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Ask a client for a referral
Residential work arrives largely by recommendation from neighbours and friends. Commercial work comes through architects, surveyors and clients who put a contractor's name forward for the next tender list.
The prompt
I work in marketing at a construction firm. Help me ask a happy client for a referral. Context: Residential work arrives largely by recommendation from neighbours and friends. Commercial work comes through architects, surveyors and clients who put a contractor's name forward for the next tender list. Before you start, ask me for anything missing from this list: - The client and what we did for them - The kind of person we would like to meet - Any house rules on referral rewards Then: 1. Thank them for something specific. 2. Describe who we help in one sentence they could repeat. 3. Make the ask easy: one line they can forward. Give me: - The email - A forwardable two-line introduction Rules: - Use only the facts I give you. Where something is missing, write [detail needed]. Never invent a number, a name, a quote or a source. - Describe building work in general terms only. Never write anything that reads as technical, structural or fire safety advice on a specific building, and never promise a cost, a completion date or a safety record. - Write in plain English, in our voice if I have given you a sample. - Do not tell me what the rules or regulations say. If something may be restricted, flag it and I will check. Finish with a list headed "Check before this goes out". Include these, plus anything else the director who approves marketing or our health, safety and quality lead should see: - Any reward for referrals, and whether the client's gift rules allow it - That the request shares no detail of the client's project or address
Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot. It will ask you for what it needs.
Check before this goes out
- Any reward for referrals, and whether the client's gift rules allow it
- That the request shares no detail of the client's project or address
The prompt gives you a first draft. Someone qualified still approves anything a client will read.
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