Today I spoke at the Tecumseh Rotary Club meeting on the 7 Steps to Small Business Marketing Success. It was a great group and a great lunch as well! (Thanks Evans Street Station!)

During the Q&A time a gentleman asked if I had any marketing ideas for him… He owns a few condo developments and has several units up for sale and sitting vacant. The housing market is down in Lenawee County and he didn’t know what to do.

One component of the Duct Tape Marketing System is to create a Referral Marketing System. My advice was to offer the folks who already live in these developments an outrageous commission for referring a new buyer. They want folks to move into the vacant units (helps their property value) and with the incentive of a cash commission - overnight, he could have dozens of sales reps helping him find buyers.

I threw out offering $2,500 to folks who referred buyers. When I talked to him after the meeting he said, “I decided I’m going to offer them $5,000.”

Excited to hear how this strategy goes for him.

What is your Referral Marketing strategy?