Successful Customer Follow Up

For decades, I have made it a practice to refer my clients to
vendors who can provide services those clients need … and that I
don’t offer myself.

I have also made it a policy never to accept a referral fee from
any vendor, though many offer it, and some even argue with me
when I turn it down.

I do not accept referral fees for this reason: my primary
mission is to give my clients the best recommendations I can -
and that means being totally objective.

It follows logically that I make recommendations that are the
best for my client, not the most profitable for me.

And yes, sometimes what’s good for the client is not good for
the vendor.

For instance, I have many people calling who are eager to pay me
thousands of dollars to write a promotion for them.

In many instances, I turn them down, advising that their idea
won’t work or their product won’t fly.

By telling them this, I am saving them from financial disaster …
but I am also talking myself out of a nice, fat copywriting fee.

Even worse, my recommendation that they not proceed is based on
my nearly three decades of marketing experience.

Therefore, the advice is valuable to them … but I am not getting
paid a dime for it, as they have not engaged me on a consulting
basis.

I want my clients to know that the advice I give them is always
in their best interest … and if I took referral fees from
vendors, it would create a potential conflict.

I sincerely believe I would always recommend the best vendor for
the job – not the vendor who paid me the highest commission.

But could I … or the client … be 100% certain I was always
motivated by their best interests, and not a juicy referral fee?

The reason I bring this up is that PF, a copywriter, recently
contacted me asking for referrals.

But unlike the many other copywriters who want referrals from
me, PF was offering me something in return – a free lobster.

Or rather, a $50 gift certificate to a Web site selling Maine
lobsters for each new client I referred to her.

Now, while I am against taking referral fees, I do make it a
practice to send a small thank-you gift to people who refer
business to me.

So if it’s OK for me to send a small gift to a referral source,
it seems like it should be OK for vendors to send small gifts to
me when I am their referral source.

Now, I don’t want them to do it. And I openly discourage it.

But, if a nice gift arrives in the mail, I usually don’t send it
back. I keep it and thank the vendor for it.

I don’t think a small gift influences who gets my referrals -
except, PF’s free lobster offer sticks in my mind.

Actually, I don’t eat lobster, which I know is unusual.

Any food that comes in its own armor is not for me … and
truthfully, I don’t even like the texture or taste.

But ….

My oldest son Alex loves lobster … and a $50 lobster would put a
smile on his face.

So when I am asked for a referral to a copywriter these days, by
clients who can’t afford my fees or to wait until I am
available, I find PF’s name popping up in my mind first.

Should you take – or give – referral fees from and to other
vendors?

That’s up to you.

But my position on this issue is: make your recommendations
“pure,” unbiased, and objective – and let your clients know it.

That way you get something far more valuable than the referral
commission the vendor wants to pay you.

You get your client’s trust – and a reputation in your industry
as someone who is honest and trustworthy.

That’s something – unlike a lobster – that money can’t buy.

Sincerely,