Many small businesses and independent landscape designers depend on referrals. These are the lifeblood of our company.

Are you taking the time to thank those who are referring others to you? Do you have a specific "Referral Rewards" system in place?

Referrals come from many groups of people--past clients, other design professionals, contractors, realtors, etc. Each should be thanked and rewarded.

My system involves two steps. First, upon receiving a referral, I send a "Thank You" card to the referral source. Second, I reward the source of the referral AFTER I've completed a significant amount of work such as an installation or landscape plan.

The reward is typically based on the size of the project. A referral leading to a $100,000 installation project will earn a larger reward than a $2,000 design project.

I always try to make the reward unique to the individual. For example, my irrigation contractor is a wine aficionado. I know exactly what to get him when he refers someone to me.

Here are some ideas for "Referral Rewards":

• Donation to referrer's charity of choice
• Charity gift cards - Check out www.tisbest.org (very cool)
• Gift card to restaurants
• Memberships to local botanical gardens
• Flats of annuals
• Services - For example, one month of gardening services

Check out Jeffrey Scott's book, "The Referral Advantage." He dedicates an entire section on this topic called "Incentive Systems: What works, what doesn't."

Click here for a special offer Jeffrey and I put together for you.

All the best,

Chris Heiler, Editor
Follow me on Twitter- http://twitter.com/chris_heiler