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A common mistake made by sales people is assuming you can only get referrals from current customers. While current customers are an EXCELLENT source for referrals, there are many other places to go to tap a virtual unlimited GOLD MINE of referrals. If you’re new to a career, you may not have any current customers to work with, so let’s take a look at where you can start! (we’ll get into “how” to ask for the referrals in a minute.)
Friends and Family
Everyone should be able to start with their friends and families to start their referral system. I bet you never really thought about HOW MANY people your friends and family either know or know of. It doesn’t really matter what industry you’re in or what type of product you sell, you MUST start your process by asking friends and family for help.
If your Friends or Family don’t know anyone immediately who may need a product, try to get contact names from them who will in turn be able to give you more qualified referrals! You may be surprised. Your friend may say, “You can give Bill a call, but I don’t think he’s interested…” And you’ll be surprised to find out the Bill actually IS in the market, or Bill may know someone who is interested!
Current Customers / Past Customers
Without a doubt, one of the most neglected sources of referrals and additional business in virtually EVERY industry are the CURRENT and PAST
CUSTOMERS!
Every company (unless it’s BRAND NEW) has a bank of current and past customers. And if you’re new to the company, more than likely you’ll have access to the past customers that no one is doing ANYTHING WITH!
You can get referrals from current customers two different ways. First, you can use your Referral Sheet at the end of your presentation to attempt to get five to seven referrals. Second, you can contact your current customers AT ANY TIME to ask for additional referrals.
A few months ago, I was calling several current customers to get testimonials for a marketing piece. I got a hold of one of our best clients and started talking with him. By the end of the call, he’d not only given me an INCREDIBLE testimonial, but he also gave me a couple referrals- one which turned into a sale within a few days!
Past customers are also a FANTASTIC place to get referrals. For some reason, most companies completely fall on their face when it comes to staying in touch with customers who haven’t ordered in a while. You can usually grab a list from your manager and start ‘warm-calling’ to either set an appointment with THEM, or to at least try to get four or five referrals!
We’re going to do a “Jump Start” exercise later to help you tap into your customer bank for referrals!
Prospects
Here’s another place that most sales people completely pass-up. Even if you give a fantastic presentation, but for some reason your prospect doesn’t buy, you should ALWAYS still ask for at least five referrals! I’m not encouraging you to be misleading about your relationship to your prospect, but you can still use the referral to get you a GREAT appointment with another prospect- EVEN IF THE PERSON WHO GAVE YOU THE REFERRAL DIDN’T BUY!
Secretaries
Secretaries are a GREAT place to get AWESOME referrals! WHY? Because they usually know EVERYONE in the industry! They often talk to other secretaries at these other companies, or have worked at these other companies.
If you’re not spending at least 10 to 15 minutes building some rapport with the secretaries and administrative assistants, you’re really screwing up!
You have to know that in many companies, the secretaries are the ones who run the show! They can very often influence their supervisors, and you’d be amazed at how many times a supervisor will end up delegating the decision to the secretary! So make sure you get to know your secretaries and ASK them to help you out. They may know of other department leaders within the company who is also in the market for one of your products!
ANYONE!
By now, you’ve probably figured out that almost ANYONE you meet can be a source for a great referral. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on a plane talking with a complete stranger when we undoubtedly get into the “career talk.” “What do you do? Oh really?” And when you’re on a three- hour plane trip, you’d be amazed how great a relationship you can build with someone! Always make sure you have your territory book with you, business cards listing your referral incentive, and an open mind to ask for referrals!
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