How to ask a business client for a referral

Why a client is different from a referral partner

Most advice about referrals is about other businesses that share your customers, like the real estate agent who sends a painter pre-sale work. Our guides on getting referrals from other businesses and approaching a referral partner cover that. This one is about something narrower, which is asking a business that already pays you to introduce you to someone else.

A client has one big advantage over any partner. They've watched you turn up, do the work and send an invoice nobody had to query, so when they vouch for you it's from experience. The catch is that referring tradies isn't part of their job. A property manager who sends you a colleague is doing you a favour, and they'll only do it if the ask is small, specific and easy to say yes to.

When to ask

Ask right after something has gone visibly well. That might be the week you fixed a problem their last contractor never did, or a tenant complaint that went away because you got there the same afternoon. The best moment of all is when they've just thanked you, because they're already thinking well of you and the ask follows naturally from what they said.

Don't ask while an invoice is overdue or a problem is still open, and don't ask in your first few weeks. A new client is still making up their mind about you, and an ask that early can make it look as if you're more interested in the next job than theirs. After a few months of steady work you've earned the right to ask, and a natural moment like the end of a big job or a contract renewal makes it feel ordinary.

Ask in person or on the phone if you see them, because it's easier to have that conversation out loud. Then follow it up by email with the note described below, so they have something in writing to act on.

Ask for a named introduction

"If you know anyone who needs a cleaner, pass my name on" feels easy to say and almost never produces anything. Nobody comes to mind at that moment, the client says "sure", and then they forget. The ask that works helps them think of one particular person by naming the kind of person you mean.

Once a name comes up, ask the second half plainly: "Would you be comfortable introducing me to her?" That's one specific favour, and it tells them exactly what you want them to do. If they hesitate, let it go. A reluctant introduction does more harm than none, and a client who feels pushed is a client you might lose.

Make it easy with a note they can forward

Most people who agree to introduce you mean it and then never get round to writing the email, because working out what to say about you takes effort. Do that part for them. Send a short note in your own words that they can forward as it stands or paste into an email of their own.

Here's a made-up example from a commercial cleaner in Milton whose office manager client mentioned the practice manager at an accounting firm downstairs.

Hi Sophie,

Thanks again for offering to put me in touch with Kate. Here's a short note you can forward to her if it's easier than writing one.

"Hi Kate, Sophie mentioned you might be looking at office cleaners. I run a small commercial cleaning business in Milton and we've cleaned Sophie's office three evenings a week since March. We work after 6pm, hold keys and alarm codes, and send a short note after each visit if anything needs attention. If it would help, I'm happy to come and look at your office and give you a fixed price. My mobile is 0400 000 000. Priya"

Thanks,
Priya

Keep the note to what's true and checkable: what you do, where, how long you've worked for the client and one practical detail. Leave room for the client to add their own line, and don't write praise for them to sign. Only describe the client as recommending you if they've said that's how they want to put it, and if you'd like to quote them more widely, that's a separate conversation covered in our guide on asking a business client for a testimonial.

Some clients would rather copy you into an email to the other person. That's fine too, as long as you reply the same day, thank the client in that reply and move the conversation off their inbox quickly.

Let the other person come to you, or ask first

The cleanest introduction is one where the other person contacts you, because then they've chosen to. If your client would rather you made the first move, ask them to check with the person that they're happy to hear from you. Then write once, say who suggested you, and keep it short.

That email is still a marketing email to someone new, so the usual rules apply. ACMA's guidance says a marketing email needs consent, must identify you and your contact details, and must have an unsubscribe that's honoured within 5 working days. Our guide on whether cold emailing is legal in Australia has the detail. If they don't reply, one gentle follow-up is plenty, and after that you leave it.

Tell your client what happened, and thank them

Let the client know as soon as you've made contact, and again when there's an outcome. It might be a booked job or a polite no, and either way they'll want to know their introduction was treated well. A client who never hears back tends not to introduce you again.

Thank them whether or not the introduction turns into work, because they did the favour either way. A short, specific note is the main thing. If it does become work, a card or a box of coffees dropped at their office is a nice touch.

Be careful with anything worth more than that. Many of the clients who refer you work for someone else, and a personal benefit to an employee raises different questions from a thank-you to the business. Queensland's Criminal Code makes it a crime to corruptly give an agent, which includes an employee, any benefit to influence how they handle their employer's business (section 442BA). The NSW Government says strata managing agents must not accept gifts or benefits from others, with an exception for gifts of $60 or less. Our guide on referral fees in Australia goes through fees, gifts and tax properly. If you want to reward the business itself, a thank-you that goes openly to the business is the safer way to do it.

Ask again, but not every visit

A client who introduced you once will often do it again, but not if every visit turns into a sales pitch. Once or twice a year is about right, or when something changes on their side, such as a new building on their books or a colleague starting a new role. Keep a note of who introduced whom and what came of it, so you remember to thank people properly and know which clients are best placed to help. Our guide on keeping referrals coming covers that habit in more detail. When your clients have run out of people to suggest, Curlew finds similar businesses and writes to them by email in your business name.