How to Get more Referrals

Most sales professionals love to get referrals because they are often easy leads to close. However, the majority of sales people I work with don’t generate as many referrals as they would like. Here is a simple way to change that.

 

Ask!

 

Here are the most common reasons people don’t ask for referrals.

 

“I don’t want to sound like I’m begging.”

“I have tried asking but people don’t give me qualified leads.”

“I don’t want my prospects to know that I need business.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

 

Here are three ideas to consider.

 

Be clear. When people ask for a referral they often say something like, “If you know someone who could use my services have them call me.” The key is to tell your prospect or customer exactly the type of client you are looking for instead of making a vague request.

 

Be consistent. You cannot ask for a referral occasionally. You want need to consistently ask everyone you contact. This one step will make a difference in your results.

 

Set it up. During conversations with your prospects and customers tell them that your business is largely referral based and that you will be asking them to refer you to a colleague, friend or another company.

 

Apply these three concepts into your regular routine and you will notice an increase in your results.

 

Kelley Robertson helps sales professionals reach their sales quotas and targets in any economy. Receive a FREE copy of 100 Ways to Increase Your Sales by subscribing to his free newsletter available at www.Fearless-Selling.ca. For information on his programs contact him at 905-633-7750 or by email.

Comments

[Paul Castain]

I believe its important to realize when asking for a referral that they don't have us on the brain. In other words, they aren't thinking of who else would be a good fit for us so we need to help prompt that thinking by suggesting groups of people they know such as: folks they network with, other departments, friends etc

Respectfully,
Paul Castain
http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com

[Amit Jain]

Building a referral based business is more difficult than it sounds and key additional things that one needs to consider are

a)What part of your services/value proposition help people grow in their jobs? this increases referenceability quotient

b)Timing for references sometimes have to lead the budget cycles. Its always right timing that helps close the deal faster

c)How can you provide your referral source/friend a way to connect you with his referral...leverage linkedin and twitter more effectively in getting your sources connect. it has worked for me.

My 2 cents....

Regards

Amit Jain
www.salesmarketingviews.blogspot.com