TommyCarey
Level X3
Write the reason you're deleting this FAQ
Whenever there is a new SEO service that pops up in my area, I always check them out to see what they're doing. Usually, they go for the big fish in the area and hope to get them on board for a few months, then they fall off and get bad reviews online. Instead, they should have focused on smaller businesses and made more money while boosting more rankings and creating happier clients.
It's difficult to get referrals quickly if you don't know how to do it. This isn't a skill they will teach you in an SEO course; it's more of a marketing and good business type skill, so you should try it out and see what comes of it 
Work For Free
What you'll want to do in the beginning is work for free and help businesses in the area. The more you can help them, the more money they will make, and the more likely they will hire you as a full-time SEO service to keep boosting them up. Remember, SEO is a never-ending thing that has to be done each month until the end of time to stay above your competitors and keep the traffic flowing. Your free customers will quickly understand this and bring you onboard to help out.
Offer Discounts For Referrals
Whenever you have a customer with you or wanting to sign up for your services, you should always mention that you will offer discounts for each referral they send in that signs up for a month. This could be 25% or even a 50% discount for each referral that signs up; it depends on your profit margins and how much you're looking to make per order.
You can even give the customers 100% off, and everything after that will be a commission for them Think about it, you're creating affiliates that were previous clients, so they know your work and what you can do. Don't you think they would be able to sell your services easily?
Offer Discounts for Reviews
Typically, you'll want to avoid this because it's a way to buy positive reviews. You can ask someone to leave you a positive review, and if it sticks, you will give them a slight discount. If your services are expensive, then the customer will likely jump on board and leave reviews wherever they possibly can lol.
Over Deliver On Agreed Upon Work
If you're doing a custom package of work, which you should be since every website is different, you can give the customer a little extra content, more backlinks, more branding, etc. to boost them a bit more overall. They will love this and stick with you for the long haul if you provide positive results.
Send Clients Gift Baskets
I've done this in the past, and you'd be amazed how often I create long-time clients because of it. It doesn't cost you much since you only have to do it once or twice a year. Send a lovely gift basket to your customers who are paying you well, and they will stick with you. Send them a basket around a specific holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas and one around their birthday if you happen to know it.
Final Thoughts,
Building up your local authority isn't that difficult if you think about it. Sure, it does take a great deal of time and effort, but it's not difficult to do. You don't have to do any heavy lifting, spend a ton of money, or anything else other than sending a few emails and do the work you planned on doing. Work smart, not hard!
Thanks for reading!
- Tommy
https://www.seoclerks.com/user/TommyCarey