Treasa Edmond (00:00)
Hi there and welcome back to Boss Responses. It's been a while since I put a new episode out and I've missed you. Hopefully that kind of a gap won't happen again in the future, but sometimes life does happen and I want to acknowledge that. This week's guest co-host is Ed Deason, a business coach specializing in working with founders and entrepreneurs ready to scale, pivot and build their ideal businesses.

Ed brought his coaching experience to the table for these episodes, and I think you'll appreciate his wisdom as much as I did. Today's episode is about a topic near and dear to my heart, asking for referrals. I consider referrals an integral part of building any business, and so does Ed. We talk about how to do it, why you should, and when you shouldn't.

Check out the show notes for links to connect with Ed and me, and I've also included a link to the free referral guide I mentioned in the episode. Let's get to our conversation. If you're a freelancer, business owner, or anyone who deals with clients, you're in the right place. I'm your host, Teresa Edmond. I've been dealing with clients and running my business for nearly two decades. And in that time, I've dealt with my share of doubt,

imposter syndrome and not knowing what to say when a client asked a question I wasn't ready for. I created this podcast to empower you with the boss responses you need to grow your business. Each week, my guest co-host and I will bring you five episodes packed with practical insights. Monday through Thursday, we answer your questions. And Fridays, we dive deep to explore how our co-host embraced their role as the boss of their business. Welcome.

to boss responses.

Ed, thank you for being here with us this week.

Ed Deason (01:52)
Thank you very much for inviting me, Teresa.

Treasa Edmond (01:54)
I think this is going to be a fun one. All right. So we are starting off with you asking me the first question of the week. What is that?

Ed Deason (02:01)
All right, let's do it. So we've got Danny from Pensacola, Florida, who says, I've been freelancing for a couple of years now. And while I get repeat business from a couple of clients, I haven't figured out how to build a steady referral network. I keep hearing that referrals are the best kind of marketing, but I am not sure how to ask for them without feeling awkward or pushy. How do I start getting referrals? What's your approach to building that kind of network without it feeling forced?

Treasa Edmond (02:25)
I love this question. I actually just had someone reach out to me on LinkedIn this week and say, Hey, you talk about a lot of things and I've seen you mention testimonials and referrals. Could you talk about that as well? And it was kind of one of those serendipitous things because I've just finished a resource that I'm going to offer for free that is a referral guide, when to do it, how to do it, all of that stuff. It's never too late to start. It's never too early to start. learned pretty quickly to start on like my first

project with all clients for the testimonial and the referral. My thing is it's part of my business process. I onboard my clients, I do great work for my clients, they're thrilled with me. I send them that final email that wraps everything up and sends everything and in that email, I ask them for a testimonial if they're willing to give one. And I also do a very soft ask and mine is very sincere. So I recommend that you make this sincere.

like copy mine and feel hokey doing it. That mine is, I find that my best clients come from my favorite clients. And referrals, always the best thing for me. If you know of anyone who can use these services, and I'm very specific about which services I'm looking for, I would love if you would introduce us or make that connection. Very easy. But I always start with the, find my best clients come from my favorite clients. Or I've really enjoyed working with you. I would love to work with more clients like you.

If you know something, so I really, you know, you could say I'm laying it on thick at the beginning, but it's very sincere. I've never said that to a client I didn't actually enjoy working with. And I usually don't ask them for referrals because you know, like attracts like it's one of those things. So for me, it is a system. I ask for it every time I work with a client. I remind clients of it every time I send that final email. So even if it's a, even if it's a retainer client.

I will ask that referral in every project end email. So that might be at the end of each month. Hey, this is what we did this month. This is how it's going. If I've already asked them for a testimonial and they've given it, I don't ask that again, but I still do that referral thing. also, for one-off clients, which I don't have as many of anymore, but I started doing this when I did have a lot. I go back to them every quarter and I say, I have openings for a few new clients this quarter.

Or I have some space available in my schedule this quarter, if you know of anyone, blah, blah, blah. I do the whole, really enjoyed working with you. remind them who I am. It's amazing how often asking a one-off client for a referral gets you more work from them. So I can pretty frequently fill my schedule just from the people I'm asking to give me referrals because they're like, hey, Teresa exists.

forgot about her, let's go ahead and have her do this project we've been talking about. And then they're so happy that I popped up right at the right minute that they do start sending those referrals. And I've found that if you can get two or three clients who consistently send you referrals, it's enough to keep your schedule busy. So I try to build super fan clients. It's one of my things that I'm really passionate about. But yeah, never too early to get started. Do it right away. Do it every chance you get.

⁓ and especially if you're looking for work, reach out to people that you've already worked with that you really enjoyed working with and they're more likely to give you extra work and then also refer people on. So that's kind of my process. I've just made it part of my process. So for me, it's a system. It's not a thing I do and it fills my schedule. I've been pretty much referral based for five years now.

I mean, seldom do I have to go out and look for clients. And when I do, I've looked for clients in the last month, actually. And I've been talking to my newsletter people about it. It's first time I've had to prospect in years. And it's because I pivoted my business. So I wasn't taking client work. So it's like starting from scratch. got yesterday a referral, came in for a project from a client that I worked with before. I sent him a thing, said, Hey, I have some openings in my schedule.

He immediately said, I have a guy who really needs you. I'm so glad this is perfect timing. And we signed the contract. The money was in my bank account within a couple of hours. And it's enough to get me through for a month. it works. It absolutely works. I am very passionate about referrals. What do you think about this, Ed?

