Bad Referrals Are Your Fault | Sales Strategies

Recently, I’ve been working with a lot of financial selling professionals. This particular group was whining to me that they used to ask for referrals all the time, but they were terrible. They got referrals from people that they didn’t want to do business with, who weren’t a good fit, etc. At that point, they had just given up and thought that referrals don’t work.

I asked these professionals a few questions and it took me one minute to discover that it’s not the referrals that don’t work, it’s that they were asking for referrals incorrectly. They were at fault in the execution of how we ask for referrals.

Here are the two things you need to do in order to get the right number of referrals.

[bctt tweet=”Only ask for referrals from the people you want more of in your life.” username=”EngageColleen”]

To be brutally honest, if you ask your worst customers for referrals, they’re going to give you more bad customers. Your worst referrals hang out with people like themselves, so only ask your best customers who are a perfect fit for your business for referrals.

Next, be specific. I like to see sellers be as specific as possible. In fact, do all the work for your customers so they don’t need to guess anything. For example, if you’re working with someone and you want to be referred to their boss or the business owner next door to them, ask them for an introduction. The more specific the request, the more likely you are to get a yes.

Now, if you don’t know anyone else in the area, then be specific about the types of people you’re looking for such as business owners or Vice Presidents of Sales. This will help increase the likelihood of getting a good referral. Don’t give up, just change the way you’re asking for referrals.

P.S. Are you a speaker, trainer, consultant or small business owner? Don’t miss my upcoming limited-attendance event on creating never-ending value client relationships, presented along with Alan Weiss in Miami Beach! Learn more at: www.EngageSelling.com/grow