One of the restaurants that I frequent has stunning a location, fabulous live music and brilliant service. Up until recently there was one small deficiency, the food menu lacked a cheese plate! During one of my visits the executive chef popped out of the kitchen to say hello to his regular customers and I was thrilled when he mentioned he would like to add a cheese plate to the menu. I told the chef about Buchanan’s who provide specialist cheeses to London restaurants and now I’m delighted to say that the restaurant has a cheese plate on its menu – all thanks to a targeted referral.

Recently someone I know very well explained that despite being employed their personal finances were becoming complicated and they felt they had need to submit a tax return. They asked if I would recommend an accountant. Without hesitation I referred them to my own accountant who is brilliant at unscrambling complicated finances and offers a real peace of mind. Thanks to a targeted referral my accountant was able to win new business and my friend has an excellent accountant.

The targeted referral is one of the most valuable of all lead generators and ways to win new business. It differs from introductions and recommendations in that it is made at a time of need for your specific product or service. It is at its most powerful when the referrer is a user of the product or service so they can speak from first hand experience.

Targeted referrals are made by referrers who:

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• Like you and have a preference for you over others.
  
• Know and understand what you do to the point of being able to explain it to others.
  
• Trust you and trust your product or services.
  

Growing your business through targeted referrals is the ‘holy grail’ of new business development. It is the perfect storm of client need and supplier availability that means you win new business.

Question: How many people know what you do to the degree that they could refer your product or services so that you win new business?

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