Referral Marketing
Your best clients came from someone who recommended you. Referral marketing is growing through word-of-mouth and client recommendations. For domain experts, referrals are often the highest-quality leads and the lowest CAC. You're not paying for ads—you're earning trust and then asking for one introduction. Make it easy to refer: one clear ask, one link, one sentence.
Same growth, lower cost. A consultant who gets 2 referrals per project from happy clients grows pipeline without doubling ad spend. A coach who asks every graduating client "Who else would benefit from this?" gets warm leads. Referrals close faster and stay longer because the prospect already trusts the source. Combine with client retention strategy and customer success—happy clients refer. Churned clients don't.
Word-of-mouth and client recommendations. Make it easy: one ask, one link, one sentence.
How to get more referrals
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Deliver results and document them. Customer success—clients who achieve their goals refer. Share the outcome with them so they can say "we went from X to Y."
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Ask explicitly. "Who else would benefit from this?" or "Is there one person you'd be comfortable introducing me to?" One clear ask. Don't assume they'll offer; ask at the right moment (after a win, at the end of an engagement).
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Make it easy. One link to your calendar or one sentence they can forward. "I work with first-time founders on positioning before their seed round. Here's my link." The less friction, the more referrals.