Remeber, there are plenty of reasons why happy clients may not refer to you, and this one may or may not make sense. Do you provide services to firms that don’t compete with this client? If so, what’s stopping her from referring outside of her own industry?

Not knowing what you do, if I had to diagnose this scenario, I would say you probably groped your client for a referral (see my previous post on this subject). What I mean is, you introduced the concept of referring you business too late in the relationship. Generating referrals starts before the sale is even made.

Alternatively, as this post suggests, your client may have unresolved fears about referring to you. You need to discover them.

So here is my suggestion. There is nothing you can do about your timing at this point. But you can address fears. You might consider doing something like this the next time you have the chance.

Mention a recent referral from another client. Then take the opportunity to say something like, “I know you feel like you have strategic reasons for not sharing what I do with others, and I certainly respect that. But in the event that you ever find yourself speaking with someone outside of your market and you are inclined to discuss my service, I want you to know exactly how I handle referrals….”

Then go on to describe your philosophy and process for managing referrals. It is very possible that you may remove the fears that are keeping this client from referring.

I hope this helps.