How to Build a Referral Network

March 16, 2021

By: 

Rebecca Batisto
How to Build a Referral Network

Your clients are the most crucial part of your job in workers’ compensation. Making sure you are anticipating and meeting their needs is the best way to ensure client loyalty. After a certain point, you should be attaining an extensive roster of clients.

Achieving a large network of clients is praiseworthy, but how can you push this further? Using your clients, you can build your own sustainable referral network!

What is a referral network?

A referral network refers to clients providing referrals to new clients. Here are a few ways to reach out and expand your client circle.

Reciprocal referrals

By introducing your clients to potential customers, you show your clients that you are fully invested in their business. Taking this holistic approach will create loyalty amongst your clients, but more than that, it’s an easy introduction to your referral network. Follow up with your client after introducing them to a potential new customer. Ask them how it went, and from there, you could ask for an introduction to someone in their network. If you feel like you need to be specific, look to LinkedIn to see who, in their network, you’d like to meet.

Extending Your Reach Through Social Media

Social media might seem like a place to connect with your friends, but it can be used for much more than that. Businesses now more than ever have moved their advertising ventures to social media. Promoting your workers’ compensation services leads to likes and shares from one person to many! Just one share from a client extends your bubble of influence for fresh eyes to see.

Joining Facebook or LinkedIn groups helps you connect with other people in your profession and can set you up as an expert in the industry. Potential clients can talk to you directly and have the chance to speak to other clients about their experience with you. During these challenging times of the pandemic, social media is an easy way to bond with your client base, and learn from colleagues in the insurance industry.

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Lean On Reciprocal Services

By networking within your industry, you’ll meet other agents that offer similar services but not the same. Inevitably, these agents get phone calls about workers’ comp, just as you receive inquiries about lines that you don’t cover. Why not set up an arrangement where you forward leads to one another?

Prepare to Mingle

Social media is great from a safety perspective, but waiting for your clients to find your presence isn’t the best option. In that case, the way to get your best foot forward is to connect through social events. These can range from business mixers, volunteering with charities or other service groups. That might sound difficult during a pandemic, but virtual events exist for people and companies trying to connect. And when you are attending events in person, always remember to follow up post-event! Allowing your clients to mingle together and with you builds your relationship with you and each other.

In an article by the Journal of Accountancy, CPA accountant Micah Fraim said, “At the beginning, the biggest struggle is getting people to know you even exist.” In-person events allow you to sell yourself to others, but you don’t want to come on too strong. People are more interested in, well, people, not the nameless face of a company. Giving your clients a face to connect to will remind them you are a person, just like them. Mingling will allow you to meet people and be introduced to new clients through your existing clientele.

Maintain Your Network

Congratulations! You have established a referral network! As you continue to grow, don’t forget the people who started it all. Maintaining good relationships with all clients is crucial for your network to stay intact. Losing one client could cause a chain reaction of referrals to drop your services.

What do you do? Though it might sound easy, keeping in touch goes a long way in letting your clients know you care about them. Reaching out, maybe with a monthly newsletter, goes a long way. Even providing a survey starts a conversation with your clients and allows you to consider their feedback. Providing these opportunities gives your clients incentive to refer your services to other people.

Are you ready to expand your referral network? At Normandy Insurance, we pride ourselves on applying a personal touch to every single client. Getting to know our clients has allowed us to resolve our workers’ compensation claims for their employees quickly. If this sounds like the right environment for you, become an agent with Normandy today!

Learn about becoming an agent: Becoming An Agent | Email Us: info@normandyins.com | Call Us: 1-866-688-6442

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