The Referral Handbook
Sales · Nº 69
The Referral Handbook
Referral Programs and Customer Advocates, without Relying on Luck
You say most of your customers come from referrals. How many? From whom?
24 tools, a spreadsheet, and one example company worked through from start to finish, so referrals stop being luck and become something you ask for, track, and say thanks for.
You get 24 tools to map where your customers come from, ask for referrals at the right moment, write a message customers can forward, reward both sides, and run the program on one page of rules. Plus an 8-tab spreadsheet, filled in with the example.
A book explains the method. This handbook puts it to work: the tool, a worked example, and a spreadsheet with your numbers.
One-time payment of $29.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.
A new customer calls. "My coworker said you're the ones to use." Great. Which coworker? Nobody wrote it down. You'd like to thank them, but you don't know who to thank. When you do ask for referrals, it comes out as "if you know anyone, send them our way," and nobody ever does. You once printed refer-a-friend cards. They're still in the drawer.
THE SPREADSHEET
Referral program spreadsheet
Use the completed example as a reference and enter your business data in the marked fields. Check the instructions and the calculations before you make a decision.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Three situations this handbook solves
A week after the job is done
The customer has lived with the result for a week. You send the day-7 message: a quick check-in, the 0-to-10 question, a specific ask about someone at work or in the building, and a forwardable message they can pass along as is.
A customer gives you a friend's number
You don't call a stranger out of the blue. You ask the customer to pass along the message or give the friend a heads-up first, and you note in the log how the contact happened.
The quarterly review
You sit down with the people who ask, serve, and pay, with the quarter's dashboard open and calls to two customers who referred. Everything goes on three lists, keep, change, and stop, and you pick just one change, with a date.
INSIDE
What you'll find in each tool
Five parts, in order. First, measure: where your customers come from and what a referred customer is worth. Then give people something to talk about. Then ask, at the right time and in words that bring a name to mind. Then build the program: rewards, rules, and a log. Finally, look after your advocates and the partners who refer.
WHAT YOU GET
Everything included in your purchase
- The Referral Handbook in PDF: 24 tools, each with a step by step, a worked example, and an exercise
- The referral program spreadsheet in Excel and Google Sheets, with 8 tabs, filled in with the example company
- The Template kit: 15 ready-made texts, from the source question at first contact to the forwardable message and the thank-you notes
- 2 worksheets to fill in (the referral program and the referral partner) and a 30-day plan, one week per stage
- Access to your handbook on the Consylion platform
Full table of contents
The 24 tools, in the order you'll use them
Part 1 · Part 1 · Where referrals come from
- 01The referral mapReplace your guess with the real number: how many customers came by referral last year, and from whom
- 02The value of a referred customerCompare close rate, average order value, and acquisition cost against customers from ads
- 03From intent to referralSee where the willingness to refer gets lost, from "I'd recommend you" to a closed sale
- 04Why people referThe four reasons a customer talks about you, and how to put the strongest one into your ask
Part 2 · Part 2 · Give them something to talk about
- 05The moment customers talk aboutDesign the peak and the end of your service on purpose, because that's what people remember
- 06The talk-worthy detailOne signature gesture, always the same, that customers mention to others
- 07The line customers repeatYour business in one sentence anyone can pass along
- 08The forwardable messageText and contact info the customer can send on in one tap
Part 3 · Part 3 · Ask at the right time
- 09When to askThe moments when asking for a referral makes sense, and the ones when it doesn't
- 10The specific askWho, when, and why: the ask that brings a real name to mind
- 11Asking without awkwardnessWhy asking bothers people less than you think, and how to say it
- 12The acquaintances who reach furtherCoworkers, neighbors, and acquaintances, where referrals reach new people
- 13Contacting referrals with permissionThe referred person agrees to hear from you before you reach out
Part 4 · Part 4 · The referral program
- 14Reward or just a thank-youWhen a reward helps, and when it gets in the way
- 15Two-sided rewardsThe referrer and the new customer both gain, so it sounds like advice, not a sales pitch
- 16Cash, discount, or giftPick the type of reward that fits your customers and your margin
- 17The program rulesDeadline, limits, and what counts, on one page, with questions to take to your lawyer
- 18The referral logWho referred whom, on what date, and what happened, so no reward gets forgotten
Part 5 · Part 5 · Advocates and partners
- 19The customer advocatePick the customers who refer the most and look after them by name
- 20Referral partnersProfessionals who meet your customer before you do
- 21Welcoming the referralHow to treat someone who walks in on a friend's recommendation
- 22Thanking the referrerThe thank-you and the follow-up that make people refer again
- 23The program numbersReferral rate, close rate, and cost per referred customer, every month
- 24The program reviewWhat to keep, change, and stop, every quarter
Who it's for
It's for you if
- You get customers by referral and don't know how many, from whom, or what they're worth
- You feel awkward asking for referrals, or you ask in a way that never brings back a name
- You tried a refer-a-friend program and nobody used it
- You want to look after the customers and partners who send you the most business
- You sell a service, run a store, supply other businesses, or work as an independent professional
It's not for you if
- You want satisfaction surveys and service that wows. Start with The Customer Service and Experience Handbook
- You need agreements with resellers, sales reps, or affiliates. That's The Partnerships and Sales Channels Handbook
- You want to reach people who don't know anyone at your business yet. See The Paid Ads Handbook and The Prospecting Handbook
- You want a promised number of referrals. This handbook organizes the ask and the program, and measures every step
Frequently asked questions
My customers only buy once. Do referrals still work for me?
