2 builders who never spoke to each other

Ask, out loud, to be referred

A client who is never told you want referrals simply does not think of you, which is how people forget the name of somebody who did good work for them. Say it plainly, ask at the moment onboarding finishes, ask lifetime customers to introduce you into their industry, and ask a first contact in a new area for a written list of the respected names there. Referred deals close cheapest because the persuading is already done.

The method

1. 01

   State plainly to past clients that you want to be rehired and referred, since a client who is never told this simply will not think of you.

2. 02

   Ask every customer you finish onboarding for introductions to their peers, because a warm introduction converts far more easily than a stranger.

3. 03

   Ask lifetime customers to introduce you into their industry, turning the cheap cohort into a subscriber acquisition channel.

4. 04

   Contact past clients out of the blue to ask what is currently blocking them and whether there is anything you can do, without attaching a pitch.

5. 05

   Chase referrals as the cheapest deals to close, because the person referring you lends you their credibility and the persuasion is already done.

What it returned

• Dunn contrasts the estate agent who sold him his house, whose name he cannot recall six years later and has never passed on, with an agent who had kept in touch.

• Referrals eventually generated as many ConvertKit leads as cold outreach did

• The runner's list of names rebuilt Johnson's entire East Coast network in days

Sources

• Why Most Freelancers Set Their Clients Up For Failure (And How To Fix This) - Double Your FreelancingBrennan Dunn · doubleyourfreelancing.com · Happy Clients, Happy Life · 2014-08-28
• How Convert Kit grew from $1.5k to $100k MRRHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · 4/ Always ask for referrals · undated
• How Jeff Johnson sold Nike's first shoesHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · An impossible task · undated
• Lifetime Deals and SaaS Businesses – The Bootstrapped FounderDevan Sabaratnam · thebootstrappedfounder.com · Customers, Expectations, Limitations · 2021-04-01