How do you qualify past clients for Referral Marketing?

It is natural to want to include every client you have ever worked with in your Referral Marketing database but this is not a good idea. Why? There are some clients who – for whatever reason – will never use your services again nor refer business to you. So why waste time and money marketing to them? Instead, the only names that should be in your database are those who are, or could potentially become, loyal to you. How do you qualify past clients for Referral Marketing? Its easy, just ask yourself a few simple questions:

1. “Did the previous transaction come to a satisfactory conclusion?” This does not necessarily mean it ended in a sale. After all, the sale may not have materialized due to circumstances beyond your control. The important thing to consider here is: was the client satisfied with all the help you provided?
2. “Would the client work with you again?” A client who has expressed a willingness to work with you again is already on the road to loyalty. So count that client in! There is a good chance that, if you build the relationship in the right way, that client will be an excellent source of repeat business and referrals.
3. “Would YOU work with the client again?” If a client – even a potentially loyal one – is a nuisance, wastes your time, makes unreasonable demands, or is otherwise unpleasant to work with, ask yourself: “Is it worth it?” If not, walk the other way. The extra time you can spend with past clients you actually enjoy doing business with, will more than compensate for any income you might lose.

Takeaway Point: Remember, qualifying past clients is a continuing on-going process. Always schedule at least half hour per week to review the contacts in your Referral Marketing database, and delete the past clients who do not meet the above criteria.