One of the classic words in the sales industry is referrals. Sales people have been asking, begging, and pleading for referrals for decades. Some salespeople even put more emphasis on the gathering of referrals than closing the actual sale. But are you getting your fair share of referrals? Here’s how to take charge of your own referrals and make sure you are getting everything you deserve from your hard work.
Don’t Start From Scratch
Why start from scratch if you already have a good foundation in place. This is the philosophy that each sale is actually a referral. If you treat each sale (not each client, more on that later) as a referral you will never again be starting from scratch. In fact you will only have to truly start from scratch the very first time. After that, you always have a referral. Sure, it may not always work out like that, but with that frame of mind, sales becomes a lot less intimidating.
Grow A Branch
So each time you close a sale, add a branch to your imaginary tree. In fact, you could even sketch it out on a piece of paper. The idea is that you don’t have a tree full of dead branches with no referrals. But you have branches budding with new clients and prospects. Branches aren’t mean to stick out awkwardly with nothing growing on them, they are the conduits of growth. Let each sale mean more than a number, let it be the door to the next sale.
Water Your Tree
In order to see continued growth of your sales network tree you need to care for it. One way to do this is by watering it with thankfulness. Each time you close a sale because someone gave you a referral, why don’t you write them a note thanking them for the referral? If you really want to see it grow, send out a similar note to anyone who was involved in the referral process. Thank the individual you are writing to for their role and thank the direct referral provider.
Don’t Treat Your Clients As Referrals Machines
The idea isn’t that you are closing a deal with the idea that the client will give you referrals. The idea is that you will make them so happy they will actually refer you naturally. Although your end game is to get as many referrals from them as possible, don’t portray that to the customer. You are there to solve a problem for the customer. The referrals will come when the customer can’t stop talking about how much you helped them
When trying to increase your sales, don’t just look to add, look to multiple. Adding will only increase your sales incrementally, and will take a lot of hard work. Multiplying will rapidly increase sales and take a lot of smart work. For more powerful tips to increase your referral prowess and sales network, check out our excellent book, The Sandler Rules. Learn more about how to apply these principles from Sandler Training Solutions by contacting Sandler Salefish today.
