Episode 5: Are you making it too difficult to refer you?
How referrals can supercharge your sales
Hello, Jefa, it's nice to be back here with you getting deep about what it takes to supercharge your sales, and I hope that you know how much I appreciate the fact that you are here with me. This is the last episode of this series on how to supercharge your sales at any stage of your business, but it's just the beginning of what you can expect in future episodes of the Brown Girl Business School podcast and the Brown Girl Business School membership, which doors will be opening for enrollment this fall, and I promise you you will be the first to know when that happens. So let's get into tip number four: Make it easy to refer you.
Is that a surprising sales technique?
Maybe you've noticed that each of these surprising ways to supercharge your sales have more to do with how to run your business than using sales scripts or gimmicks. That's because I believe that mastering the fundamentals makes the rest of business so much easier. You can explore and experiment and try lots of different marketing and sales techniques as your business grows, but if you don't have a solid foundation, it's not going to really matter.
That's why today we're talking about referrals, how to ask for referrals, how to use referrals in your marketing, how to be the kind of business and business owner that people cannot wait to talk about and will passionately refer their friends and family to.
Does that sound like a lot of pressure? If it does, don't worry, I got you. I'm going to break it all down and by the end of this episode you will be supercharged to transform your business into a referral machine.
Why prioritizing the experience of your customer is critical to your business growth
First, let's establish a baseline of understanding on some key facts. Number one: people are distracted between work, family, kids, what everybody's eating for dinner, laundry, parents did I say kids pets. Everyone is being pulled in 500 different directions and, let's face it, our phones and social media don't help the problem. That's why we've talked about making paying you and shopping with you more convenient in episodes two or three of this series, because we know if we have someone's attention, it's not going to be for long, so you need to give them what they want and need right away, and you have to tell them the same thing over and over and over and over and over again for them to remember.
Number two: people are tired. We're all tired. We could all use a siesta. We don't have the extra energy to figure out how to buy something we want and don't need. Sometimes I don't even have the energy to buy what I actually need, which is why we're all having cereal for dinner tonight.
Number three: people want to feel taken care of. We're distracted and we're tired. So if someone can make us feel seen, heard and taken care of, that's priceless and a recipe for loyalty.
And because of all these facts, people value convenience and service like never before. Most people might have a hard time articulating what a professional business is or how it operates, but they can definitely tell you what it's like to deal with an unprofessional business or business owner. And busy people with disposable income have a lot of choices, and the more money they have, the higher standards they probably have for what they expect in terms of service and convenience. So if you want people who have money to spend their money with you, you have to give them an experience worth talking about.
And when I say this, I don't mean that your customer service experience has to be extravagant; it just has to be considerate. If you have a brick-and-mortar location, do you greet everyone as they walk in? Do you ask if they need help? Do you give every single person who walks through the door the same welcoming experience? I have definitely been to businesses, to small, locally owned restaurants, to tile and flooring shops where I walk in and no one says a peep to me. They are not at all concerned about who I am, what I'm there to do, much less there to help me to figure out what it is I need, if it's what I want to eat or the tile I want to pick for my floor. Needless to say, I don't go back to those places. Do you take the time to ask questions and get to know your customers so that you can help them make the right purchase decision for themselves, and this applies no matter what you sell.
Those of you in the beauty industry likely do an in-depth consultation with your client before you start your service. You want to know exactly what they want with their haircut. What kind of lashes do they want? Do they want cat eye? Do they want it to look natural? Do they want makeup volume? Are they allergic to any of the glues? What length is comfortable for them? Have they had the service before? You're going to ask those questions because you want to know how you can make sure you meet their expectation. If you sell clothing, are you asking your shoppers if they're shopping for a certain occasion or if they have any areas of concern that they might want to camouflage, but they still want to be stylish? If you sell a professional service, what is your intake or discovery process like with a potential new client? Do you take the time to really get into what they need and offer solutions based on what they shared? Are you offering all of your relevant services so they get the best possible outcome, or are you just showing them the bare minimum because you're afraid to quote, unquote, upsell? How are you with your customer communication If you do a lot of business in the DMs? Do you respond within a day? Dms are hard to keep track of. It's really easy for questions and requests to fall through the cracks.
Customer service done right
I absolutely adore my hairstylist, Monica. She always takes time to find out what I want. She offers suggestions based on the health and the current style of my hair and, even though I've been going to her for over two years now, she never makes assumptions about what I want. She always asks me, she always offers me something to drink when I arrive and she always makes sure to have me book my next appointment before I leave, because she knows that otherwise I will be trying to find time with her in a panic because I have a photo shoot or trip coming up and I need to cover my gray hair ASAP. And she keeps detailed notes about what we do every time, because I'm always changing up my hair. It's like getting my oil changed. She has all the records of all of the colors that my hair has been in the last two years. I go to her because she's talented, she's knowledgeable and, most importantly, makes me feel taken care of. She provides excellent customer service and I refer everyone I know to her because I know she won't embarrass me. I know that they're going to get the same great experience that I had. And what she does any business owner can do, no matter what they sell.
