How To Easily Get More Sales Referrals

Getting more sales referrals is a straightforward process, but salespeople can easily overcomplicate it, making it more difficult than it should be.

When sales reps present to clients, especially those who deal primarily over the phone, they typically ask the client to purchase expensive products or services from them, and the majority of the time, the client has never met the sales representative in person.

My point is — if you can ask a client or prospect to buy from you, you should easily ask for referrals.

If you are not asking for referrals in sales, your company is leaving a lot of money and new business on the table.

Why are referrals important?

Referrals are a very important way for salespeople to quickly and efficiently grow their businesses.

The reason is that the client or prospect who referred you obviously sees great value in you as a sales rep and what you offer.

That’s why the client was comfortable enough to tell their friends, family, and or colleagues about you.

Therefore, a referral is typically very easy to close and do business with because their guards are down, they already heard good things about you, and they know they can greatly benefit from your services.

Added bonus: When dealing with referrals, it’s less likely you’ll have to deal with hearing the dreaded, but common, “not interested” objection, along with many of the typical objections you get from dealing with cold leads.

With that being said, why not grow your entire business on a referral basis?

Two Amazing Ways to Ask For Referrals

So I believe there are two fantastic ways to get referrals depending on if you are doing business over the phone, or meeting face to face. Generally, you’ll follow the same principles, but also be taking advantage of the strength of each form of communication.

Getting Referrals Over The Phone

If you are cold calling and making sales over the phone, the best way to get referrals is to allow the prospect to feel your passion for your product and services.

Showing passion will allow them to feel that you offer something worth great quality.

As soon as the sale is fully processed and finalized, ask your client if they know other people of their caliber that can benefit from what you offer.

In other words, ask them, “Do you have referrals of your caliber that you can recommend to me that can benefit from my services? I’ll call and introduce myself to them, the same way I did with you.”

Two things will happen from there. They’ll either tell you, yes and if they do, ask for their names and numbers, and you’ll reach out to them.

If they don’t have a referral at the moment, continue asking every few weeks. Usually, someone they know will eventually come to mind.

Getting Referrals In Person

If you meet prospects and clients in person, the best time to get referrals is during the first meeting.

Similar to the first example, allow the client/prospect to see and feel your passion for your product and services, so they believe that they are in great hands with you.

As soon as you wrap up with the meeting, regardless of whether you made the sale or not, hand them a sheet of paper and ask if they can think of at least ten referrals that can greatly benefit from everything you discussed.

Tell them to write down their names and numbers, and you will call them and introduce yourself the same way you do with them.

Since they saw how valuable you are and how passionate you are about your products, they know whichever referral they give to you will be in good hands and could benefit from you.

These two simple steps in getting a referral will bring you great success in making sales. Again, the referral process does not have to be difficult.

Referrals should be an easy and efficient way to grow your business and make sales if done properly.

Other Ways to Ask For a Referral

Other ways to get referrals are through emails, Facebook posts, social media status updates, etc.

Or, if you’re on a LinkedIn group and you see someone posting a thread for a certain service or product, ask them if they can give out your contact information to their network.

However, these are not as effective as the two examples above because they lack the persuasive element needed to close a referral.

You can also casually ask friends and family if they know of anyone you can share your product or service with.

When Is The Best Time To Ask For a Sales Referral?

The best time to ask for sales referrals is right away!

If you truly believe you’re offering something extremely beneficial, you should want to bombard the entire world with it.

If you successfully offer those things, getting referrals is as simple as asking. Once your deal is complete with your current customer, go ahead and ask away.

The sooner you get referrals, the sooner your entire business can grow.

The referral process does not have to be complicated. Always remember to provide great value and show passion for what you offer.

People naturally want to help someone who has helped them, shown them great value, or did something worth rewarding.

This is one of the big differences between cold calling and warm calling.

Should I Wait For Referrals To Call Me?

There is no point in waiting for referrals to reach out to you first.

In fact, they will probably never call you first. Not because they’re not interested but because they may be too busy with their day-to-day that they’ll forget.