Ed Deason (06:57)
I think if I was working with a client who was asking me this question, I think you've pretty much summed up what I would say. Definitely on the systemization, having a process for it. That is absolutely what I would say is build this into your normal workflow. Exactly like you say, have a way of doing it. Have a way that feels natural, feels authentic to you. And you go, okay, at this point in a client engagement, I'm going to send out a quick message that says, please, could you help me out?

here's what I'm looking for. Do you know anyone who is looking for similar services? Whatever feels natural and authentic to you based on the relationship you've had with that client, engagement you've had with that client. Yeah, that is exactly the approach I would recommend. Create a system, create a process for it.

Treasa Edmond (07:41)
And that natural flow, I think that's so important. You know, if you've been very formal with the client, it needs to be a more formal ask. You can't all of a sudden say, hey, bestie, you anyone that would like to work with me? It will freak them out and you don't want to do that. You don't. So yeah, really do stick with however you're communicating with that client. You know, some clients are friendlier than others. Some clients you really get to know. And you you might, you might actually just kind of have a quarterly meetup with them. And in that meetup, you can say,

You know, I really value you as a client. My thing is just be sincere. You know, a lot of people think this is marketing. So I have to be marketing Teresa or marketing Ed and nobody likes marketing Teresa or marketing Ed. Let's just be honest. So just be you. I think that's kind of the important thing.

Ed Deason (08:31)
I think the other thing, I think we build up these things in our heads, right? I'm asking for them to do something. I'm putting them out of their way. People like helping people. Yeah. And people like helping people that have helped them in particular. Right. So if you've had a great relationship and a great engagement with a client, they're not going to feel put out by you asking, Hey, do know anyone else that might need my services? They're actually going to go, yeah, actually I do. I'd really love to refer you to this person because they know that you're good. So they want to refer you to someone.

they know who will be like, this is a really good service. Thank you very much for the referral. Like people want to help each other out. And if you're good at what you do and you help and you deliver what you say you'll deliver, people are going to want to refer you as well. So it's not a big ask. It's not putting people out of their way. Actually, you're giving them opportunity to do something they'll enjoy.

Treasa Edmond (09:18)
You know what started me asking for referrals is I had a client who said, hey, I have some people I'd like to recommend you to. How can I do that? And I'm like, I don't know. You know, so I had to learn, but then it became a thing because I had another client like a year later do the same thing. And I'm like, okay, maybe they actually want to do this. So to me, that's why it became part of my process. I'm like, this is not an imposition. it, if it's not something they want to do, they ignore that part of the email.

But it doesn't hurt to ask. And honestly, I'm not lying when I say my best clients have come from my favorite clients. That is an absolute truth. It's just part of the relationship for us. And I really, I kind of enjoy doing it. And here's the benefit that a lot of people don't talk about. Whenever someone refers someone else to you, you don't have to sell them on your services when they come in. They are already ready to work with you. They already believe that you're the best because someone told them that.

And it makes the entire working relationship that much better. That is why I'm so passionate about referrals. It just makes my life easier.

Ed Deason (10:19)
Mmm.

It doesn't really matter what service you're offering. As a coach, when I'm referred to someone, that initial conversation is so much easier because that potential client has spoken with an existing client and they've kind of gone, yeah, this guy feels like he'd be a good match for you. This is why Ed can help you. One of my clients said the other day, he was speaking to someone and said, he was talking to them and they were sort of explaining some stuff that was going on in their business. And he went, those were exactly the problems that I had. And then I started working with Ed, he's my business coach.

Do you want me to put you in touch?

And it's done all the work for you. And the person who's coming to talk to you, the prospective client is already kind of engaged in the process. And it's really like, I know that you can sort these things out because you've helped someone else do it.

Treasa Edmond (11:05)
And people are going to talk about you, right? So a situation like that, might not have asked him to make that referral, but he did it anyway. I had a client come to me the other day and I was like, Hey, how'd you find me? And, and this was a coaching client. And she said, well, I was talking to so-and-so. And then she immediately goes into, this is what they said. And they said, she told me that you helped her do this. You helped her do this and you kick her in the butt whenever she needs it and hold her accountable.

but you're a really nice person." She said, I need someone who can hold me accountable and be nice because I need nice in my life right now. I'm like, never would have thought to see marketing. Teresa would never have thought to say, I'm going to hold you accountable, but I'll be nice doing it. You know, that's don't trust marketing. You just don't. All right. Anything else to say on the topic of referral said.

Ed Deason (12:02)
No, just don't, well, just don't overlook them. Don't think I don't need a referral or don't think I shouldn't do referrals as they're not relevant for me. Almost, I don't think there are any service providers I can think of where referrals aren't useful, aren't important, aren't something you should ask for. Yeah.

Treasa Edmond (12:19)
Yeah. And this is almost off topic, but not really never stop asking for them. Even if your schedule is busy, you can book out six months. If someone really wants to work with you, they will wait until you have availability and they might ask to get put on a wait list. Let's go ahead and schedule it for six months. But if you have something open up sooner, you know, I'd love to hop in that spot. Then they pay the deposit. They pay the deposit. They're already in your system. They're ready to go as soon as you are just.

There's nothing bad about referrals unless you ask a bad client and they send you bad clients. just don't do that.

Ed Deason (12:54)
Yeah.

And I just add, would totally agree with that one as well. You know, a bad client is likely to have bad clients that are friends in their network, right? Don't just don't do it.

Treasa Edmond (13:04)
Uh-uh, no, no, just don't want that. All right. That is day one with Ed. I will in the show notes include the link to the referral resource that I've just created. It won't be just created by the time this comes out, but it will be out there and proven by then at least. So check that out and come back tomorrow when Ed and I are going to talk about the role the economy is playing in our business and how do we manage that? Because I think that's a really important topic. All right. See you tomorrow.