6 Key Strategies for Getting More Client Referrals
Design and building professionals share advice on how your former clients can help you land future clients
Asking your clients to refer you to potential future clients should be part of your business strategy from day one. And while there isn’t a one-size-fits-all method for asking for referrals, there are a few things you can do to start building the right approach for your business. Here, home builders, architects and interior designers share what works for them. See if their ideas could be effective for you too.
Richard Harp, home builder and owner of Richard Harp Homes, also focuses on Houzz first, but he also makes an effort to maintain a general presence elsewhere to broaden the potential of more clients finding his work online. “We ask all clients to recommend us on Houzz, and we’ve asked a handful of folks to review us on Google, Yahoo, Facebook — maybe five on each platform just to have a presence there,” Harp says. “We have the most on LinkedIn, maybe 44 referrals, as it’s been around longer.”
Elena Eskandari, interior designer for Case Design/Remodeling, embraces a diversified digital strategy as well. “I use the link Houzz provides for reviews on Houzz, and email clients personally as well,” Eskandari says. “Case, as a company, does a great job sending out newsletters to past clients, posting new-project pictures, progress pictures, renderings and other drawings on the social media accounts.”
Leveraging social media accounts is a good way to make sure your work is staying top of mind in your area. Amanda Heys of Locati Architects says most of her firm’s clients come from word-of-mouth and through social media, arriving at her Houzz profile page and then reaching out.
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Elena Eskandari, interior designer for Case Design/Remodeling, embraces a diversified digital strategy as well. “I use the link Houzz provides for reviews on Houzz, and email clients personally as well,” Eskandari says. “Case, as a company, does a great job sending out newsletters to past clients, posting new-project pictures, progress pictures, renderings and other drawings on the social media accounts.”
Leveraging social media accounts is a good way to make sure your work is staying top of mind in your area. Amanda Heys of Locati Architects says most of her firm’s clients come from word-of-mouth and through social media, arriving at her Houzz profile page and then reaching out.
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2. Ask Former Clients to Accept Calls From Your Potential Clients
Sometimes you’ve got to facilitate the “word” in a word-of-mouth strategy. Asking your current or former clients to make themselves available to speak to your potential clients and put in a good word for you can fast-track your reputation in the community.
“We have a list of client references that potential clients are welcome to call,” Heys says.
Amundson also employs this approach. “We provide a client reference list with our marketing packet, which we leave with prospective clients after a sales meeting, and tell them we can connect them with someone who has done a similar project in the past if they would like,” Amundson says. “If they take us up on this offer, we contact a former client and ask if they’d be willing to speak to a prospective client — almost all are willing to do this. This process seems to bolster trust during the sales process.”
Kitchen designer Sarah Robertson of Studio Dearborn goes one step further. She gets former clients on board to offer an in-person tour of their kitchen to Robertson’s potential clients. That way the potential clients can see how her kitchen designs function by walking the layout, opening drawers, touching materials and speaking with her former clients about how the process went.
Sometimes you’ve got to facilitate the “word” in a word-of-mouth strategy. Asking your current or former clients to make themselves available to speak to your potential clients and put in a good word for you can fast-track your reputation in the community.
“We have a list of client references that potential clients are welcome to call,” Heys says.
Amundson also employs this approach. “We provide a client reference list with our marketing packet, which we leave with prospective clients after a sales meeting, and tell them we can connect them with someone who has done a similar project in the past if they would like,” Amundson says. “If they take us up on this offer, we contact a former client and ask if they’d be willing to speak to a prospective client — almost all are willing to do this. This process seems to bolster trust during the sales process.”
Kitchen designer Sarah Robertson of Studio Dearborn goes one step further. She gets former clients on board to offer an in-person tour of their kitchen to Robertson’s potential clients. That way the potential clients can see how her kitchen designs function by walking the layout, opening drawers, touching materials and speaking with her former clients about how the process went.
3. Invest in Quality Photography and Video
Your online presence and your word-of-mouth recommendations get your foot in the door, but it’s your portfolio of work that will likely clinch the deal. Investing in high-quality professional photography and video of your completed projects is one of the strongest referrals you can have.
“As a custom builder, you are basically building yourself out of a job every time you complete a project, and you don’t have a model home or anything to really show your work once your client moves into it,” says Pierrette Tierney-Magleby, vice president of business development for custom home builder Magleby Construction. “We make it a point to take professional architectural photos and occasionally also video or drone footage of our projects so we have a portfolio of images.
“We also ask our clients to do written or video testimonials about their experience working with Magleby Construction. We use those testimonials on both our website and other social media platforms like Houzz. We were proud to have received a Best of Houzz award for service in 2018 and we have collected 45 reviews. For our website, we have found that the video testimonials are particularly effective because you can really see the sentiment and emotion of the client.”
Your online presence and your word-of-mouth recommendations get your foot in the door, but it’s your portfolio of work that will likely clinch the deal. Investing in high-quality professional photography and video of your completed projects is one of the strongest referrals you can have.