If you genuinely believe in your product or services, you should call them immediately.

Why hold back from helping someone that needs you?

Keep in mind that these potential customers need your help and have other referrals to give you, which ultimately leads to you making massive amounts of sales.

You should never wait for referrals to come to you.

Call them, help them, show your passion for your business, and then ask them again.

Are You Annoying Clients By Asking For Referrals?

This is a big concern for many salespeople, especially those who are shy.

If you conducted your first meeting with the client correctly, they will become comfortable with you and become extremely happy that you are taking care of their needs.

Therefore, it’s very unlikely that clients or potential clients will be annoyed by you asking for referrals. In fact, they may even be happy that you brought it up to them.

They know what a tremendous value you’re offering, and they’ll want their friends and family to experience your great work as well.

Referrals should empower salespeople and the customer or potential client by making their life easier.

The referral process should not take up all of your time, and it should simply be part of the process to close a sale.

How Can I Make Referrals As Effective as Possible?

This is where you should bring in your passion and energy: show how much you care about their problems and how much you genuinely want to help them.

Referrals will only be as effective as you are at making them.

It’s common for potential clients to think that all salespeople just want their own benefit, but it’s not true.

The best thing about referrals is that the process should work both ways, not just one way.

You’ll be helping out your referral by providing them with the same great service you provided your first client. Another great technique is to offer discounts to incentivize your customer to start selling for you!

via GIPHY

What If I’m Not Good At Asking For Referrals?

If you’re not good at asking for referrals, it’s time to start practicing.

Take a step back and really think about how important referrals are to your company or business.

Referrals should not only make up a part of your marketing strategy but should be the basis for generating massive amounts of sales.

Referrals are very similar to asking someone out on a date. Sometimes it may go smoothly, while other times, you’ll get rejected.

But as long as you’re putting yourself out there and getting rejected, that’s a major step closer to finding the perfect client or customer.

Getting referrals is not about “IF” but, more importantly, about “WHEN.”

There will always be people who want to help you, even if it’s just one person.

The best part is that when you get one referral, it’s likely to lead to additional referrals.

In the future, you’ll be able to live off of referrals and generate massive amounts of leads every single day.

Referrals are one of the most powerful tools in any business’s marketing arsenal. There is no limit to how many referrals you can get on a daily basis if you start following these simple steps.

Why Do People Like To Give Sales Referrals?

People like to refer others for several reasons.

First, they will feel great about themselves by helping someone else and making their life easier. They’ll also likely gain respect from the person that’s receiving their referral, which will lead to more referrals in the future.

The biggest reason people like to give sales referrals is that they will feel important.

This allows them to be a part of something bigger than themselves and feel like their opinion counts for something.

If you find a way to provide a ton of value in the referral process, your referrals will be coming from all over the place.

People refer others when they feel important and appreciated for what they know, which is why your referral process should revolve around this.

How Can I Use Referrals To Sell More?

When you start using referrals as one of your primary sources of getting new clients or potential customers, you’ll begin to notice a massive change in the number of people who want to do business with you.

You’ll likely start seeing leads coming in from everywhere, including referrals.

Every single day you should be asking yourself this question: “How can I get more referrals?”

When you have a customer base willing to give you referrals, it’ll skyrocket your sales numbers every month.

Referrals are 100% FREE leads that are straight from a client or customer that spent money on your service.

Like I said, the best part about referrals is that they come from people who’ve used your product or service and are happy with what you offer. How can you beat that? Not even Glengarry Leads can compare.

Conclusion

Referrals are one of the best ways to generate leads and eventually lead you to a never-ending supply.

You need to take action and start implementing these methods into your life as soon as possible.

What’s stopping you from producing more leads and getting more business?

If it’s referrals, don’t worry, you can start getting them right away, and it’s only going to get better from there.

“Start asking for referrals today and watch your sales numbers soar.”

Take a step back and really think about how important referrals are to your company or business.

If you don’t enjoy asking for referrals, no worries, just keep practicing, and you’ll start to see results.

Start making a difference in your business today with referrals!