Are You Using Your Employees to Gain Construction Referrals? (Plus More Referral Tips!)

Gaining new leads is a constant concern for businesses, and construction companies are no exception. Advertising, networking, customer referrals — all of these are effective methods of getting more leads into your sales funnel. While working these methods, however, don’t neglect another potentially rich source of referrals: your employees. Here are some ways you can look to your employees for construction referrals.

• Ask for referrals: The simplest way to get referrals is to simply ask, so make it a point to ask your employees if they know of anyone who could use your company’s services. An employee’s outside business contacts, plus family, friends, and other associates, could be a good source of referrals.
• Offer incentives and rewards: If you ask your employees for referrals, be prepared to offer some sort of incentive for successful referrals. After all, if you and your company are benefiting from employee referrals, the employees should benefit too. Typical incentives include a cash reward, gift certificates, or additional time off.
• Tap into employee knowledge: Your employees are a potential goldmine of knowledge and expertise, so using this information to gain referrals makes sense. Ask your expert employees to write articles for your website or blog, to create tip sheets or other relevant content, or to contribute information to marketing materials that are sent out to generate leads. Potential customers will appreciate the helpful information they provide.
• Look for insights: Many of your employees will have insights into customer needs and wants that won’t be available anywhere else. Your sales staff, for example, will have direct contacts with customers and leads and are likely to know what they’re asking for. Supervisors and employees in the field will also have direct contact with another segment of customers whose needs and requests can lead to high-quality referrals. Use these insights to your advantage.

For information and tips on how to get your clients to provide referrals without you asking, check out ClickTime’s article on 6 Proven Ways to Get Referrals Without Asking for Them.

Construction Monitor is dedicated to helping building and construction companies manage their businesses with the most recent and most effective data available. Contact us today for more information on employee referrals and how to implement an effective employee referral program for generating more and better leads.