Getting a qualified sales referral is like finding money on the sidewalk.  It just makes your day.  Plus it makes life a whole lot easier.

Who in their Right Mind Doesn’t Want a Pack of Sales Referrals?

Not anyone I can think of.  Even though everyone likes to get highly qualified sales referrals few small business owners, entrepreneurs, and SOHO’s actual know how to set themselves up to get those coveted referrals.  Why would you?

You’ve been told the only way to get qualified referrals is to ask your existing clients to refer you.  There are a couple problems with that model.  For one thing most people don’t know how to ask.  They end up damaging their new relationships and that costs them in client retention down the road.  Plus this model by design produces a low return on your time investment.

3 Steps to Get More Qualified Sales Referrals

When it comes to qualified sales referrals start thinking about:

1. How to develop a one-to-many approach to referrals rather than the one-to-one approach you use now
2. Developing a clear message that communicates that you solve a problem people are desperate to solve
3. Making referring you a win-win-win

Rather than pressuring your clients to refer you explore opportunities to partner with other businesses who sell to the same clients you sell to.  These opportunities make a one-to-many approach easy.

Part of the reason your clients, peers, friends, or other businesses don’t refer you is because they don’t really understand what you do, or how to tell someone else about you.  If you’re an accountant it just isn’t really motivating for someone who actually wants to refer you to tell the person they want to contact you to call you because you’re a good accountant.  So what?

However, if your ideal clients are small business owners and you have a unique approach to help them avoid laying off employees you become referable.  Why?

• Because… it’s easy to understand the big problem you solve
• Because… it’s easy to remember and tell someone else the big problem you solve
• Because… even if they aren’t someone with that problem they probably know someone losing sleep trying to figure out how they are going to keep going without laying off employees

You have a win-win-win built right in:

1. Obviously you win because people know who to tell about you, and what to tell them
2. The person referring you wins because they get to do something nice for someone else and look smart doing it
3. The person referred wins because they get help with a major problem they are desperate to solve

I go into much more detail about getting referrals in my sales and marketing coaching program.  If you are struggling to figure out how to do this in your business the sales and marketing coaching program can help you overcome that challenge.

Coach Cheryl

Do it Yourself

Do it with a Little Help

Do it with Guidance

photo credit: MaskedPhotography DM

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under sales marketing coaching. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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