Are you struggling to get more clients? Maybe you’re a new hair professional straight out of school. Or maybe you’ve moved and have lost clients due to the new location. Or perhaps you took a long break from the hair industry and now you feel ready to hop back in. Whatever the case, getting more client referrals is just one way to get more clients, but it’s the least expensive way to build your client base.

Here are some ways to get more client referrals:

The Good Ol’ Business Card

According to Ivan Zoot, barber and author of $100 Haircutter, one of the best ways to get more referrals is to pass out business cards. He as a three-step process anyone can do to gain new clients.

1. Express gratitude for the opportunity to cut their hair
2. Tell them you appreciate their business
3. Say to them “If I gave you 2 cards would you send me 2 friends?” Wait for them to say yes and then extend the cards. Don’t as for referrals. Ask for friends.

Set a goal to give out 100 business cards a day or month and you will surely gain new clients. Start your goal small and work your way up to sending out as many business cards as you can.  On your business card be sure to have your name, business name, phone number with area code, address with zip code, email address, website and important social handles. Keep the card as clean as possible so that the information is easy to read. Don’t use fancy fonts or a crazy background design.

So who do you give business cards to? The ideal person to approach is someone with great hair because they probably appreciate good hair, pay more for hair service and probably buy hair product. The first thing you might say to them is… “OMG I love your hair!” Keep the conversation short and tell them to look at your work on Instagram, website or wherever you showcase your best work. If you are sending someone to your work, make sure the work posted is attractive. This is your portfolio and it represents an immediate snapshot of what you can do.

You can watch the Facebook Live where Ivan discusses referrals.

Instagram Client Referrals

Of course you should continue to market your work on social media. But one thing you should keep in mind is that your Instagram followers are either already customers or most likely they are never going to be customers of yours. Those who will never be a customer know who you are and maybe appreciate your work, but either don’t live close enough, are fellow industry professionals who admire your work, or they already have a stylist they go to. So it’s important to get exposure to people who have no idea who you are.

How do you do this? For your current clients take before and after pictures. Then, send them to your client. Ask them to post their before and after picture on their Instagram. Why is this important? Your client’s follower are likely not following you already. So this is completely new exposure and the best referral you can get. When your client posts your work on their profile, all of your client’s followers now know who you are, where you are and they know that your friend is your client which is a powerful referral building tool. Be sure to ask them to tag you in their post. If they forget, comment on the post and tag yourself. Ivan discusses this tactic in a Facebook Live.

Referral Program

Another great way to get referrals is to adopt a customer referral program. Give your clients an incentive for referring a new customer. The incentive could be a discount on their next service or a free product. You name the incentive, but it should be attractive enough for someone to put forth the energy to actually ask their friends and family.

Just be Amazing

The best thing you can do to get the best referrals is to just be amazing. Build a reputation that surpasses others and makes your clients talk so highly of you that you don’t have to do extra marketing to get referrals. Your client base will just naturally build over time as you retain current ones that become loyal to you and gain new ones from their organic referral.

Networking

Build relationships with other complimentary businesses and provide referrals to them. They in turn will appreciate the referrals and will refer their customers to you. One possible relationship is with a local makeover specialist or dating coach. These people are in business to help people look and feel their best. They can refer their clients to you and vice versa.

There are many opportunities to gain referrals. It just takes a little creativity and follow through. Getting new clients doesn’t have to be stressful or difficult, but it will take a little work on your part. So what are you waiting for? Go get those clients!

If you have any other suggestions for how to gain new referral clients, leave us a comment below.