Whether you’re new in sales or a well-established professional, one of the hardest tasks everyone faces is securing new business leads. What’s even harder is ensuring those leads are qualified rather than those who might express mild interest in your product or service.
Mastering this aspect of your career is key to grow as a business development professional. You can prospect, cold-call, email and text all day long, but one of the surest (and easiest!) ways to grow your book of business is with referrals and introductions. Three effective best practices to get qualified referrals will help you step up your game and uncover a path to new levels of success.
Set the Expectation
You can expect to gain referrals from client meetings on a regular basis if you get in the habit of doing so. Think about the customers you’ve worked long and hard to gain, grow and nurture: they know you, they trust you and they would like to see you succeed. Each time you meet with those clients or customers – on the phone or in person – make it clear that one of the ways you grow your business is with referrals.
That is largely accomplished by word of mouth, and each client you meet with is a catalyst to meet other people who may be interested in your product or service. Set the expectation that every time you meet with your client (or prospect), you’re going to ask who they know that might also benefit from the service you provide.
This process is uncomfortable for many sellers, but the sooner you realize that you’re asking to be introduced to more people to whom you can provide value, the easier this will become. The first time you broach this subject with your client, you may feel a bit of anxiety, but your clients will begin to expect “the ask,” and they may even start providing you referrals without asking.
Provide Referrals Yourself
Referrals don’t have to be a one-way street. (Undoubtedly, you’ve heard the expression “Givers get?”)
As a business development professional, you will undoubtedly meet a wide variety of individuals in many different industries in a wide variety of fields. If you’re asking clients and prospects to refer you to new leads, there’s no reason you can’t return the favor. This provides more value to your clients and shows that you’re not just taking from those you work with. By showing an interest in their business, you’re demonstrating to your clients that you’re engaged and are willing to help. This tactic also eases the pressure and hesitancy of asking for referrals. If you enter into an arrangement where you share possible leads and contact information with one another, there’s often less hesitancy than if it were a one-way street.
Prospect Up
This isn’t so much a tip on ‘what’ to do, as it is ‘how’ to do it. As you continue to grow your book of business, your client/customer base will grow with you. If that progression isn’t fast enough, you’ll need to find clients who are more established. The way to do this? Prospect up.
Don’t be afraid to ask for names of very successful people, such as business owners, lawyers, government officials, and IT professionals – or whoever you think your ideal client may be. While it will shift from person to person, there’s a good rule for those that work in sales and business development. A salesman will be as successful as his average client.
Use that logic when asking your existing clients for referrals.
Gaining referrals isn’t easy for anyone, but it’s an integral part of any sellers’ career. By setting expectations, playing your part, and prospecting up, you’re sure to see more success in your pursuit of new leads and business opportunities.
Jim brings over 35 years of sales, management and marketing experience to the "training table." He has coached hundreds of business owners, sales executives, managers, and corporations to help them achieve greater levels of success and productivity. His areas of expertise range from sales and management training in the advertising and sports marketing fields to professional and business-to-business services, continuing education, new business development, staff hiring and assessments.
