Referrals can come to you from many different directions. Some will come from people you meet at networking events, some may come to you from your customers, and others may come from your trained Referral Partners. You will never know where they are coming from if you do not take the time to track your business.
Every time someone calls, ask the simple question, “How did you hear about us?” Open a spreadsheet and track every customers or prospective customer’s response.
This simple task will allow you to identify where you may want to spend more time or money. If you find you have one person who is acting as your advocate you will want to find ways to thank or reward that person.
Maybe you find that all the time you have spent at a particular organization has not paid off as well as you thought, but the place where you have been volunteering has had the added benefit of being a gold mine of clients. Now you will be able to make a sound decision about where you are spending your time.
Until you start tracking, it’s all guesswork and you may be ignoring some of your best sources.
4 responses so far ↓
3 Tips on Getting Referrals | Bizzy Women // September 2, 2008 at 6:41 pm |
[...] at the Networkingstrategist blog, Hazel Walker, says that you need to ‘thank or reward’ someone who is an advocate for [...]
Lorraine Ball // October 7, 2008 at 11:51 am |
Great post.
I can not imagine running my business without a tracking sheet.
A number of years ago, I started keeping a spread sheet. every time I get a project, i track back 2 – 3 steps. How did I meet the client, and the person who referred or introduced me, and how did I meet that person. Over time, I have built a fairly clear picture of where my best introductions come from
Hazel // October 8, 2008 at 12:02 am |
Knowing where your business comes from allows you to know where to spend your time and with whom. I am often shocked at how many people do not track their activies and their result. Good in sights, thanks Lorraine
Recent Links Tagged With "tracking" - JabberTags // October 20, 2008 at 3:34 pm |
[...] public links >> tracking Are you Tracking Your Referrals? Saved by entangledstate on Sun 19-10-2008 GPS tracking Saved by mertx on Wed 15-10-2008 [...]