Client Referrals Are The Key To Marketing Success

Do you get a ton of referrals from prior clients? Not a few, not some, but a ton?

Most lawyers don’t. Oh sure, they get some referrals and think they’re doing great. My consulting clients brag to me that they get 5 or 10 referrals every month. That’s great, if you’re only doing 20 cases a month.

Referrals are the best marketing, period. But there’s a secret to getting those referrals, a hidden gem of wisdom that most lawyers don’t exploit on a daily basis.

Simply ask for them.

Not a real big secret, huh? I didn’t think so either until I found out that there is only a handful of lawyers out there who are really asking – genuinely asking – for referrals.

I’m not talking about giving a card to your client and hoping they’ll give it to someone. Rather, the goal is to look a client in the eye (or put it at the bottom of a letter in a “P.S.”) and say, “I welcome the opportunity to help your friends and family members. If you know of anyone who may need my help, please pass along my name and phone number. I promise to treat your referrals with professionalism and respect.”

The client who refers one person to you can and will refer many more people – but only if they are motivated to do so.

Did you know that research indicates that the average person has an immediate circle of influence of fifty-two. Fifty-two other people. That means every one of your clients has the potential to bring you up to fifty-two other clients.

The American Management Association has done research to prove that the average satisfied customer only tells three other people about the satisfactory experience. An unsatisfied client tells ten people about their dissatisfaction.

So you need to move from three to fifty and avoid ten at all costs. That’s going to take some action on your part.

When a satisfied customer sends someone to you the sender should immediately receive some recognition and appreciation. Pick up the phone and let them know you appreciate the effort, and that’s the absolute minimum.

You’re not allowed to send them any money, but how about a nice bouquet of flowers? A gift for their child, assuming the client is a parent? For as little as $50 – which is less than the cost of advertising and marketing to get a new client in the first place – you could make a real impact on your client.

And that motivates them to refer even more people to you.

What happens if you don’t do something nice? I never gave much thought to it, personally. But then about five years ago I was on the phone with a prior client who had referred a number of people to me and she said, “You know, I sent all those people to you and I never even got a phone call to thank me.” Boy, that really hit home.

There’s a basic success principle often discussed in personal development context is also a marketing strategy. It’s called the, “Attitude of Gratitude.”