How many new clients do you get from referrals? I would guess that over 90% of your new business comes from this classic, solid, beautiful marketing strategy. It’s quite simple: Do a good job, and people will tell their friends about you.

But for some reason, we’ve been conditioned to believe that we should be getting clients from other sources, such as social media or search engines. If that describes you, I ask you to reconsider. The ironic thing about word-of-mouth referrals is that they will come at you from every angle, often disguised as coming from a different source.

Consider this scenario:

A lead finds you because someone in a Facebook group recommended you. Was that a social media lead or a word-of-mouth referral? It was a referral! That lead didn’t find you based on what you posted on social media, but instead because someone in that group recommended you.

And consider this scenario:

A lead contacts you via direct message on Instagram, stating that they’ve been following you for a while and their friend highly recommended you. Is that a social media lead or a referral lead? Bingo — referral again! They were following you forever, but they weren’t motivated to hire you until their friend made the recommendation.

If you are getting clients by word-of-mouth referral, you likely have a healthy business and solid brand recognition. Let’s capitalize on that, shall we?