With today's technology, it's not difficult to make sure that your customers get automated emails and text messages reminding them of their appointments and this is just a side note. Please don't send me an email with a zoom link and not also send me the calendar invite, because if it's not on my calendar, it does not exist. These are things that you need to have set up in your business to provide the best customer service experience possible. Another example of providing good customer service is to monthly you can look at your order histories of your best customers and recommend other items or services to them proactively. I feel special when the manager at the Coach store texts me pictures of the new green bags they got in for the fall. I would never buy Coach items online again. She's so great. I would rather give her the business and get my busy, but to the mall to give her my money because she does her part to take care of me as a customer. These are all examples of how to give good customer service, which is my secret to getting more referrals for your business.
Remember referrals and repeat customers are the cheapest to get and create a healthy, sustainable business.
Getting referrals is like getting a buy one, get one free customer!
Simple ways to get more referrals
If you give the first customer a top-notch experience and treat them well, they will happily refer their friends and family to you. And asking for the referral can be very simple and straightforward. It doesn't have to be awkward and it doesn't have to be a long, drawn out or convoluted process. Simply let your customers know that if they have someone else in their world who might be interested in what you sell, to send them your way, a gentle reminder is all it takes, and consistent gentle reminders that that and you can incorporate this request for referrals and all of your marketing and communication channels. You can always make mention in your social media that you're open to referrals. You can even promote a referral so that if, let's say, I refer someone to my CPA, I get a $10 discount for every new referral that comes into his office. Monica, my hairstylist that I have even talked about the idea of using referrals with discounts as a way to create more business for her when the season is particularly slow. But you don't have to offer a discount, you can just remind your current customers that if they know someone who would be interested in what you have to sell, invite them to send them your way. If you have the ability to text your customers, awesome Email, that's great too. Social media for sure. Any way that you're currently communicating with your customers, you can send them a gentle reminder to refer people that might benefit from your products or services.
And if you don't get many referrals, that might be an opportunity to take a look at your current customer service processes. What is that experience like and where do you have opportunities for improvement? And there's one more bonus reason you really want to focus on providing top-notch customer service because the referrals are important. It is the cheapest way to grow your business, but it's also the cheapest way to retain your customers as well.
What a rundown Denny’s taught me about customer service
I think we've all had the experience where you go to a restaurant and the service is terrible, and how the food tastes really doesn't matter, because the service is so bad. Your experience is so terrible that the most delicious food in the world isn't worth the nightmare of being inside that restaurant. But I also go to still plenty of restaurants where the food is just okay. You know they make it on his effort. The food's just alright, but the service is spectacular. I feel well taken care of.
That's how I feel at this local Denny's down the street from my house. Sometimes I go there for breakfast after I drop the kids off at school, have my French toast with strawberries and whipped cream and it's just your average Denny's. Maybe it's a little more rundown than average, but when I go the staff there my favorite server, honey H-U-N-N-Y, is always so gracious and welcoming and she remembers my order and she asked me how my kids are doing and she always has a smile on her face. She brings me my Coke as soon as she sees me come through the door and it's special. It's something I appreciate because I feel like I matter. I feel like for once somebody is taking care of me. Denny's breakfast is just a Denny's breakfast. It's nothing special, but the people in that restaurant are what make it special because of the service that they offered to me when I'm there.
I know a lot of times we're nervous to ask for a referral because maybe we're not sure what people think of what we sell or our business or if they had a good experience, and maybe we're a little too nervous to ask. But this is where it's important to remember that, while people want to buy from you because of an emotional connection they make with you and your values and your brand, that doesn't mean that you are your business or your business is you. They are still two entirely separate entities and, yes, it's not always easy to get critiques or critical feedback, but if you know, then you can do something about it and you can change the trajectory of your business and people will notice when there are improvements and if they're willing to give you a second chance.
If they had a bad experience but they're willing to give you a second chance, they're going to appreciate it that much more. Providing a customer service experience that is so incredible that people cannot wait to refer you to their friends and family is absolutely within your reach and it might not take as much effort as you think. It's really just a matter of being timely with your communication and making your best effort. That's all people want is to know that you cared and that you've tried the best that you can offer. You're giving them the best that you got, and that's all we can. That's all we can ever ask for in any area of life and that's good enough. Trust that that's good enough. I trust that it's good enough for you.
Hit me up on social media
If you want to chat more about this and talk more about referrals, how to use them, how to ask for them, send me a DM on Instagram at LaJefaStatus, and remember also that you are a producer on this show. So if this is something you want to talk about further or you have other ideas, topics that you want discussed on the show, you can use the link in the show notes to fill out a form anonymously to submit your idea to the Jefa Hotline. Submit your suggestion there or you can text me or send me a voice note to the phone number in the show notes as well. And if you enjoyed this podcast and you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, follow, rate, review and share with every Jefa that you know so that we can all continue on this journey together. I'll see you in class.