are more likely to accept your offer.

Know Your Numbers

Look at where your previous revenue has come from and set goals for the week. Do you know how many introductions you need to generate a lead and how many leads do you need to convert one customer? Knowing your numbers and critical activities will make achieving your goals much more manageable.

Promote Special Offers

Special offers and discounts will attract new customers. Giving people an incentive might be the thing to draw them into becoming your customer. New customers mean new opportunities for cross-selling and upselling, meaning more revenue and opportunity for more referrals in the long run.

Attend Face-to-Face Events

Face-to-face networking is still the best method of marketing to generate leads and referrals for your business. Interacting with others and exchanging information, such as providing business cards, will help you to leave a lasting impression. When you attend a face-to-face networking meeting, you may meet a considerable number of people from your field of industry, which can increase your chances of forging real connections and help your business to grow.

These five things are just a few simple and easy activities that you can incorporate into regular business growth activities to ensure your pipeline stays healthy and your business continues to move forward.