Referrals are great. By far the lowest cost of acquisition of any client.
Sales cycles are faster, and conversion rates are higher.
And most people understand why.
Whether from a client or trusted referral partner, they are lending you their trust and credibility with someone that already has a need.
They are planting the seed, and they are likely cultivating it to some degree.
By all means, cultivate all the referrals you can.
I remember dad telling me about some volunteer heirloom tomatoes (meaning they grew on their own from the seeds left from tomatoes the season prior), that came up in a fallow section of the field.
He just stumbled on them one day, growing on the ground. They were some of the bests he ever had, and he never did a single thing to grow them.
And while they were great, and sold well, he can’t run the farm that way.
Foraging is not Farming.
And if you only do business by referral, that may mean that you never developed the branding and marketing messaging that allows you to build trust, credibility, and a resonant offer.
If you’re dependent solely on referrals, you can survive.
But it’s incredibly hard to scale.
#PlantTheSeed #clientcultivationcycle #pollinatorpodcast #smallbusiness #marketing #sales #strategy #entrepreneur
