What is a new client worth to your business?
Having a simple, intentional plan to earn a steady stream of
word-of-mouth referrals is the most effective (and rewarding)
approach to sustainably grow your business.
But where do you start?
My 6-Step Referral Formula is a repeatable system
that will attract new clients, grow your business,
reflect your values and deepen your impact.
What is a new client worth to your business?
Having a simple, intentional plan to earn a steady stream of word-of-mouth referrals
is the most effective (and rewarding)
approach to sustainably grow
your business.
But where do you start?
My 6-Step Referral Formula is a repeatable system that will attract new clients, grow your business, reflect your values and deepen your impact.

The 6-Step Referral Formula
Download the FREE report. Grow your business, deepen your impact.
What’s in the Report?

The #1 strategy to
activate referrals.

How to determine if you should ask for referrals
or not.

How to still receive referrals from people you haven’t directly asked.

Two strategies to uncover your advocates.

Tactics I teach my clients to earn more referrals.

How an ‘Active Referral
Mindset’ can improve your
habits and culture.
About Me
I’ve spent 25+ years helping businesses grow, working with amazingly clever people in the media, advertising, marketing, education, and charity sectors.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a keen student and practitioner of marketing strategy. I’m especially interested in how ideas spread to fast-track growth.
My journey to learn everything I can about the most effective form of marketing, word-of-mouth referrals, has led me to create ReferralFormula.
I’m excited and humbled to support business owners and their teams to prosper using practical strategies that put them in control, be less reliant on the tech giants, and find time to deeply connect with their clients and community.
I teach highly effective, ethical strategies to help you build your own customised referral program.
ReferralFormula is an intentional, repeatable system to delight your clients and earn more high-quality referrals. If you’d like to learn more about my online training and support (new intake starting soon), or 1:1 consulting, please contact me.


David Smerdon
Approach
ReferralFormula invites business owners and their teams to grow your business, your way, and feel great doing it!
Grow your business, your way, and the power of referrals is clear, but I believe the feel great doing it part is the change many business owners are looking for.
Less “grind” marketing – content posting, algorithm chasing – drudgery work many of us don’t like doing.
More time to build deep relationships and deliver truly satisfying impact, looking after your existing clients – those who have already backed you – and welcoming their colleagues, friends and family to your business via referrals.
Many of my clients are “Heart-Centred Entrepreneurs”, that is, they genuinely care about their work and giving their clients the best possible outcomes and experiences. My clients have found great joy in slowing the marketing merry-go-round and bringing their personality, values and creativity to their work.
My ReferralFormula approach works for many business types and is especially powerful for “high-value businesses” where two or three extra referrals per month makes a material difference to their revenue and their impact, i.e. financial advisors and accountants, lawyers, consultants, IT professionals, real estate agents, freelancers, architects, coaches, photographers, creative, digital, production and media agencies.
Read my below report and discover a more rewarding approach to grow your business and deepen your impact.
Kind Words
I recently took a course taught by David Smerdon on setting up a business referral program and it was amazing! David's teaching style was simple and easy to understand. He broke down the whole process into manageable steps and gave real-life examples that really helped me grasp the concepts. David is clearly an expert in this field, and I felt confident that I could put what I learned into action for my own business. If you're a business owner looking to start a referral program, I highly recommend this course. It doesn't matter if you're just starting out or have been in business for a while, David's teachings are both eye-opening and actionable. Big thanks to David for an awesome course experience!

David Smerdon's course on referrals initiated a key mindset shift for my business, Votive Brands. In a few value-packed sessions, he showed me how businesses built on referrals are those that provide an excellent experience for their customers and use a genuine, authentic approach to requesting them. As a heart-centred entrepreneur, it was important to me that the approach didn't feel too "sales-y", and I can confirm that the course delivered. I especially appreciated the tactical, practical approach to the referral request process so that I wasn't left trying to turn abstract theories into action. I now have a clear plan to build my business on referrals.

I recently completed the ReferralFormula course, and it was an excellent experience. It was comprehensive, engaging, well-supported with clear instructions - and thought-provoking. The online format allowed me to participate at my own pace. David Smerdon was exceptional with a passion for all things marketing and referrals with a wealth of knowledge and expertise that made the lessons come alive. Working for years in B2B consulting and SaaS, I thought I knew all there was to know about growing a business through trusted client relationships, but David's approach turns it from an art into a science. It is especially useful for teams - to bring pre-sales and delivery together and get everyone working off the same playbook. I highly recommend this course to anyone looking to build a practical and repeatable referral process and grow their business. It was truly a valuable learning opportunity. Thank you!

ReferralFormula is a great concept and idea. You don’t need to be a marketing genius or an extrovert to make referrals work for you. The program is great for anyone wanting to focus on realistic marketing tactics to build their business with ideal clients. It is simple to follow, practical and doesn’t require a bunch of confusing tech. Do yourself a favour and join.

Referral Formula gave us tools and ideas for how to more effectively ask for referrals and reviews. But, the most valuable (and somewhat unexpected) benefit was the development of a referral mindset - or culture - in our business. We are constantly thinking of new ways and seeing new opportunities to gain referrals more effectively. I involved my younger staff in the course and they've developed a better understanding of the business and the impact they have on our ability to get referrals. This is a course that will pay for itself many times over.

Financial Advisor Brand Financial
