Love them or hate them, referrals are one of the most crucial components of a successful inbound sales strategy. In fact, there isn’t an easier, cheaper and more reliable way to grow your business than through sourcing referrals — but only if it’s done in a consistent way.
Word-of-mouth referrals are an incredibly powerful tool for generating leads and growing your business. Referrals can come from satisfied customers, business partners, and even friends and family members. However, to encourage people to actively refer new customers to your business, you need to encourage them to actively look for people to refer to you.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss the steps you can take to get more referrals and more inbound leads.
1. Define Your Referral strategy
Identify what the strategy consists of, effectively write a plan. Identify your target audiences for the strategy, determine what type of incentives or offers you want to use to get them to offer referrals and how people can refer new customers to your business. For example, you might offer a discount to customers who refer a friend or family member, or you might offer a commission to partners who refer new clients.
2. Choose Your Incentives
Once you’ve defined your referral strategies, you need to choose the incentives you want to offer. These may well vary by your different target audiences. Incentives can take many forms, such as discounts, gift cards, cash rewards, or free products or services. Choose incentives that are appealing to your target audience and that align with your business goals. For example, if you’re trying to increase sales, a discount or cash reward might be more effective than a free product or service. Also, remember that you might need an incentive for the new customer and a separate incentive to reward the person who made the introduction.
3. Communicate Your Referral Strategy
To get the most out of your referral strategy you need to communicate it effectively. Make sure your customers, partners, and employees know about it and how to participate. You can promote your strategy through social media, email marketing, and even on your website. Be sure to provide clear instructions on how people can refer new customers and how they can claim their incentives.
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4. Overcome your fear of asking
If you’re afraid of asking for introductions, you’re not alone. Many people balk at the prospect of starting a conversation to ask for an introduction. The only way to get over this fear is to just ask anyway. Think of it this way: You’ll never lose business by asking for an introduction, but you never know how much business you lost by not asking at all.
Armed with that mindset, it’s time to overcome your fear of asking for introductions — and just do it. Fear of asking for introductions is a major opportunity loss. Force yourself to work through the fear, and you’ll thank yourself later.
5. Phrase it as a request for help
When you ask for introductions, it’s important to phrase it as a request for help. Why? Because people love to help other people, especially when they already know and like them.
Begin your ask for introductions by saying, “I was wondering if you could help me with something … ” When you do that, you’ll set yourself up for a productive chat and leave the other person feeling good about helping you out.
6. Leverage your entire network
Take advantage of your entire network. And when it comes to referrals, this is especially true. Don’t limit yourself to just one group of your network when you ask for introductions. Your existing clients are a great resource, but they’re far from the only one.
Your past customers, industry connections, former and present colleagues, friends, family members, social acquaintances, friends of friends — everyone is fair game. The more people you include in your quest for introductions, the more introductions you’ll get, plain and simple.
5. Get specific about your ideal introduction
One of the biggest mistakes people make is not being clear about the kind of introductions they want. Far too often, they say, “So who do you know? Who do you think might be a good fit for what I have to offer?” This puts all the burden on the person helping you. Instead, you should be specific about what your ideal introduction looks like.
When you ask for an introduction, give clear examples about the types of prospects you’re interested in connecting with. Share information such as their specific job titles, the companies they work for, the industry they’re in, their average revenue, and other important factors. Then, let the person think about who in their network fits the bill for an introduction to you.
6. Ask for an introduction every day
This might sound like a lot of work, but how long does it actually take you to speak to someone and ask for a single introduction? You should be able to accomplish this in just 15 minutes — so make it the most important 15 minutes of your day, every workday.
When you ask for one introduction per working day, you ask for five each week, ultimately requesting around 250 per year. That’s huge! Imagine how many ideal prospects you could connect with from 250 introduction requests per year.
7. Hold yourself accountable to numbers
Don’t just say you’re going to ask for one introduction a day — make a plan, stick to it, and actually follow through. Failing to hold themselves accountable to numbers is one of the most common reasons why people don’t get referral business. If your goal is five introductions per week, then create a system that holds you accountable to that number every single week.
The key is to make sure that your goals are realistic, and to use a reliable online calendar or CRM system to track your introductions. Holding yourself accountable to your new introduction strategy will lead to a dramatic increase in your sales.
8. Track Referrals
To ensure that you’re offering incentives for valid referrals, you need to track referrals. Use a tracking system to monitor referrals and make sure they meet the requirements for your program. For example, you might require that the referred customer makes a purchase or signs up for a service before the incentive is awarded.
9. Follow Up and Reward Referrals
Once you’ve tracked referrals and confirmed that they meet the requirements tom receive a reward, it’s time to follow up. Make sure to thank the person who referred the new customer and award the incentive promptly. The faster you reward referrals, the more likely people are to continue referring new customers to your business.
In conclusion, asking for referrals is a powerful way to generate leads and grow your business. By following these steps, you can create a successful referral strategy that encourages people to refer new customers to your business. Remember to communicate your offer effectively, choose the right incentives, track referrals, and reward them promptly. With a well-executed referral programme, you will attract new customers and increase your revenue.
By Justin Charlton
Join the NoLimits Business Community
Are you a business owner looking to take your business to the next level? Join our innovative community of like-minded professionals and gain access to a wealth of valuable resources, including a community portal to chat with other business owners, ebooks, business development software, and growth events that will transform the way you do business. Best of all, these resources are completely free and will be available to you forever.
But the benefits of joining our NoLimits business community don’t stop there. By becoming part of our community, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with other business owners, share insights and ideas, and build valuable relationships that will help your business thrive. Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity to supercharge your business and join us today!