The “Wow-ability” Habit for Referrals
Want to know a great way to get more referrals? Stop asking for them and start earning them. You’ve probably heard the expression “under promise and over deliver.” Why not take it one step further? The next time you’re on a sales call try over promising and then over delivering.
In my book, I call this Wow-Ability. And you can develop it as a habit!
If you’re someone who keeps your word, you already know the importance of delivering on a promise, and you know to only promise what you can deliver.
What’s the next step? Get in the habit of making big promises when selling your services, and then go above and beyond to do more than you promised. People expect you to do what you're paid to do, but they will feel indebted to you if you do more than what was expected. In my business, Begue Painting, I always try to include the painting of something minor like a wrought iron railing or the mailbox and post, or even cleaning out the gutters if they’re clogged with leaves for example. Even though it wasn’t part of what we agreed to do.
Often, the little extra time you spend doing something that the homeowners have been putting off or forgot to mention at the time the estimate was given is what they will actually remember the most about you and your business. What might only take you a few minutes to do while you have a ladder out could take the homeowner months to get around to doing. And that’s assuming they are physically able to do it!
I go out of my way to do a little extra especially if I’m working for the elderly; they usually don’t know who to call for those little things and will think of you as a godsend. When I turn in a bill after completing the job, I mention all the little extras that we did and many times they offer to pay more than the agreed upon amount. I never accept any more money but that creates goodwill, and the customer is now looking for a way to repay me. There it is: a great opportunity to ask them to recommend me to their family and friends.
Asking your customers to refer you can be a little awkward for both you and your customer, but when your customer is overjoyed and looking for a way to pay you for your attention to the details that even they forgot, it’s an easy step to say “Mrs. Jones, I was happy to throw in those little extras - no need to pay me more! What you can do instead is to let your friends and family know about your experience.”
My challenge for you today is to pick ONE job each week this month and find extra ways to help them. Make it a game for yourself - search for something the customer didn’t mention and happily do more than the customer expects. Do this for a whole month. Then start picking TWO jobs per week and do the same thing. Before you know it, you will be implementing Wow-ability as a habit with every job you take… AND earning the WOW income you deserve!
Remember, referrals are the best type of customers in any business, and they aren’t something you just ask for… they’re something you earn.