How I Use Nimble for Referrals

Most business owners treat referrals like a bonus. A happy accident. A pleasant surprise when a client says, “Oh, I told my friend about you.” But what if I told you the fastest, cheapest, and most reliable way to get more clients isn’t advertising, isn’t cold emailing, and definitely isn’t trying to go viral on TikTok—it’s building a real, repeatable referral system?

I’m not talking about a wishful thinking strategy. I’m talking about a simple, doable machine you can run on autopilot. And the best part? It doesn’t require a big team, a big budget, or even a love of selling. It just requires a system—and one ridiculously easy CRM called Nimble.

Can you use other CRMs, sure you can. But when you use Nimble for referrals, you’re going to open up a whole new world of sales success.

Let’s get into it.

Referrals Aren’t Random—They’re a Revenue Engine

If you hate selling, referral marketing is your best friend. Why? Because someone else does the selling for you.

You already know that word of mouth is powerful. But here’s the kicker: most people don’t systematize it. They cross their fingers and hope it happens. And when it does, they treat it like found money instead of what it really is—your most efficient path to cash.

Referrals close faster. They trust you more. They complain less. And when done right, they say “yes” 8 out of 10 times.

You don’t need 10,000 followers or an email list that rivals a rock star’s fanbase. You need relationships. Real ones. Managed smartly. And that’s where Nimble comes in.

Why Most People Don’t Follow Up (And How to Fix It)

Let’s be honest. We all mean to follow up. But we don’t.

Not because we’re flaky. It’s because we haven’t made it part of our daily rhythm. We don’t have a simple system. We don’t have a nudge to say, “Hey, check in with Sarah—she could be a great referrer.”

Here’s where Nimble flips the script.

Nimble for Referrals: The CRM Built for Humans, Not Sales Robots

Most CRMs are designed for sales teams. They’re clunky, complex, and feel like you need a PhD in pipeline management just to send an email.

Nimble is different. It’s the only CRM that was built to help small business owners, solopreneurs, and consultants build better relationships, not just track deals. Think of it as your digital Rolodex on steroids—but way smarter and much better looking.

Here’s why it’s a game-changer for referral marketing.

Step 1: Build Your Referral Rolodex

First things first—download the Nimble Chrome Extension. Then, head over to LinkedIn or your inbox and start adding people to your contact list.

Who should you add?

Use the 3-Point Power Network:

• Insiders: Your inner circle. Think clients, friends, superfans.
• Partners: People who sell to the same audience, but don’t compete.
• Influencers: Experts who can vouch for you and amplify your message.

Here’s a peek at my personal Nimble contact tab.  You’ll notice that I’ve decided to use the “Lead Type” field to tag my referral contacts. 

You can customize this field to match how you manage or track your contacts in your business.

Because Nimble’s strength is in creating and building relationships, I’ve decided to use the Lead Type field to classify these relationships.  You can see that in addition to referral relationships, I have relationships with agencies, as well as general prospects.  You’ll have to customize yours to match your business.

Tag them in Nimble so you can easily segment your referral network later. Use tags like “Referral Insider,” “Partner Contact,” or “Influencer Ally.”

Nimble does an amazing job with tagging and segments – and that’s what makes it one of my favorite tools.

Tags and segments are the unsung heroes of Nimble—and once you start using them strategically, everything just clicks. Tags are your go-to tool for categorizing both contacts and activities. Think of tags like digital sticky notes. You can tag contacts as “Referral Insider,” “Event Lead,” “Podcast Guest,” or even “VIP Clients.” Same goes for activities—tag follow-ups, meetings, or email tasks with custom labels so nothing slips through the cracks. It’s like building your own behind-the-scenes filing system that works exactly how your brain does.

Now, if tags are your custom labels, segments are your smart lists. Nimble’s segmentation feature lets you search across multiple data fields—tags, location, job title, last contacted, you name it—and create dynamic groups. These segments update automatically as contacts meet your criteria. Want a live list of people you haven’t followed up with in 60 days? Done. Need a segment of partners in Chicago who opened your last email? Easy. Segments make it effortless to manage who gets what message and when, without needing to rebuild lists every time you launch a new campaign.

Pro Tip: Start with 200 people. Research shows that’s the number most of us can realistically stay in touch with.

Step 2: Create Your Referral Guideline

Your referral guideline is your business’s dating profile.

It should include:

• Who you are
• What you do
• Who your ideal client is
• What problem you solve
• What makes you referable

Need help crafting it? Use my Referral Guideline Creator to knock it out in 2 minutes flat.

This document isn’t for your clients—it’s for your referral partners. It’s the cheat sheet that makes it easy for others to recommend you with confidence.

Step 3: Schedule the Touchpoints

You don’t need to meet every week. But you do need to show up regularly.

