Top Three Ways To Build A Word-Of-Mouth Business

Written by: Cai Huiling Created: 16 November 2017

Essential Steps To Increase Your Referrals

Referrals are an essential component that can make or break any business and especially important for service professionals whose products aren’t physically visible like insurance. Having strong referral rates is often times one of the best ways to grow a business venture yet many still grapple with how to achieve it.

While there are no standard sure-win guidelines to develop successful word-of-mouth marketing campaign, here are the top three essential steps you need to take toward building good referrals for your business, gleaned from the sage advice by Brian Hilliard, a client acquisition coach as well as the co-author of Networking Like a Pro.

Have A Rock-Solid Elevator Pitch

One of the most common questions you will be asked at networking events will be what you do for a living and the last thing you want to do is to fumble around to sum up what your business is about. This seemingly simple question if answered impressively, is a major first step in growing the number of referrals you receive.

Winston Churchill once said, “ a good speech should be a like a woman’s skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest”. Similarly, making your pitch to any potential business contacts should be short and concise. A good way to pique the other party’s interest and further the conversation is to introduce your business in a manner that allows them to learn new interesting facts through the course of your brief conversation.

Network Like A Pro

To build a referral based, word of mouth business, you also have to go above and beyond simply providing great service; while it is important, great service is hardly the be all and end all.

Beside offering a stellar service and product, you need to also constantly meet new people and strategically position you and your company as an essential value add that either improves a current system or provides a new solutions to an important problem plaguing the industry. One of the best ways to do this is effective networking to create a visible identity and buzz for your business. 

To stand out from the numerous people at these networking events, beyond having a great pitch, it is also important to ask questions about the other party’s business and express keen interest in their work to elicit a more robust conversation that will hopefully lead into an opportunity to develop a referral partner, or potential client.

Constantly Follow Up

With the numerous things on your plate to juggle daily, it’s easy to forget to follow up after the initial chat at the networking session. Remembering to follow up by sending a simple “nice to meet you” email within 48 hours or connecting with them on social media such as Linkedin or Facebook to reach out to a potential client or referral partner, is the final pivotal step that really crystallises business connections.

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Written by: Cai Huiling

Huiling covers a diverse range of topics at Billionaire, fuelled by her passion for environmental sustainability and humanitarian advocacy. In her downtime, she enjoys getting lost in a good book and tending to her urban garden.