Referrals Win Again

You've seen the memes, heard the jokes, maybe even made a few of your own. And you'll find yourself saying this before you know it: "I'm not sure I should buy that — what do I know about ____?" But here's the deal: If it's not a name brand (which is crazy expensive and totally unnecessary), then 90% of the time you don't have to worry about what you're buying because people are going to refer it to you.

And that's why referrals win again.

How do we know? Because they just don't get any more powerful than that. I'll give you an example:

Recently a friend of ours, Andrea, was going through a tough time and decided to sell her car. She placed an ad on Craigslist and waited anxiously to hear back from anyone interested in buying her 2004 Honda Civic for $3800. The day after the ad went up, she received two phone calls from people inquiring about the car — both of whom did not live too far from each other — and said they'd come by to take a look if she wasn't already home.

Andrea was pretty confident that she was going to sell the car and get a good price for it, but she couldn't help feeling a little nervous. She assumed they'd want to test drive the car, so Andrea decided it would be smart to take it out for a quick spin before they arrived.

As she pulled into her driveway after her test drive, there sat a man and woman sitting in an Audi A3 waiting for Andrea. She walked up to their car and asked if they were interested in seeing the Honda. One of them replied — "Yes! We were told you sold your Honda."

"Who referred you?" Andrea asked curiously. "Why would anyone send someone to me when I didn't even have a car for sale?"

The couple exchanged a look and seemed a bit hesitant. The man then replied, "Our friend used your website to find a car to buy."

Andrea's wheels started turning. "It says right here on my website that if we receive two phone calls about a vehicle, then it's more likely that we'll sell it."

The couple looked at each other again and shrugged. They said they were simply looking for transportation so they wouldn't be late for work, they weren't really interested in buying the Honda despite their expectation of earning $3800 on the car. They didn't care what the car looked like as long as it got them from point A to point B.

Andrea reached out to us, and we found a couple who was looking for a Honda Civic for under $4000. The couple met up with Andrea and loved her car even though it had a few minor issues that needed some fixing. When all was said and done, the couple paid $1000 over the asking price. And it was thanks to the power of referral.

The power of referral comes from word-of-mouth advertising which people feel is an extremely credible marketing technique. It is a type of communication that people believe is initiated from a friend, family member or colleague — someone they know, respect, and trust.

A referral fundamentally goes against the grain of traditional marketing. Rather than asking someone to pay attention to you, it asks them to pay attention to their friend's recommendation. And that's how you make an impact on potential customers: You ask them to not trust you, but trust their friends (instead).

Referrals are literally your best chance of selling your product because of the way they command an audience's attention. People generally choose their friends over strangers in almost every business venture they undertake because they want to support other people like themselves. This is the basis of community — people helping each other. And referrals are just one of the many ways in which people help each other.

Andrea didn't give a specific name when she placed her ad on Craigslist. However, she had a pretty good idea who referred these two potential buyers as she had just spoken to them on the phone. They were both friends with Andrea's stepson and had recently retired from their jobs as teachers at a local school. Her stepson was thrilled when he heard that Andrea was able to sell her car because he had been trying to convince her for years to get rid of it, and now his friends came by and helped make that dream a reality for his mom.

What does this story have to do with Window Genie?

As we were writing this blog post, it dawned on us that Andrea could so easily be an owner of a Window Genie franchise. And you can too. Our business model is based on referrals: all of our franchisees refer customers to us and are referred clients by other franchisees. It's the only way we've managed to make such a huge impact in the window cleaning industry in just a couple years.

Not only does this referral system keep our franchise owners motivated and passionate about the work they do each day, but it also enables us to provide a great service for all of our customers. A Window Genie franchise is perfect for anyone who has lots of contacts — friends, family members, co-workers. The business model encourages you to rely on your relationships to build a brand whose reputation is growing by the day.

How have referrals helped your business? We'd love to hear from you! Connect with us on social media using the links below or leave a comment by following this blog post. Share your stories with us and let us know how you've used referrals in your business.

If you are interested in learning more about our Window Genie franchise opportunity, please review our Requirements page for full details. You can also contact us by clicking the button below.

Referrals Win Again

Referrals Win Again

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