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In Practice: Juliet's Marketing Wisdom:
How These 7 Steps For Getting Referrals Will Provide a Steady Stream of Clients Forever
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by Juliet Austin |
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Many healers and holistic practitioners seek clients through referral sources and if you are not one of them, you should be! Building your business through referrals is one of the best ways to have a constant stream of clients flowing into your practice. The best referral sources are those that you can build mutually beneficial relationships with, where there is a relationship of give and take on both sides.
If your attempts at getting referrals for your private practice are failing to bring in the number of clients you wish to have, following the 7 steps below are sure to get more of them knocking at your door.
1. Determine Your Best Referral Sources
Begin with the people you already know and think about who might be in a position to refer to you. Who is most likely to have access to your target market that could also benefit by referring to you? Who are the people that are “centers of influence” in that they seem to know everybody?
After you have thoroughly gone through your own contact list, ask your friends and colleagues for people they might know, but be sure to be specific as to the kind of people you ask for. Finally, brainstorm other professionals whom you think might be appropriate and make a list of who they are and then seek them out. Determining your best referral sources in a logical and systematic way will greatly increase your referral rate in the long run.
2. Be Clear and Focused Before You Contact Potential Referral Sources
You must think through what you’re going to say to potential referral sources before you contact them. This includes being clear about your marketing message (knowing who your clients are, the problems they are having, and the ways you help them), as well as having ideas on how you might want to partner with them. You don’t want to sound like you are unclear or confused in what you are doing and end up leaving a bad impression.
3. Make Contact With Your Potential Referral Source
If it’s someone you know or a name given to you by a friend or colleague, you might want to call and offer to take the person out for lunch. If that doesn’t work or seems inappropriate, you might want to simply speak to the person on the phone. If you are contacting someone completely cold (e.g. a name from the phonebook or other directory), I suggest you write the person a letter first advising who you are, the services you offer, and how you might be of benefit. In the letter, let the person know that you will be following up with a phone call in the near future (usually within a week or two at the most).
Once you are in conversation with potential referral sources, focus on listening to them. Learn everything you can about the challenges they are having with their business and what they need in order to solve their problems. Ask lots of questions and make sure to limit your own talking. Through doing this, not only will you build rapport by making the person feel heard and understood, you will also learn valuable information that will help you if you end up partnering with them.
4. Follow-Up With Potential Referral Sources
Unless you know for sure there is no interest from a potential referral source during the first attempt at making contact, make sure you follow up with the person. This means if you don’t get a call back or a response to your initial letter, don’t give up. As with all marketing strategies, follow-up is key to succeeding.
Now, I am not suggesting you pester a potential referral source with endless phone calls and letters. But recognize that people have busy lives and that a lack of immediate response doesn’t necessarily mean they are not interested. It takes time to build relationships of trust, so you must be persistent and patient.
Remember too, that there are many different ways of following up. Maybe you have an article or some other piece of information that could be value to a potential referral source or his or her clients. If so, you could send it to the person as part of your follow-up strategy.
5. Contact Prospective Clients Immediately Once Referred to You
When you do get a potential client from a referral source it’s important that you contact the person as soon as possible. If you leave it too long the potential client may have lost interest or have found another way to solve his or her problem. People are impressed and appreciative when you respond quickly. It shows you care about the potential client and that you are professional in the way you do business. Further, it shows your referral source that they can rely on you to respond quickly which builds trust.
6. Let Referral Sources Know That Prospective Clients Have Contacted You
Unless confidentiality is an issue, let your referral sources know that the person who was referred has contacted you (or that you have contacted him or her). Keeping referral sources in the loop in this way lets them know that you are worthy of their referrals and prevents them from wondering what happened. If they are concerned about the person, it will also provide them with some comfort knowing that you have made contact.
7. Thank Referral Sources for Every Client They Refer to You
You can thank your referral sources by contacting them directly via phone, sending them a nice card, treating them to lunch, or perhaps even giving them a small gift. Always say thank you in some way, whether or not the person they referred becomes a client. Remember, if you want to keep the referrals coming, you must put effort into the relationship on an ongoing basis.
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Juliet Austin, MA
Marketing Coach, Consultant & Copywriter
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Juliet Austin has a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology and worked as an educator, researcher and counselor for over 20 years.
In the late 90's Juliet completed a career change into the field of marketing when she Graduated from CoachU, The Institute of Life Coach Training and became a member of the School of Coaching at Coachville. Juliet also completed numerous courses and classes on marketing, Internet marketing and website copywriting and promotion.
She is a member of several professional organizations including The International Association of Coaches, The Canadian Counselling Association, Healers in Business and The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies.
As a Marketing Coach, Consultant and Copywriter, Juliet assists healing professionals and socially responsible business owners who are struggling to attract clients or sell their products. She helps her clients in overcoming resistances to marketing, develop and implement no or low-cost marketing strategies for both on and off the Internet, write compelling website copy and promote their websites.
Juliet writes for several publications both on and off the Internet. Her articles have appeared in publications in Canada, the US and in Australia. In addition, she is also co-author with Sue Bond of the ebook: How To Become A Coach: A Guide for Therapists and Counselors.
Juliet also leads workshops and teleclasses on various marketing topics for those involved in the spiritual, metaphysical and healing arts.
Assisting healing professionals in marketing a practice has become a creative and intellectual form of self-expression for Juliet. Being an ideas person who thrives on change and variety, she is constantly developing new projects. Her ongoing quest for knowledge as well as the passion she has for marketing and her work with her clients ensures that she stays current with cutting-edge on and off-line marketing methods.
Juliet is the author of the Free Report, " 67 Surefire Ways To Attract Clients" which you can get at:
www.julietaustin.com
For more information about Juliet's services, visit her website at:
www.julietaustin.com
or one of her blogs at:
www.marketingaprivate
practice.com
and:
www.websitedesignand
promotion.com
Juliet can also be reached at:
604.730.1838
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