One of the best sources of new business is referrals. They are the easiest type of lead to convert because someone has already done part of the sales job for you by vouching for your services. If your business doesn’t have a strong focus on referrals, then you are missing out on a very important lead source.
The problem is that many business don’t ask for the referral, and it’s not difficult to do. The best time to do it is in a follow-up email or call after the client has received the goods/services they requested. Something like “Hello X, hope you are enjoying your Y. If there is anything we can do, feel free to contact us. We would also like to inform you that for every customer that you refer to us you can get a free Z.” This not only helps to re-enforce the existing relationship with the customer by seeing if they are satisfied, but it can help get you additional highly qualified leads.
Another great time to go fishing for leads is at the initial discovery phase. When asking the customers about their wants and needs, you can also ask them if they know anyone else looking for a similar product/service. You might be able to save the customer money (in cases of bulk or quantity purchases, or a reduction in travel time to offer a service), and gain additional business as well.
Of course if customers are happy with your product or service, they usually won’t need any prompting to refer you to all their friends.