Are you relying on cold calls to get through your day? Are you banging your head against a wall doing the same things over and over hoping for different results?
The key is working SMARTER, not harder. Yes, you do indeed need to have a fantastic work schedule. But if you work really really smart, you can reach a six-figure income working 20 hours per week.
The biggest key to moving the needle on your closing percentage is working referrals. Referrals don’t have to be someone’s best friend to be effective. A simple acquaintance will do the trick.
6 Ways To Get Referrals Every Day
People who don’t buy
Yes, if people don’t buy, but they are cool and respectful about what you are doing, then they are excellent people to ask for referrals. Sometime the people who don’t buy give you more referrals than people to do buy (as long as you are not pushy towards the non-buyers).
People who already have your product
If your company has been around a while, you probably run into people quite often who are already buyers of your brand. Instead of walking to your car with your tail between your legs feeling like you missed an opportunity, ask those people for referrals.
People who have used your product for years are the absolute best people to get referrals from.
Current/Past Customers
You should always be re-servicing your customers. If you aren’t, start doing it today. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it keeps the competition at bay, lowers cancellations and….wait for it….it’s a great time to ask for referrals.
Your mission of a service call should be to walk your client through your product or service thoroughly. It’s amazing how easily they forget the key features.
Once you are done, you want them thinking “This is so much better than I thought it was. I love this guy/gal. This is totally worth the money.”
Once your customer is wowed, then ask for referrals.
People who have bought from a competitor
When I sold supplemental insurance, our big competitor was Aflac. If I felt those customers weren’t open to switching to my insurance plan, I would ask them for referrals.
People don’t have to buy from you in order to give you referrals. Just the idea that they invested in supplemental cancer insurance was valuable enough to get my foot in the door.
People who don’t qualify for your product
Salespeople call on people every day who aren’t a good fit for their product. Maybe you sell custom suits to high level executives, but meet someone who only wears jeans and t-shirts to work. Or you sell skin care, and you meet someone with extreme allergies. Or you sell life insurance and your prospect has a chronic illness that disqualifies them from your plan.
These people may not be able to do business with you, but they are excellent people to get referrals from.
Friends and Family
I’m not a fan of selling to friends and family unless they approach you. However, I am a fan of asking friends and family for referrals. You can simply say, “I don’t want you to feel pressure to buy from me, but I wanted to ask a different favor. Who do you know who would appreciate knowing about what I do? Would you mind if I jot down 1 or 2 people?”
If you are really smart and realize that every warm body you meet during the day is a referral source, you will find yourself getting a much warmer response from prospects and relying far less on cold calls.
If you want to learn what to say to effectively get referrals, approach referrals, track and manage referrals, etc…you can learn more about my Referral Selling course HERE.
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