I always thought asking for referrals was too pushy until last month

My client list was stuck at the same 12 people for almost a year. A friend told me to just add a simple line to my project wrap-up email: 'If you know someone else who might need this, could you forward this to them?' I sent it to three clients last Tuesday. Two of them actually did it, and I got a call from a new client the very next day. Has anyone else found a low-pressure way to ask that actually works?

3 comments

3 Comments

stellas561mo ago

Honestly that whole "just add a simple line" thing feels like a trap waiting to backfire. It might work once but clients will see it as lazy if you use the same copy-paste line every time. @charlie384 has a point about it feeling awkward, and that awkwardness comes through to the client. You're basically putting them on the spot to do your marketing for free. It can make a good professional relationship feel transactional real fast. I'd rather get real referrals from people who are so happy they bring my name up without being asked.

charlie3842mo ago

Did you word it exactly like that or did you tweak it for each client? I mean, I've tried similar stuff but it always feels a bit awkward coming from me. Maybe it's just how I phrase it.

rowan1092mo ago

Tweaked it for each client"? You sent the exact same thing to everyone? That's wild.