Good businesspeople are referable, for the most part. If youwere to ask all of your current clients if they would ever referbusiness to you, most would say that they would.

In fact, for healthy businesses, 80% of the clients on averagewould say that they would give a referral. So if they say theywould give a referral, why don't they?

Sometimes, if you believe you are delighting your clients andstill not receiving regular referrals from them, it's possible thatthere may be a disconnect. The insider perception of the businessis not the same as how the clients of the business see things. And,it doesn't mean that you are doing something wrong – but it's worthchecking out.

One way to find out for sure is to conduct a “Client DelightSurvey.” You can mail or email the survey. Or, you can use anonline survey service like SurveyMonkey to give your clients an easy way togive you feedback. With this tool, you can easily design yoursurvey online and send a link to your clients for access. You canthen view your results as they are collected in real-time,including live graphs and charts, and then see individualresponses.

Typical survey questions

Below are some typical survey questions. Make sure thatrespondents grade them on a scale from A to F, like the grades onewould get in school:

1. Our organization is totally committed to the idea ofkeeping you informed and delighted.

2. We seem to “do things right the first time.”

3. Our firm exceeds expectations.

4. We regularly provide information of value to you.

5. We have adequate contact with you.

6. We make it easy for you to do business with us.

7. Our employees often go above and beyond to serve youwell. Anyone in particular?

8. We sincerely try to answer all your questions.

9. Our team has a good understanding of client service.

10. I would be willing to recommend someone with a need forfinancial planning and investing services. (Yes/No)

Name of someone you think could benefit from our services (phoneand email).