Thank customers, gather referrals and keep your sales pipeline full

It’s that time of year when we all look back on what 2020 has brought us and everything we have to be grateful for, especially if you’ve had a record-setting sales year. Be sure to thank the people who led you to your success, your customers. It might be the best gift you’ll give yourself this year.

In a recent webinar with Patrick Readyhough, owner of Pond Roofing, he said “Thanking our customers is an easy way I’ve set myself apart from my competition.” Seems easy enough, right? So many people underestimate the weight of a simple thank you and aren’t taking advantage of this easy, FREE way to generate customer referrals which leads to future jobs. Just ask Patrick’s team. He commented, “We are a 100% inbound business and don’t pay for leads. Over 52% of our monthly sales are from past customers and referrals.”

Why do you think the Pond Roofing team has spent so much time and energy thanking their customers? Easy, because it generates customer referrals and keeps his sales pipeline full. By making your customer feel appreciated, you are not only setting yourself up for multiple referrals, you are also going to be top of mind when they decide they want to tackle another project on their list. 

We compiled a few easy steps you can implement into your business to be sure you’re taking the time to thank customers, gather referrals and keep your sales pipeline full. 

1. Don’t forget to say thank you. Don’t underestimate the weight a simple “thank you” carries! Creating a post-job completion note that you can quickly personalize and send out once you have wrapped a job to your customer goes a long way, and could lead to future jobs too. 

Pro tip: Don’t have time to send personal notes to each of your customers you worked with this year? There are companies like G4 Marketing that can automate this process for you (P.S. this is who Patrick uses). 

2. Offer a discount on future jobs and referral bonuses. Offer 10-15% off a customer’s next project they book as a thank you for choosing you and being a returning customer. You could also offer a “customer referral” bonus. For every new lead that comes in and says they were referred by another customer, they get credit towards a future project. Incentivising referrals is a low cost way to generate your next sale.

3. Send a small gift after a job wraps to show you appreciate their business. Patrick Readyhough talked about how he sends cookies to every client after he wraps a job. He is 100% inbound and has a $0 marketing spend because one of his top priorities as a business owner is customer appreciation and something as small as a box of cookies, has led him to astronomical referrals and closed jobs. 

Pro Tip: G4 Marketing can help here as well! Patrick utilizes their services to help him manage his job completion cookie deliveries. Learn more here.

Interested in learning more about the importance of thanking your customers and how it can help your business? 

Check out our latest webinar with Patrick Readyhough: “How I sold millions in jobs without buying leads.”