100% Referrals? Hmmmm . . . . .

“I don’t advertise. All of my leads are referrals.”

That is a myth that many remodeling contractors buy into. It is a great idea, one happy customer refers another. That happy customer refers two more. It’s the law of compounding that works great when it comes to interest on your savings account but not so great for a business.

Why? Because you have no control. If you rely on others to tell their friends when they feel like it, you may be waiting for quite some time. Life happens and, although your happy customer said she would tell Aunt Sally to call, it completely slipped her mind.

And anyway, Aunt Sally’s bridge buddy already told her about her experience with another contractor, your competition, and she called him.

Now, this may seem like a contradiction but you should be asking for referrals from your customers at all times. Why? Because a referral lead is golden. Your happy customer has already warmed up the lead for you by telling him or her of their wonderful experience working with your company. And there are definitely methods you can use to guide the referral process.

But relying on referrals to bring in one hundred percent of the leads to your remodeling business is a mistake.

Ask for referrals and follow up with them. But include referrals as one element of your well-rounded marketing plan.