The Referral Programme That Generated $100,000 in New Revenue

Mark Borst founded Borst Landscape and Design in Allendale, New Jersey in 1989 and spent three decades building it into one of northern Jersey's largest design-build and lawn care companies. Landscape Management magazine profiled the referral system he built, and the results were hard to argue with: the programme generated roughly $100,000 in new revenue.

How it worked

When an existing customer referred someone and that person signed up, the existing customer got a $250 credit on their account. The new customer got $150. Both applied as account credits, not cash, which meant the money stayed in the business and drove future renewals.

He also added an upgrade bonus. Existing customers who expanded their service plan got the same $250 credit. The programme wasn't just about sending new people through the door. It rewarded loyalty too.

Why most referral programmes fail

Nobody participates because nobody remembers. Your customers have their own businesses to run, their own kids to pick up, their own invoices to chase. They're not thinking about your referral programme at 3pm on a Thursday.

Mark solved this by putting the referral programme on the one piece of paper every customer reads every single month: the invoice. Every bill had a line item reminding the customer of the programme. No app. No link. No code. No friction.

Start this week

Your invoice already has room for this. Add one more line: "Refer a friend and you'll both get $25 off your next service." That's one line on your invoice doing the work of an entire marketing campaign.

And here's the thing that turns a good referral programme into a great one. When a referral actually comes in, pick up the phone and call the person who sent them. Not a text. Not an email. Sixty seconds. That call costs nothing and does something no discount ever will: it makes the person feel seen.

Here's to one more client this week.

R.J.