Ask for Referrals

Hands down, the most profitable way to find new customers (or supporters or investors or partners) is to motivate others to refer people to you. Most people don't pour enough energy into harvesting this low-hanging fruit.

Here are five ways to get started, but I'm confident you can think of even more - if you invest time and energy into this fruitful activity.

1. Be bold - ask for referrals:Most people make the most fundamental mistake; they fail to even ask for a referral, or they settle for just one. Ask others for referrals, and when they give you one, ask for another.

2. Celebrate: Life is short; find excuses to celebrate, and when you do, invite others, and suggest they bring their friends. Such celebrations aren't the place to engage in blatant self-promotion but rather to build relationships and show other people how good it must feel to know you.

3. Support what your network supports: Raise meaningful amounts of money for charities, schools, and other causes about which your stakeholders care. Invest 95% of your time and efforts in providing support to those organizations; don't make the mistake of spending more money bragging about your generosity than on actually being generous.

4. Make your references easy to access: A friend of mine wants to renovate his kitchen and has been meeting with contractors. He was especially impressed by one, simply because the man had all his references organized by year and type of job. Plus, he was open to having my friend call anyone he wished. This sort of open, frictionless approach to references provides prospective customers with tremendous amounts of reassurance.

5. Say thanks: After someone has helped you, be sure to write or call to say thank you. Don't forget to ask if there is some way you can help them. And when you say "help," you better mean it. If you feel that way, it will show, and if it shows, you'll be rewarded with more referrals than you ever dreamed possible.