Even more so. Someone who just bought won't be back soon, so the next customer comes through them. The handbook shows when to ask after the result and how to choose a reward that doesn't depend on a second purchase. The example company is a moving business, which has exactly this problem.
Do I have to offer a reward?
Not always. The handbook starts with the ask and the thank-you. A reward comes in when your numbers show lots of goodwill and few names, and only up to what the margin on a referred customer can carry.
Does this work for my kind of business?
Every tool shows how it applies to services, retail, manufacturing and distribution, and independent professionals. The example is a moving company. You swap in your own customers and numbers.
What about the legal side of rewards and contacting people?
The handbook doesn't interpret the law. Where a topic touches it, such as contacting referred people, written rules, or paying partners, it tells you what to check and includes the questions about your program rules to take to your lawyer.
How much time does this take?
About 2 hours and 24 minutes of reading, or 6 minutes per tool, plus the exercises. The 30-day plan breaks it into four weeks: measure, give them something to talk about, ask, then the program and the people.
What do I get, and in what formats?
Each handbook is a PDF of about 100 pages with 24 to 27 tools. Every tool has step-by-step instructions and a worked example. You also get the handbook's spreadsheet in Excel (.xlsx), which opens in Google Sheets too, with the example already filled in. The message, policy, and clause templates are in the Template Kit inside the PDF, ready to copy and adapt. Read it in the member area or download the files.
How do I know if it fits my business?
Each handbook's page shows the problem it solves, who it is for and who it is not for, the full table of contents, sample pages, and the company used in the examples. The examples come from small businesses in several industries, with illustrative numbers. If it is not a fit, you can ask for a full refund within 14 days of your purchase, as described in the Refund Policy.
What is the difference between a handbook, an area set, and the Series?
A handbook solves one problem. An area set brings together every handbook and spreadsheet in one of the 6 areas, for less than the price of 5 single handbooks. The Consylion Handbook Series brings together all 100 handbooks and 100 spreadsheets, for less than the price of 8 single handbooks, and includes the next handbooks in the Series. Products outside the Series, from Consylion Life or Consylion Business, have their own price. They are sold separately and are not part of an area set or the Series.
Do I need to read everything before I start?
No. Each tool works on its own. Open the table of contents, pick the tool for today's problem, and start there. You can also read it cover to cover.
Do I need to know Excel?
The basics are enough: open the file and fill in the marked fields. The formulas are already built, and the handbook's example is filled in for reference.
How do I pay, and when do I get access?
By card or bank transfer, as a one-time payment with no subscription. Once your payment is confirmed, you get access to the member area by email. Approved card payments are confirmed right away. Bank transfers are confirmed when the funds clear. If access does not arrive within 24 hours of confirmation, check your spam folder and write to team@consylion.org.
How long do I have access, and how can I use the files?
Access does not expire, and you can download the files for offline use. The license is individual. You may read the handbooks, print them for your own use, and fill in and adapt the spreadsheet and templates with your company's data. If you are a consultant, accountant, or manager, you may apply the tools with your clients and deliver the result of your work, not the files. You may not share, resell, or distribute the files or the access.
How do support and refunds work?
Support is by email at team@consylion.org, on business days, with a reply within 5 business days. It covers questions about access, files, and payment. It does not include consulting or advice on applying the material to your case. You can cancel within 14 days of your purchase, without giving a reason, and get the full amount back through the payment method you used. Send the request to the same email. The details are in the Refund Policy.
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One-time payment of $197.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.
Sales · Nº 69
Stop leaving referrals to luck
Your best customers already talk about you. This handbook gives you the tools, the spreadsheet, and the exact words to measure it, ask at the right time, and thank people properly. How many names come back depends on your customers. Knowing the number is up to you.
See all 100 handbooks · $197.00
One-time payment of $29.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.