In 2007, I decided to take the entrepreneurial leap; I left my safe W-2 job and partnered with a small company to manage a new division that was completely in line with my expertise. (I was four weeks pregnant at the time and didn’t know it; not the best timing—just sayin’). A year later, with a four-month-old, I had a client encourage me to leave that small firm and start my own company. They would become my first and biggest client for two years. Until they weren’t, and I had to quickly start bringing on new clients to survive.

It didn’t end well, and I wish I could blame the recession—but that wouldn’t be true. During months and months of reflection and talking to other successful business owners, I discovered where it all went wrong. One of the key issues was that I hadn’t establish a system to bring in new clients in a way that worked for me.

My clients had to know, like, and trust me to hire me. I found that most potential clients were more willing to take the recommendation of a colleague than just randomly find me on the internet. So all that “brand and credibility” building I did was for naught. (Not even my articles published in impressive magazines or my interview with Bloomberg News could save me.)

What I needed, but didn’t have, was a way to generate referrals. While working at a corporate job after the business failed, I researched referrals. But I didn’t like what I found. It didn’t fit me or my values, and it left me feeling inauthentic.

So, I set out to crack the code on generating referrals WITHOUT asking. And crack it I did! When I started my next entrepreneurial venture, I applied my referral strategy and had crazy success.

In my first year as a business coach, I generated 112 referrals that I did not ask for. Since then, year over year, I have been able to generate triple digit referrals. 

When demand for my coaching services went up, supply went down, and my clients noticed. It was harder to get on my schedule, and they wanted to know why. So, I started teaching them my referral plan and they started having the same success as well. In some cases, better success than me.

Get a glimpse at my referral strategy in my freebie guide. You’re never going to look back—promise!

Want more?
Okay, here’s the personal stuff: While I love my work, there is more to me than just my obsession with referrals. Here are a few random tidbits:

-I am a Red Sox loving Southern girl from South Carolina and proudly call Charlotte, NC home.

-I am a wife to one and mother to three. Two of our kids—our big-hearted, silly son and our brave, confident daughter—are biological. A few years ago we “acquired” our third as we took custody of our story-telling, joke-cracking nephew.

-I went to college to be the next Katie Couric, majoring in Broadcast Journalism. I mean, somebody had to replace her, might as well be me (ummm, well, no).

-Becoming an entrepreneur wasn’t a crazy stretch for me. In fact, my family is crawling with entrepreneurs but the crazy kind. Yes, I think you are crazy to own a restaurant but I can say that because I know firsthand…I’m the granddaughter, daughter, sister, wife and niece of crazy restaurant owners. But there is one big difference that separate me from them. And that’s my business failure.

-The Randalls are a house divided! Yes, this Red Sox loving Southern girl married a die-hard from New York, Yankee fan.

And, finally…

I love working with business owners who provide valuable service to their clients. Because business owners who care are uniquely positioned to receive referrals. You just need to know what to do, how to do it, and what to say while doing it.