This week I am teaching EntreLeadership Performance Series here in Tennessee, and will be finishing the week off with a couple of Formula races in Savannah. I’ve asked some of the incredibly talented commenters of this blog to share their wisdom. Here’s a great post on getting business referrals by Joel Fortner. Joel’s company, BlueBridge Communication, specializes in helping entrepreneurs effectively market their business.

It’s a fact. Unless you stink, your business gets referrals. But do you know why?

Sure, great service, price, experience, products matter, but that’s not why people refer your business. They don’t do it to help you out or even as a favor, either. Rather, they do it to make themselves feel good.

Think about it. You have a fantastic experience at a local Italian restaurant. The following day, you get into a conversation about good places to eat. And what do you do? You recommend the Italian restaurant.

Days later, you run into the same person. They tell you they went to the restaurant you recommended and loved it!

What happens then? You feel great about yourself. You don’t, however, feel great about the business owner and how you helped grow their business and provided income to a server there.

No, it’s all about you.

Now why does this matter to you as a small business entrepreneur? If you’re like so many of your peers, you don’t ask for referrals from your customers because it feels awkward. You feel uncertain about their perception of you, like you’re asking for a favor; or you’re afraid they’ll think you can’t drum up business on your own.

This kind of thinking is wrong. People love to refer businesses they love, so don’t be afraid to ask your customers who clearly love you to refer you.

Question: How do you orchestrate business referrals?

This post is an excerpt from Joel’s new eBook, Small Business Guide to Marketing: Ideas You Must Know & Mistakes You Must Avoid. You can get the 30-page eBook for free simply by subscribing to his marketing blog. Click here.