Careful Who You Recommend

When clients come to me with requests for services besides copywriting, I don't recommend just anyone. Fair or not, I'm aware that who I recommend will reflect in some small way on me--and I wouldn't want to be associated with a negative experience in a client's mind, even if I wasn't the one giving it. I also don't want to look like I don't have the client's best interests at heart--it's possible the client could suspect I recommended someone inexperienced just to help them out, rather than pointing the client toward someone who would truly do a good job.

Here are a few questions I ask when deciding whether to recommend someone to a client.

What were my experiences working with this person before? I love to bring business to other people. And I frequently recommend clients of mine to others looking for certain services. I feel totally comfortable recommending clients I've worked with in the past, because I know how they work, I've seen how professional they are, and I know they'll do a good job for the person who asks me for the referral. Of course, not everyone I recommend is someone I've worked with in the past.

Do I like their work? The people I recommend to others all tend to be people I have a history with--even if I've never worked with them in the past. They're people whose work I've seen and respect, people who have clear experience in the industry and the area the client is looking for.

Are they courteous and professional? This is big. Even if they do great work, I'd have a hard time recommending people who seem to have difficult personalities--at least not without a huge caveat to the client. I'd also have a hard time recommending someone I know isn't that strict about deadlines or asks for extensions fairly regularly.

Do they have the needed expertise?When I recommend copywriters for a job, it tends to be for a type of copywriting I don't offer--and that I know the other person has specialized expertise in. The reason for this is that I'm a generalist, which means I'm not as picky about the assignments I take on as some others. This isn't to say I'm not picky, but I won't turn down a brochure project or a radio spot just because I don't do that type of copywriting. I don't, however, do technical writing, or pharmaceutical writing, or user manuals for engineers, or writing for a highly niche-educated audience that doesn't compensate adequately for the amount of research I'd have to do. I also am not crazy about doing press releases. I'll do them, but if I"m swamped, a press release job is something I'm likely to pass on to someone I know specializes in that area.

How do you choose your referrals?