Matt Levenhagen Blog Post (Reprinted with Permission):

All of you that are reading this are in different businesses or the same businesses with different approaches, products and spin…

I want this Blog to have something for everybody. One of the reasons I started this Blog is because it does categorize each post that I make. If you look to the right in that first column you will see categories forming…

This enables me to cover a lot of subjects and when someone new comes along they can just go to the topics that interest them…

I want to talk a minute about referrals. No matter what business you are in, referrals can be a HUGE income generator. In fact, some businesses end up ending their other advertising efforts because they can keep busy with referral biz.

Now of course affiliate marketing is something along these lines where other people online are referring business to your products and you are giving them a fee or commission for it…

BUT what I’m talking about is free, unsolicited referrals that you get JUST because someone feels confident in your product or services… OR they think it will help someone… or they like you!

I come from an insurance background. I’ve sold all products from personal to business, but for a while I sold a lot of life insurance. In that business referrals are not only easy to get, but they can bring the cost of buying leads and advertising way down. You don’t need as much.

It wasn’t real hard to ask for a referral. Why? Because you ask for it after you have already provided a great product or service to the person you’re asking! That person is happy or satisfied that you took good care of them.

We would even go as far… because we were in the person’s home so this was easier… to pull out a notepad or a pre-made referral sheet and ask if they had a family member or friends that needed Life insurance (or whatever we were selling)…

OR some would even be as bold as… and this is a great technique, btw… to ask if the person had an address book so that they could put your number in there if they needed you again… and while the address book was out, guess what? You ask for referrals. The numbers and names are right there!
Just Ask!

A referral is sweet because there are no advertising costs. And the sale is much easier because you have an element of trust coming into the sales environment. It’s often good for the salesman as well because you know that this person won’t pull something on you because they know it could reflect back on the person that referred!

I also run my own contracting business. I got heavy into remodeling for a while, but now I paired down my business from several crews to just me and some sub-contractors if I need them… A little remodeling, painting, repair, carpentry, windows, doors and more!

Lately, I have been getting HUGE referrals. AND in some cases repeat business or business from people that just know me and know I do good work.

Several months ago I decided to pump a little money into advertising to get the season rolling… I spent about $175 per month on advertising in our local newspaper in a special section for business’s and services.

I’ve always had a lot of luck with this paper in the past and this time was no different. It’s got a big circulation. I live on the border of the City of Milwaukee… so millions of people.

BUT! I have to stop the ad I think… in fact, it is now!… I’m actually debating… I may just change it to go after larger jobs to schedule later in the year…

The reason I need to do this is because I have 3 large jobs lined up that are ALL referral. Not even from the ad… 2 people that I know (friends) and another person (who I guess is a friend also now since I’ve known him for a few years…) who I had built and addition for a few years ago and have done other projects for… NOW has a big store front for me to gut and remodel!

BIG project… City of Milwaukee’s getting involved… He’s working on getting grants… It took $0 for me to get the job… To be honest, I haven’t even bid the job yet. It’s a done deal and he doesn’t even know what I’m going to charge him…

Have I done a good job for him in the past do you think? Do you think he trusts me?

If you open your local paper and look at all the contractors in there, that is just a sampling… Many contractors live by referral alone and don’t need to advertise. I know an Uncle of mine is like a year deep in projects as a carpenter!

So the same goes for the online business… If you have a good product or service people will freely send people to you or use your service themselves! They will simply recommend you… I do it all the time. If I see someone that has a good product or service, I’ll provide links without even worrying if I’m getting compensated!

BUT! In order for YOU to get referrals several factors have to be present. People must like you. You can’t have a bad attitude or manners and expect people to give a hoot about your biz…. You must have a good product or service…. AND you must provide good support!

Professionalism and Attitude will win people over… In fact, sometimes people will buy from you, even though your product is a little more than the next guy, because they LIKE you.

So referrals are powerful and can have a huge impact on your income.

Think about it!

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WorkAtHomeTruth has a review of Matt Levenhagen’s Campaign Blasts Method here.