Referralocity
In the medical field, a professional will refer a patient for an X-ray or to another professional to review or work in their area of expertise. When traveling, I will often ask a local what places they might refer me to. In college, an instructor will share during lecture to “refer to page 123” as they continue to teach.
Having enjoyed a blessed and lucrative sales career, I learned much about referrals and how important they are to becoming successful in sales. Whether you sell a tangible product or offer an intangible service, referrals are the fuel to our sales careers.
Here are shocking stats on referrals:
80% of customers trust a known referral
being referred makes someone 10x more likely to buy
for the sales professional there is zero upfront investment yet they have a warm lead
A billboard in some marketing regions cost upwards of $5,000 a month to try to get a message to a distracted driver (who is probably eating Taco Bell while holding their smart phone and driving 10mph over the posted speed limit!).
A referral may cost you time to establish a relationship of trust, but it doesn’t cost you $5,000!!
Having been the fortunate recipient of a referral, it feels so rewarding that someone thought highly enough of me to pass my name along to another possible client.
What I learned about referrals that you may or may not realize:
Low cost
More trust
Fewer pricing objections
Faster processing
Easier to close
Longer retention of a new client
Bigger sales
Reach advisor status
More referrals
More sales
More fun
Here’s my sales leadership challenge for you—I dare you to ask for a referral. Without referrals your sales success will rely upon meeting enough people directly and trying to win them over. Referrals do a lot of the winning others over because of who and why another person referred you.
One of my most popular keynote addresses for sales professionals is called “Referralocity.” Contact me today if I can share this engaging and informative presentation for your team.