Story time…

We have a cleaner who visits twice a month to clean our apartment. She’s been doing so for about a year.

She’s lovely, super reliable, trustworthy and does a great job every time.

I’ve recommended her when a friend has mentioned they are looking for a cleaner, but I haven’t proactively asked around.

Today she mentioned that things have been tough recently as a few of her regular customers have left Lisbon and she’s been struggling to make ends meet.

I asked if she was ok with me sending a message to a few friends letting them know about her services. She said yes.

So, I reached out to a few friends in Lisbon and also shared her contact details in a small expat WhatsApp group.

In under 10 minutes, 3 people reached out to her as they are currently looking for a cleaner. And I’m sure a few more people will do so when they see the message.

For weeks she was worried about finances, looking at alternative job opportunities, but all she needed to do was ask for a referral.

And it’s the same in B2B land!

We often feel bad or too needy when asking for referrals, but the reality is, most people are ok being asked.

If you can tie your asks with the moments of value that you deliver to your customers, it can become even more powerful.

Examples:

• completed the onboarding process ahead of schedule (because you always underpromise and overdeliver) – ASK
• reached the first milestone of an engagement – ASK
• a customer shares positive feedback – ASK
• etc

So the TL;DR is:

Don’t be afraid of asking for referrals, all it takes is one small ask and the worst thing that can happen is that your customer doesn’t refer someone (no biggie!)

And, if anyone is looking for a reliable cleaner in Lisbon, please hit me up in the DMs.

Laters on the menjay 🤘