Successful businesses rely on recommendations by their existing contacts, customers and clients for future business. However, most entrepreneurs don’t know how or when to ask, or what to say.

Asking for referrals is an ongoing process, an essential element of what you do to grow your business. As such it should be an integral component of all of your dealings with clients.

In your early discussions with new customers, let them know that it’s your normal practice to look for referrals from satisfied clients. They might even be in a position to make referrals at that preliminary stage of the relationship. At the very least, this will prepare them for your asking for referrals from time to time.

Ideal times to ask for referrals are on completion of different stages of work or on receipt of a compliment from a client.

What’s the best way to get referrals? Ask for them, but earn them.

Instead of asking for referrals when you need new revenues, develop referral systems that ensure you do the asking regularly.

The best referral systems involve turning your clients into voluntary sales people. Three key elements of your relationships with clients make this transformation possible.

1. In completing your initial sale to each client, you demonstrated that you could satisfy specific customers’ needs. Had you not done this, few clients would have even considered doing business with you.
2. As prospective customers, your clients liked you and your products. Remember the old saying: “If I like you I might do business with you; if I don’t I won’t.”
3. Your clients trusted you enough to buy from you and as your best clients, continue to do business with you.

Helping clients become sales people is the easiest and most effective approach to obtaining referrals. Satisfied clients are usually happy to make referrals to businesses that can also satisfy their friends and associates. In most cases, you only need to make the appropriate request and you will receive high-potential leads pre-screened by your voluntary sales people. In all likelihood, they will only make referrals that they expect will result in successful relationships between you and the people they are referring. Few people will deliberately make potentially problematic referrals, especially if the referral could jeopardize existing relationships.

Referrals from clients are also the least expensive, often obtained at no expense. And with no or very low acquisition cost, they can yield a very high lifetime value, which in turn will increase your profitability over the long term.