Do you ever wonder why people you have known for some time are not able to help you bring in new business? Maybe it is because they really don’t understand what you do or maybe it is because they don’t understand why you do it or what you need from them. Here are three tips for ensuring that your trusted referral partners are on-board with what you need.

What you do

Let you friends, relatives and trusted referral partners know what you are doing. Give them more than a title. Give them an overview of how you help your clients. The more they know about your business, your clients, and the language you use to describe your business the more they will be able to help.

Why you do it

If you have transitioned into your business from something that seemed quite disparate from what you were previously doing, then they may not be able to make that connection as to why you are doing what you do. It is hard to get people to help you if they feel this does not fit with your skills, your passion, your knowledge, etc. Update them with your reasons for starting your business and why these reasons will help you give great service to your clients.

What do you need

I know that the people that know, like, and trust me genuinely like to see me do well. I also know that if they can help me they will. So, if they are not helping me it may be simply that I have not let them know what they can do for me.

You need to let them know what they can do for you. You may want some of their time to help with marketing, invite people to your grand opening, mention the location, create interest, or you may just want them to spread the word to people they know.

Let them know what you do, why you do it, and how they can help and you’ll probably find you have a lot of extra potential customers connecting with your business.