So you don’t have a referral scheme.....why?
>> Thursday, June 11, 2009
So there I was talking to an old friend over a nice sandwich. He owns one of the largest importers of pet-shop supplies in the region and is turning over something like £1,000 a day. Not bad if you can get it, eh? I wasn’t aware that there were that many pet shops in the region, but I digress.
He has a warehouse, as you do, and was struggling with paying for the place but as business has really picked up, all is looking well. His bank, however, (funny how many bad turns in a story start with someone’s bank) had decided to withdraw all funding from his business leaving him high and dry, and now a profitable company is staring at that big scary word, “Liquidation”.
As you might have guessed by now, he is somewhat miffed at his bank. They will not tell him why they have withdrawn his funding, and will not even assist in any way. Nice! He wants to take action against them, which is understandable, but didn’t know who to turn to. Guess who he asked for a recommendation? Moi.
He has a warehouse, as you do, and was struggling with paying for the place but as business has really picked up, all is looking well. His bank, however, (funny how many bad turns in a story start with someone’s bank) had decided to withdraw all funding from his business leaving him high and dry, and now a profitable company is staring at that big scary word, “Liquidation”.
As you might have guessed by now, he is somewhat miffed at his bank. They will not tell him why they have withdrawn his funding, and will not even assist in any way. Nice! He wants to take action against them, which is understandable, but didn’t know who to turn to. Guess who he asked for a recommendation? Moi.
Now, I have dealt with many solicitors in the past, whether they are through networking meetings, as a client, as a supplier, or as a friend. As they are all very similar (broadly, I hasten to add) I could not give him a name off the top of my head. I trust they will all do a good job to the same standard, but there was no way I could remember one over the others.
On the way back to the office, I suddenly realised what a massive blunder all these firms had made. They have given me no reason to promote them over their rival! Whoops, they should all be saying. We all have been in the position when a friend has said “do you know a good company that does X or supplies Y?” and have suggested a company. Sadly, it always seems to be someone else’s company. Why does no one give anyone any personal reason to recommend them?
Why does no one have a referral scheme?
I am always on the lookout for firms with a referral scheme. I love “partnering” and believe that it is a very effective promotion tool. If I came across a solicitor who had such a scheme, then I would go about the town recommending them to all and sundry. I would most certainly have recommended my friend to go and see them.
So why do most other companies not have such a scheme? Why would you not pay people when they send work your way? You pay advertisers whether they get work or not! Ultimedia PR offer a referral scheme that pays the referrer 10% of the new clients’ monthly invoice for 6 months, a very handsome reward if I do say so myself, and I know we can afford it as 90% of an invoice is better than 100% of no invoice.
So, dear reader, I would like you to go away and think about how you can do the same. Come up with a way that someone can promote your work for you, and get paid a cut for their troubles and I will eat my hat if it does not help your business.
And when you are done, get in touch with me at max@ultimediapr.co.uk as I’d love to partner with you.
On the way back to the office, I suddenly realised what a massive blunder all these firms had made. They have given me no reason to promote them over their rival! Whoops, they should all be saying. We all have been in the position when a friend has said “do you know a good company that does X or supplies Y?” and have suggested a company. Sadly, it always seems to be someone else’s company. Why does no one give anyone any personal reason to recommend them?
Why does no one have a referral scheme?
I am always on the lookout for firms with a referral scheme. I love “partnering” and believe that it is a very effective promotion tool. If I came across a solicitor who had such a scheme, then I would go about the town recommending them to all and sundry. I would most certainly have recommended my friend to go and see them.
So why do most other companies not have such a scheme? Why would you not pay people when they send work your way? You pay advertisers whether they get work or not! Ultimedia PR offer a referral scheme that pays the referrer 10% of the new clients’ monthly invoice for 6 months, a very handsome reward if I do say so myself, and I know we can afford it as 90% of an invoice is better than 100% of no invoice.
So, dear reader, I would like you to go away and think about how you can do the same. Come up with a way that someone can promote your work for you, and get paid a cut for their troubles and I will eat my hat if it does not help your business.
And when you are done, get in touch with me at max@ultimediapr.co.uk as I’d love to partner with you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment