I was wondering if anyone had ever used a referral incentive type of program as a way of getting people to find new leads and possible gigs for you?

In other words, you offer a 20% payback to them or a set fee to anyone who sends you a lead your way that turns into a paying job.

Has anyone done anything like this? How has it worked for you? How was your incentive figured out and what was it based upon?

Thanks in advance. It seems like a great way to get others working for you and sending leads your direction.

I use it. Car salesman call it "bird dogging". I have a couple of party shops that have my brochures with space for their stamp, and I pay them $25 if people booking via them.

Gets me a few shows but no a lot.

Kyle,
Referrals are on of the best ways to get shows. I tend to ask for referrals from people I know, people I meet, and even people who hate me. (Well... maybe not them.)
Point is… if you offer a quality show, people will only need one incentive to help you: They want their friend to have the same experience as they want to be the one who "found" you.
You bring up a good point though. May I offer a good way to handle incentives? Instead of offering a client money, offer them free shows. Print up a referral sheet and leave it with your client at the end of your show. This sheet has three blanks where a name can be written. As soon as that client refers three people who book with you, they can return that sheet to you to redeem a free show of their choice.

Adam:
Thank you my friend for taking the time to post to me about my questions. I do appreciate anyone who takes their time out like you have.

I have been reading up a lot lately in my quest to study, learn and implement new marketing ideas for use in my own magic. With these new marketing skills, and the skills I already have in graphic design and illustration, I am hoping to be able to really increase my businesses in the years ahead.

I feel that I am leaving a lot of so called "cash" on the table at each gig I do. If I do not tap into them to get them working for me in the way of referrals, then I am losing out on a lot of great potential income.

If my shows are as good as people have told me they are, then there is no reason why I can not get them to refer me to others. I just have to give them more of an incentive and a means in which to do this.

My main questions, which you touched base on, was what are the best ways to handle and deal with this?

Neale mentioned one method in regards to payment and giving out money. I just am not sure cash is the best means for which to reward my clients who refer me.

As I have been reading, sometimes a thought felt gift can be more rewarding to them and work just as well for you.

I like your ideas regarding free shows and the use of a referral sheet given to them at the end of a gig. I just also feel that clients should be wanting to refer you as often as possible.

If this is the case, then it would make sense to try and reward your clients for anyone they refer to you even if it does NOT result in a gig you end up taking. This acts as encouragement to the client and shows you really care and appreciate their efforts. This certainly does not have to be exspensive and can even be a thank you card with a simple gift.

I am just learning now that any time you can establish better relations with your clients, both new and past, it is a good thing. It keeps you fresh in their minds and gets them wanting to work for you.

Adam:
Have you tried this system out that you mention? Has it worked well for you? What has been your return rate? Do you find it too much work for someone to fill out the stuff and take the time to mail it back to you.. or do they do that freely knowing they will get a free show from it?

I like the idea of getting out a referral sheet after the party and I intend to create one myself as part of my after show thank you package. I am trying to figure out just what it should say and how I want to work it.

I like the letter idea but not so sure I am sold on the 3 lines. I would feel that the client may think this is too much soliciting and they would not want to freely put names down of people they associate closely with. I may be wrong about this, but just thinking off the top of my head.

What I may do is this:
- Have a thank you package created that will have a small gift and a thank you letter that also includes the referral idea in it.
- Referral info. tells them that if they enjoyed the show we would appreciate it if they could write back a short referral letter in the space provided and mail it back to us.
- Also mention about my incentive rewards program
- If anyone refers a name to me (regardless of if I book or not), I send them a thank you postcard with a simple small gift
- If they send a referral that I end up booking, then I may send then the postcard along with possibly movie tickets or an american express gift card.

This is just a work in progress and may change a lot. Just wondering what others have done and what you think. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Kyle,
I think you are right on the money with your ideas. Remember, what works for me might not work for you and vice versa. However, your ideas on the thank you package are clever. How many magicians do you think really do this? Not many. But the pros do!

The real secret to getting people to work for you is... just ask. If you develop a friendship with each customer and really make them feel like they are your close friend, they will work for you. That’s why good note taking is important. You want to remember their birthdays.

The idea that Neal offered works when dealing with party planners. They have dollar signs in their eyes. Money is their language. However, when dealing with "friends" it's best not to reward with money. In fact, the best way to lose a "friend" is to start some sort of business dealings with them.

Gifts are an excellent way to reward a client for getting you a show. I think a gift certificate to a nice restaurant is a great way to say thank you. (You might even work out a deal with the restaurant to get the gift certificates for free. But that's a different story for another day.)
About referrals... asking a stranger to give you names of their close friends isn't cool. BUT asking your "friend" to put you in contact with other people is just fine. Step one: make them a friend. Step two: ask for names. Of course this works better in some circumstances.

The referral sheet idea that I offered is not original with me. I know a well known magician who uses this. I do not. So I cannot comment on it other than to say that it seems to work for him.

Might I offer another idea which I personally use? You have a special business card which has your ad on the front and a space on the back. In that space you write the name of the "friend" who's show you are doing. At the close, you give your "friend" a few of these cards with their name already on it. Suggest that a referral gets a nice dinner on you. (With a wink and a hug)

When the phone rings, ask if there is a name on their card. They will usually tell you before you ask. Make sure the gift certificates get mailed that day.
Soon, you will have a lot of new "friends". Hopefully, you won't need quotation marks when describing them.

Adam:
Thanks for the great information andideas. I also appreciate you commenting that you felt my ideas were right on the money. Thank you.

I have been reading up on this and doing research and trying to figure out what will be the best rewards method that I can use for my own markets here in Philadelphia. I think I am close but still have to figure out the best means of doing this to:

1) get the word about the rewards program out there
2) not overwhelm the person with too many things to read or too many actions to take
3) make it as easy for them to respond as I can

I like the business card idea with printing their name on the back of the card. This way you can determine exactly from which show you the referral came from.

I could design them to be "referral cards". The front tells a little about me and the benefits I can do for them while it also has a place on the back for me to sign their name as well. Hmm that could work.

What does it say on the front of the cards that you use? Is it your standard business card front, or do you have it saying something different?

Nice timing!

I just uploaded the latest issue of MagicCoach
and it contains an extract from the new Secrets of Sucess book. The article they sent me is about Referals, so not only does it address some of your question, but also allows you to get a feel for the book.

The issue can be found here
http://www.achieving.com.au/magiccoach03nov1.htm

Thanks. I just saw that in my e-mail as well. I will have to get a chance to read that. Much thanks.

In his "Ultimate Insider Secrets Marketing Program for Magicians", Dave Dee suggests sending the person who refers your services a lotto ticket. I have not yet tried the suggestion personally, but it sounds interesting.

Ben Benjay
Manila, Philippines

Of course, the drawback of the lotto ticket idea is that you may actually OFFEND the customer or client. You do not want to detract from your relationship with them.

If your customer or client is a conservative religous person, they might view a lotto ticket as gambling. This is how my wife and I feel, and so we don't want them given to us as gifts (it's been done before).

Perhaps it is because we do so much work for churches and in the local Christian community for moms and dads at private birthdays, etc. , that I dislike this idea so much (some other religions may have views on lotto tickets being gambling, too).

Think, "How well do you know this customer?", before plunging ahead with the lotto ticket idea. There are "safer" gifts.

Another perspective from a professional, out there in the trenches.

As my friend Dean Hankey, from The Dean's List, always says, "THINK and grow rich!"

The Gr8 DonaldD.

A gift is a way of saying thank you to someone that refers you to a new client.

IMHO
person refers you = thank you or gift
organization refers you = thank you or gift
business that hss used you = thank you

banquet manager or similar who can refer you again & again = cash gift. always the right color & always the right size & the one gift that will keep referrals coming

Donald is right. I have also heard that lotto tickets can offend some people. I certainly do not want to offend anyone if I am trying to build re-elationships.

I think a simple gift of something like a gift certificate to one of their favorite restaurants might serve me better.

Your thoughts?

I like to use a nice Thank You letter to the person that referred me. A genuine Thank You can go a lot further than money or a gift, especially if there is a compliment to that person. Besides, you would have to figure out what gift would really appeal to that person, and then you have set a precedent, for future referrals.
I don't expect a restaurant to pay me for a referral
I just expect them to give the person or persons that I referred a really good experience.
THis in turn makes me feel good knowing that I contributed to helping someone have a good time.

Cab:
I agree with you. But in my magic shows, I like to reward my referrals with a small thank you and a small gift.

I do this because I genuinely want the person to know I appreciate their referral and I want to reward them so as they may want to continue referring shows to me. I also do it so that I am building up my relationship with my client. Any chance I get to build upon that relationship, I am going to do so. To me that is just good business and it has really shown itself to work.

Kyle