That’s where Nimble’s “Stay in Touch” feature comes in. Set follow-up cadences—weekly, monthly, quarterly—and Nimble will remind you when it’s time to reconnect. It even flags contacts you’re falling out of touch with.

Use it to:

• Send a quick check-in email
• Book a coffee chat (real or virtual)
• Share an update or ask for one
• Refer someone to them first

This isn’t about asking for favors. It’s about showing up as a connector and collaborator.

The Magic of Nimble Email Sequences

This is where Nimble absolutely shines—email sequences that are as human as you are.

You’ve got two powerful ways to use Nimble for outreach:

• Option 1: Group Messages via Your Email (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) These are gold. You send personalized emails in bulk, but each recipient sees the message as if it was sent just to them. It keeps your email in your inbox, looks totally 1:1, and boosts response rates.

In the image above, you can see that these group messages went out through my personal email server and to the recipient it looks like I sent it just to them.  Did I say I loved this?  There’s nothing more personal than receiving an individual email – but that you sent in bulk. 

• Option 2: Email Marketing Engine Want to go bigger? This is your tool. You can send to a larger list using Nimble’s email marketing server, complete with open/click tracking. And it keeps your main inbox clutter-free.

Here’s how to turn this into your secret follow-up machine:

Create a 12-Month Referral Sequence

Nimble has already created a bunch of templates (that they have successfully used over the years) that you can start with an customize based on your specific use case.

Don’t overthink it. Keep it light and valuable. Here’s a simple sequence framework:

• Month 1: “Here’s what I’m working on. What about you?”
• Month 2: Share a blog post, podcast, or helpful tip.
• Month 3: Invite them to a Zoom coffee.
• Repeat with variations for 9 more months.

Here’s what my referral sequence looks like.  You can see that I’ve got several messages that are going out just about a month apart.

You can create this sequence using Nimble’s Email Marketing feature, and track:

• Who opened your email
• Who clicked a link
• Who replied

You can see that out of 13 sent, only about 5 replied.  This will help me refine my referral network and remove the folks who don’t want to stay in touch and build relationships with the folks who do.

As someone who has done this manually, I can tell you this this is a game-changer. Because the name of the referral game is to build a productive referral network – and that is all about quality relationships.

Why Nimble’s Reporting and Analytics Matter

Here’s where Nimble seals the deal: you don’t just guess if your referral marketing is working—you know.

Nimble offers detailed analytics that track:

• Email opens, clicks, and replies for every campaign
• Engagement activity by contact (so you know who’s hot and who’s cold)
• Workflow progress to see where leads get stuck
• Sequence performance to measure the ROI of your email outreach

You can even track your referral interactions—who referred whom, what follow-up happened, and what business resulted. It’s like having a report card for your referral engine.

Why is this essential? Because what gets measured gets managed. If you want your referral system to grow and perform like a real marketing channel, you need data. Not feelings.

With Nimble, you’re not flying blind. You’re flying with radar.

Want to level it up?

Automate Everything with Web Forms, Workflows & Sequences

Don’t even get me started with this one.  Do you know WHY referrals are a happy accident? Because we meet awesome people.  We might even have these great meetings and conversations and you think “I will remember this” – and then you don’t.

Life happens, other projects come up and then you’re meeting with someone and you think – “Wait – I know someone you should talk to” – but then you don’t remember the details and the opportunity passes. 

THIS is why you have to set up these automated work flow.  You meet someone.  You think – “I want to stay in touch with them” you add them to the workflow.

Here’s another way you can use automation:

Use Nimble’s Web Forms to collect new referral partner leads. When someone fills out the form:

• They get added to your Nimble contacts
• They get added to a Workflow (your internal lead tracker)
• They get enrolled into your 12-month Email Sequence

This is what systematized follow-up looks like. It’s scalable, trackable, and delightfully low maintenance.

You can:

• Set up Stages like “New Referral Lead,” “Engaged Contact,” “Active Referrer”
• Trigger tasks or internal notifications as people move stages
• Use sequence analytics to see what’s working

Recap: Your 5-Minute Referral System Setup

Let’s boil it down:

1. Get Nimble (and the Chrome Extension)
2. Import your contacts from LinkedIn and Gmail
3. Tag them as Insiders, Partners, Influencers
4. Write your Referral Guideline
5. Create your email sequence and “stay in touch” schedule
6. Use Web Forms + Workflows to automate follow-up
7. Track everything with Nimble’s built-in reporting tools

That’s it.

You don’t need a sales funnel. You don’t need ads. You don’t even need a big list. You need a system that builds and nurtures real relationships.

And if 8 out of 10 people say “yes” when someone they trust refers you?

That’s not a happy accident. That’s smart marketing.

So what are you waiting for? Go build your referral machine—with Nimble riding shotgun.