Do we have to just do good work for our clients or customers, wait passively, and hope the word spreads? Or can we do more?

I believe we can do much more, and we can do it without annoying, alienating, or creating any discomfort for those referral sources.

First of all, do you even know who your best referral sources are? If not, please put this article down now. You can come back to it later.

Now, go to your client or customer roster, current and past, active and inactive. We're going to play a game I call Client Roots. Try to remember where each client came from. How did you get them? Who introduced you to them? Write down the names of those referrers, and save them on a spreadsheet, list or whatever makes you happy.

Okay, you can resume reading. Now you know who your referral sources are. Next, let's explore ways to have them refer you more often, but without putting any pressure on them. Without even asking them to do anything, actually.

Here's the key: your good work and reputation already make them want to refer you. You just have to help them remember to do it. You do this by staying top-of-mind with them. They're busy people. Probably -- I hate to crush your ego with this revelation -- with one or two things on their mind besides you. They loved you last week, but that was a long time ago. It's dangerously presumptuous to assume they will remember to pass opportunities along to you whenever they arise.

So, you've got to continue reaching out to your referrers on a regular basis, to ensure you're in their field of vision. But you can't be pushy or overbearing in any way. And here's the good news: you don't have to. These folks aren't prospects. They already know and like us. You don't have to sell to them, you just have to remind them, gently, that you're out there.

The best way to do this? A two-step answer:

1. Find a reason, every 30 to 60 days, to connect in some way with them -- and never with a sales pitch.
2. Make it about them and not you.

So, send them an article you saw on a topic of interest to them. Send them some tips or information that you've been sharing with your clients lately. Send them a birthday card. Leave a voice mail message that just says hi. Heck, email them a music video clip, movie preview trailer video, or a hot new sports car if you know they're into music, movies or sports cars. And mix it up -- one month substantive professional advice, the next time something more personal.

In this way, you're sending a dual signal: You're a valuable resource, and you value them as human beings.

Finally, mix up the ways you connect: phone, email, snail mail -- all the media. Remember, this is the age of You-media. We're all publishers and video producers/distributors these days. Use all the media -- all the channels -- at your disposal. 

Remember to give your referrers knowledge that matters to them. Suppose you are a mortgage broker. New home buyers are your target. It then goes without saying that real estate brokers may be great referral sources. Just don't send them stuff about this month's mortgage rates. That's for your prospects and clients. The broker isn't looking for a mortgage. Figure out what she cares about, and send her that. It could be a recipe or a news article you found on how the current mortgage availability situation.

Does all this take a few minutes a month? Probably (though you can delegate much to a staffer or outside resource). Does it cost much? Nope. And, ask yourself: what's better -- cultivating five, or ten, or thirty referrers, or scrambling, stumbling and struggling to get business the way you used to?