Referral marketing

Small Business Marketer John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing gave some good tips about how to get referrals in an interview with MarketingSherpa.com:

• Identify who does business with people you want to do business with.
• Talk to them about how to qualify and pass along leads.
• Give them feedback on which leads were hot and which were not.
• Reward them for their trouble with a pre-determined incentive.

This scenario makes good business sense, but it raises an issue I've struggled with: Do people refer business to you for the reward, or because you do good work?

Conversely, if you refer business to someone, do you expect payment in return?

A close colleague who shares my aversion to paid referrals once reminded me that good things do come from good deeds, but it might take awhile.

I don't expect a kickback for sending work to people I know will do a good job. But, if someone refers work to me, I always try to express appropriate thanks with a token of my appreciation.