A referral is a recommendation to hire you from someone, usually a client, to another potential client. This word-of-mouth marketing is highly valuable to freelancers. A client is more likely to follow up on a recommendation from a trusted source who has experience working with you than take on a complete stranger. Furthermore, you don’t have to market yourself overtly to get seen, saving you time and money.
Here are some general tips to consider when winning new business via client referrals.
1. Ask at the optimum time
The end of a successful client project is a good time to ask for a client referral if it’s a one-off project. This is because the project is still fresh in your client’s mind. However, there’s nothing to stop you from asking during the project, especially if you’ve recently received good feedback and have a long-term or retainer relationship. You can ask if they know anyone else who would benefit from working with you or needs your services. If you’ve enjoyed working with them, they’ll likely know people similar to them who would also be a good fit.
Also, remember that people are happy to refer good freelancers to their colleagues, as it benefits their reputation. And don’t forget to reach out to previous clients and check in with them from time to time. Not only might they refer you, but they could also have some suitable projects for you but just not know you are available for work.
2. Expand your network
It’s not just clients you can ask for referrals from but also others in your network, including friends and family. There are likely professionals in your network who have complementary businesses; you could even team up with them to provide a service or product. The key is to let people know the services you offer, the problems you solve, and who would best benefit from them so they can refer you to suitable potential clients. Make it easy for people to refer you!
This is why attending networking events online or in person is beneficial. It’s a great way to expand your network and let others know you are open to new business and opportunities. And you don’t need to stop there. Hosting events can also generate leads, collaborations and referrals.
EventSchedule is an app for talent, vendors, venues, and curators where you can create your schedule calendar, promote events, register attendees, and issue tickets. Try it out for free here.
3. Refer others and be referable
Another way to expand your network, build good relationships and enhance your reputation is to refer reliable and high-calibre professional freelancers in your network to clients. This is a great way to help support other freelancers as well as clients and help you remain top of mind to them when a suitable opportunity comes along. This way, referrals can be a win-win for all involved.
Of course, one way to almost guarantee referrals is to do stellar work so that clients and colleagues automatically refer you when they are communicating with others and a specific role or topic comes up, and client referrals start to happen organically.
For some freelancers, most of their business is made up of referrals, which means they benefit from the trust factor inherent in referrals and don’t have to spend time constantly pitching and marketing themselves. Their reputation speaks volumes for them.
4. Make it easy for clients to do business with you
While referrals eliminate the need for direct marketing or cold outreach, you still need to make a good first impression. So make sure you have testimonials and case studies at hand. You can add these to your website or other communication materials, such as proposals and invoices. One of the ways to make it easy for clients to do business with you is to eliminate any friction points in your business or client onboarding processes.
Another way you can do this is to make paying you quick, simple and easy. Invoice Ninja is a leading free invoicing software for small business invoicing, online payments, recurring invoices, tracking expenses and billable tasks. It offers multiple payment gateway options.
Integrating your Invoice Ninja account with a payment gateway allows clients to pay their invoices with 1-click! The payment gateway processes the transaction in the background while your client never leaves their Invoice Ninja client-side portal. Seamless!
Try it for free here.
~
Finally, if someone refers you, don’t forget to thank them and provide a short follow-up. This will go a long way to building and maintaining good relationships. Sometimes, it might not be evident that a client has been referred to you, so it’s worth asking new clients how they heard about you so you can thank the referrer accordingly.