“As a custom builder, you are basically building yourself out of a job every time you complete a project, and you don’t have a model home or anything to really show your work once your client moves into it,” says Pierrette Tierney-Magleby, vice president of business development for custom home builder Magleby Construction. “We make it a point to take professional architectural photos and occasionally also video or drone footage of our projects so we have a portfolio of images.
“We also ask our clients to do written or video testimonials about their experience working with Magleby Construction. We use those testimonials on both our website and other social media platforms like Houzz. We were proud to have received a Best of Houzz award for service in 2018 and we have collected 45 reviews. For our website, we have found that the video testimonials are particularly effective because you can really see the sentiment and emotion of the client.”
4. Branch Out
Perhaps the most important advice from professionals on referrals is that you shouldn’t rely on one single strategy for finding new clients. You should anchor your referral approach to an online presence and word-of-mouth system but reserve some time and effort for trying new things.
Alan Looney, president of design-build firm Castle Homes, has had success with branching out. “We have utilized an online survey that is sent out to clients both midway through their home build and then again two months after they’ve been in their home,” Looney says. “They answer questions that offer us insight into how they felt about our building process. They also will leave overall comments regarding their experience in working with Castle Homes. Those comments are then used on our website for potential customers to see when viewing our online presence.
“Because of our reputation and 27 years in business in middle Tennessee, we’ve developed a strong brand with our community, as well as real estate agents that are happy to refer us,” Looney says. “Showcase events are a big part of our referral process. Visitors to our show homes contact us and tell their friends about our show houses and the quality that they viewed.”
Perhaps the most important advice from professionals on referrals is that you shouldn’t rely on one single strategy for finding new clients. You should anchor your referral approach to an online presence and word-of-mouth system but reserve some time and effort for trying new things.
Alan Looney, president of design-build firm Castle Homes, has had success with branching out. “We have utilized an online survey that is sent out to clients both midway through their home build and then again two months after they’ve been in their home,” Looney says. “They answer questions that offer us insight into how they felt about our building process. They also will leave overall comments regarding their experience in working with Castle Homes. Those comments are then used on our website for potential customers to see when viewing our online presence.
“Because of our reputation and 27 years in business in middle Tennessee, we’ve developed a strong brand with our community, as well as real estate agents that are happy to refer us,” Looney says. “Showcase events are a big part of our referral process. Visitors to our show homes contact us and tell their friends about our show houses and the quality that they viewed.”
5. Ask Other Pros to Refer You
Homeowners aren’t the only source of referrals. Other architects, designers, builders, subcontractors and trade professionals can also help widen and strengthen your reputation and lead-generation engine. These pros can refer clients to you in cases where they aren’t the right fit for the job or are too busy to take on additional work. When you send out requests for online reviews to your former clients, make a point to send requests to professionals on the job who can speak positively about your contribution.
Homeowners aren’t the only source of referrals. Other architects, designers, builders, subcontractors and trade professionals can also help widen and strengthen your reputation and lead-generation engine. These pros can refer clients to you in cases where they aren’t the right fit for the job or are too busy to take on additional work. When you send out requests for online reviews to your former clients, make a point to send requests to professionals on the job who can speak positively about your contribution.
6. Make It Part of a Party
Asking for referrals and reviews can be somewhat awkward, especially when the excitement of the project completion has passed and clients have moved on to other projects or are busy enjoying their new space. Capitalize on that initial enthusiasm by asking for reviews as part of a celebration of finishing a project.
“We typically have a close-out celebration and meeting at the conclusion of a project where we provide a list of the selections along with care and maintenance for all items selected within the renovated space,” designer Nadia Subaran of Aidan Design says. “At that time, we also ask clients for a review and provide links to review websites, one of which is Houzz.”
More for Pros on Houzz
See more from our Resilience series
Learn about Houzz Pro business software
Browse millions of photos for inspiration
Talk with your peers in the Pro-to-Pro discussions
Join the Houzz Trade Program
Asking for referrals and reviews can be somewhat awkward, especially when the excitement of the project completion has passed and clients have moved on to other projects or are busy enjoying their new space. Capitalize on that initial enthusiasm by asking for reviews as part of a celebration of finishing a project.
“We typically have a close-out celebration and meeting at the conclusion of a project where we provide a list of the selections along with care and maintenance for all items selected within the renovated space,” designer Nadia Subaran of Aidan Design says. “At that time, we also ask clients for a review and provide links to review websites, one of which is Houzz.”
More for Pros on Houzz
See more from our Resilience series
Learn about Houzz Pro business software
Browse millions of photos for inspiration
Talk with your peers in the Pro-to-Pro discussions
Join the Houzz Trade Program
An online presence will increasingly become the strongest tool you have for landing new clients. Even if someone is referred to you by word-of-mouth, they will check you out online first to browse photos of your work and read reviews. Treat your online presence as if it’s the first impression you make on a client, and make sure you diversify your presence so you control that impression no matter how potential clients find you.
“At the end of a project, we often ask our clients to leave a review for us on Houzz or Google — usually Houzz,” says Brit Amundson, president and owner of TreHus Architects + Interior Designers + Builders. “Online reviews are great because they are one of the first things prospective clients see if they look for us, and they boost our positioning with search engines.”
How to Get Better Reviews on Houzz