There is a reason so many businesses offer incentives for referrals. Having an incentive doesn’t mean one can get away with poor quality work, quite the opposite in my mind. If you are soliciting for referrals the level of work better be good.
Ok, I am a little hesitant to give this out to the general public but I hope I can help some people with their business. (That’s what this is for right?)
But I have to ask you a question…What other option do you have? What other way do you have to advertise to your current customers? Are you going to consistantly ask them for business all of the time? You can’t always do that. You should some but not ALL the time. There is no emotion behind. Your customers, my customers, are all emotional people. Everything is based off of emotion. That is why one of the most powerful words in writting is “experience.”
I don’t know if these statistics are good or bad. I would greatly appreciate feedback. For the record I have NOT specificly asked for referrals from my customers. I just send them cards every month or so. And this is only for referrals and not repeat business, which is where my primary focus is. However, I appreciate the question because I didn’t run this report yet and it was eye opening for me. Here we go:
March 2009: 4 referrals= $1,736.00
February 2009: 2 referrals= $700.00
January 2009: 1 referral= $150.00
Jan-December 2008: 52 Referrals= $18,493.61
Average Per Customer: $355.65
Average Referral: 1 per week
How do those numbers sound? Again, I don’t know. Nobody has ever told me their numbers before. Maybe somebody will say “Pssst! Those stink!” I don’t know. I would love to hear what others think if this is good or not.
Honest feedback is always appreciated.
Sincerely,
Deland
Deland,
Sounds good 2 me man. But, are u scheduling 4 a crew , crews, or just u? just wondering but congrats on the good work.
Most of our work comes from repeat customers and referrals. When we clean a New customers home I send out a letter that week welcoming them to our company and thanking them for their business etc. At the very bottom of the letter I have a note…When you refer your friends and neighbors to our company you will receive $25.00 off your next service.
When an existing customer refers someone to us I send them a letter thanking them for the referral and let them know that they receive $25.00 off of their next service. I give existing customers the $25.00 off for a referral even if the person they referred to us did not use us. It’s just our way of Quietly thanking our customers who are sooooooo loyal. And they really appreciate it even though they say it’s not necessary they were happy to give our name out.
you rock man, you got me sold.
thanks for feedback. I gotta give this thing a go
Oh thanks man! A lot of sweat and tears have gone into my business.
Since Florida is an all year thing I have busy and slow seasons. The summer time is very slow for us. VERY slow. I contribute it to people going on vacation and having kids at home.
However, the most profitable time of the year is October, November and December. 2nd most profitable are February, March and April. At those times I can run, and have in the past, 6 employees. 3 to a crew. Actually more than that because we stay jammed packed at least two weeks out so I could have easily fit another there.
This year was different though. I ran me and two guys for awhile with some additional help now and again. (during the busy season)
Currently it is just me and an employee.
I am VERY excited about my E-Myth Program I signed up for. I am learning how to REALLY build a business without me there 100% of the time. I am learning so much! For any of you who have read e-myth I juggle back and forth from infancy to adolescence.
I’m glad to know those are good numbers at least from one person. Anyone else?
Thanks,
Deland
Your welcome! I appreciate all of the feedback I’ve gotten over the years from other window washers so I hope this helps.
Customers just want to feel appreciated and remembered…don’t we all?
It’s not a quick fix but over time it will make a difference and this will be just another tool in the shed to help your company grow into whatever you want it to be.
Deland
