Was talking with a client this morning - we were chatting about referrals, and they wanted to know who else in their industry I wanted to work with.  I was flattered, but the funny thing is my first response was I didn't need more referrals from his industry - I needed referrals from the best people he knew.

We've been very fortunate in our business.  Everything Franki and I do is referral-based (or from searches or blogposts), and it has kept the lights on so far, so it seems to be working.   But we don't take every client that comes down the pike.  It's not that we're elitists, or even terribly picky - it's that our brand of selling requires that we have an idea that if executed properly, will bring returns for our clients.

Basically - if I can't figure out how to use your website (or blog or online presence) to make money, I don't do a proposal for you.  I'd rather pass you on to someone else or just give you a few words of encouragement to do it on your own.  The effect of this, has been clients we really like.  In social media terms, we're picking the best brands that have the best customer service to work with, and that makes our projects a lot more successful.

Now, we're not perfect - and we're not all-knowing, but I'd say that even when a project fails to deliver, we build something of value for the client, and end up assisting them in another way.  If the website doesn't sell enough of the product, one of my key referrals with another client leads to a big sale that covers cost.  If the market for a product isn't there, the website is used to launch another service offering that is more profitable. 

So the answer, of who to refer to us, is a simple.  Refer to us the best people you know. Refer people with a light in their eyes, who get up each morning excited about what they're doing.  Give me a dozen of those clients a year, and we'll remake the world.

Was talking with a client this morning - we were chatting about referrals, and they wanted to know who else in their industry I wanted to work with.  I was flattered, but the funny thing is my first response was I didn't need more referrals from his industry - I needed referrals from the best people he knew.

We've been very fortunate in our business.  Everything Franki and I do is referral-based (or from searches or blogposts), and it has kept the lights on so far, so it seems to be working.   But we don't take every client that comes down the pike.  It's not that we're elitists, or even terribly picky - it's that our brand of selling requires that we have an idea that if executed properly, will bring returns for our clients.

Basically - if I can't figure out how to use your website (or blog or online presence) to make money, I don't do a proposal for you.  I'd rather pass you on to someone else or just give you a few words of encouragement to do it on your own.  The effect of this, has been clients we really like.  In social media terms, we're picking the best brands that have the best customer service to work with, and that makes our projects a lot more successful.

Now, we're not perfect - and we're not all-knowing, but I'd say that even when a project fails to deliver, we build something of value for the client, and end up assisting them in another way.  If the website doesn't sell enough of the product, one of my key referrals with another client leads to a big sale that covers cost.  If the market for a product isn't there, the website is used to launch another service offering that is more profitable. 

So the answer, of who to refer to us, is a simple.  Refer to us the best people you know. Refer people with a light in their eyes, who get up each morning excited about what they're doing.  Give me a dozen of those clients a year, and we'll remake the world.