“If we don’t ask for referrals, how will our business continue grow?”
Even the best salespeople are deathly afraid of referrals, so they don’t ask for them. But you still want and need your business to grow. Fortunately, you don’t need a ton of referrals (although that would be nice), and we are here to help.
Today, our Leadership Coach, Cassie, is going to talk about How To Get 1 Referral Today. And after reading this post you will be able to GROW YOUR BUSINESS one referral at a time!
Recently, during one of our Focused Leader group coaching calls, I realized that most people struggle with lead generation and more importantly, “asking for referrals”. And to some, just saying the word REFERRALS makes them cringe.
Most of our students or potential students started their network marketing business to help their friends and family.
But what happens when you go through your warm market of friends and family? The same existing customers keep showing up time and time again to your classes, you are stuck, and you struggle to move your business forward. You wonder, “Where do I go from here? How am I going to get to the next rank, or reach my income goal if I can not get new customers?” Or maybe you are telling yourself, “I have asked for referrals but I am not getting any.”
I will be the first to tell you I do not like to cold call, and I am not someone that will approach a stranger at a grocery store or Starbucks. I firmly believe that one way to gain exposure to what your products can do and really grow your business is by meeting with people you personally know or through referrals.
The problem is that if we do not ask for referrals how will our business continue to grow?
Today we are going to talk about the importance of referrals, how you feel about asking for referrals, what is in it for the customer, and the math behind your referral ask.
Before we get started, let’s first go over what a referral is and why they are so important to grow your business. The definition of referrals is “an act of referring someone or something for consultation, review, or further action.”
That doesn’t seem so scary right?
There is a quote by Shiv Singh that states, “The purpose of a business is to create a customer who creates customers”.
Those two go hand and hand, so if we want to grow our business we need to build trust within our customers. So when we “ASK’’ for referrals they will refer their friends and family.
But what is HARD is we are either not asking or asking enough, project our own icky/salesy feelings about referrals over to the customer when we do ask, or we are not showing the customer what is in it for them.
So let’s get started.
Step 1: Self Reflect and Evaluate how do you feel about asking for referrals?
Do you feel icky, pushy, or salesy?
Do you have the thought in your head “They are not going to give me a referral, so I am just not going to ask.” Or maybe you half ask and that way you can say you tried.
What you feel and think will come off to your customer and more times than not they will not give you a referral because of your own “personal thoughts or feelings” around referrals.
So, let’s take a moment and evaluate our mindset around referrals.
Do you love helping people?
We are all good humans, right? So, isn’t it our moral and ethical obligation to help as many people as we can?
And what better way to help the people WE love than by helping the people THEY love.
Recently I helped one of my good friends find a vet hospital for her dog. Her dog was experiencing some issues and since she had just moved here and she was struggling to find where was the best place to take her dog to get checked out. I had an excellent experience with a local vet, so I referred her to them. She no longer was struggling to find the perfect/best place to take her dog, and her dog got the help he needed and was well taken care of.
I was able to help her by referring her to a place I knew she would get excellent customer service from and get the help she needed, which I loved!!!! It was a win-win for all of us.
It’s about giving excellent customer service, providing value, and building trust versus taking or getting referrals.
Which leads us into:
Step 2: What is in it for the customer?
Why should they give you a referral? How is it going to benefit the customer?
People love to help their friends and family, and what better way to “HELP” then by referring them. Referring their friends and family to you gives them the opportunity to learn more and see if the products are going to be a good fit for them or not.
What else is in it for the customer? Do you offer incentives? If they refer someone they also can get this for free.
I love free stuff, so you’re telling me not only do I get to help my friends and family but I also get something for free, YES PLEASE!
Step 3: Know the math behind your referral ask.
Have you ever heard of the 20-60-20 rule?
- 20% of people will give you referrals no matter what- these are the ones who are giving you referrals now.
- 60% of people- it’s up to you, this is who the referral approach is written for.
- 20% won’t no matter what- “they don’t do that” and that’s fine.
So let’s help those in the 60%.
Step 4: How to get 1 referral today?
As you wrap up your sales conversation, gain positive feedback and go into your referral ask by saying the following:
My Referral Ask:
“I am glad we had the opportunity to meet today and I am really excited for you to get your products. What are some of your take-aways or ah-ha moments?
Oh, that is awesome, I am glad I could really help you.
I know everyone has friends or family members that really could benefit from using these products. One way for us to educate people on what these products can do is through exposure. Typically, I only meet with people I know or who have been referred to me.
I would love to contact them and see if these products would be a good fit for them or not, here is my pen and piece of paper, so please go ahead and write down their contact information of who you think would benefit.
As a thank you, for every 5 people you refer I will give you a ____________ for free.
While you are writing those names down I will go grab that ____________ so you can take it home today.”
How did that sound?
What if you asked at every appointment?
Many of you already have a sales conversation or class booked, so don’t wait, ask for referrals on the day of the appointment.
Final thoughts:
What if you let the customer make the decision on if they wanted to give you a referral or not? How would that grow your business?
Ask yourself these three questions: “Am I even trying?” “How do I FEEL about referrals?” And “What is in it for the customer?”
Review your referral ask, role play and practice, build your confidence, and GROW YOUR BUSINESS one referral at a time!
Thank you so much for reading today’s post. To sign up for one of our free trainings on closing, recruiting, getting super focused, or leadership, go to emergesalestraining.com/freetraining.
Have a great day!