Referrals are the key to growing your organization. But rather than take a wait-and-see approach, hoping to get some referrals, a proactive approach is to strategically develop Referral Partners — people who you have a relationship with and who proactively introduce and refer you to your target prospects. The prospects they send you are the easiest-to-convert leads you’ll ever get .
One of the tough aspects of the business world is building credibility. One of the best ways to do this is to encourage referrals and seek them out wherever possible. A referral can mean the difference between a successful sale and a lost opportunity. Never overlook the power of a business referral and keep them in mind when building a bushiness strategy.
Referrals can come from a wide number of sources. In the Business to Business world, that usually means clients and prospects. People who know you and are familiar with your products or services such as an existing client can frequently be the best referral sources. So don’t hesitate to ask a satisfied client for a referral when the chance presents itself.
Prospects are another good source for referrals. Occasionally you may find that your product or service does not actually meet all the needs of a sales prospect. You can still ask for a sales referral at the end of your call. at that point you really have little to lose. If the prospect can provide any referrals you really haven’t lost anything. Just go on to the next person on your list. But sometimes, just sometimes, they provide you with a name. And that’s a great start.
A change in the prospecting process can also have a real impact. Instead of trying to recruit customers, you’ll be much better off if you focus on finding Referral Partners instead.
To be most effective, you want to focus on qualified referrals gained through a number of different methods. To be successful in receiving quality referrals one of the most important criteria is that your Referral Partners must have “Opportunity.” That is, the opportunity to interact with your potential target customers on a regular basis.
You see, if they don’t get enough exposure to your target prospects, they won’t be able find many referrals or be able to recommend you very often. Following this logic it makes sense that you would start with your target clients.
the more you know about the clients you are targeting the better. Before you can find successful referral partners, you need to get to know your target customers. Identifying their wants and needs will be very useful. What other products and services do they buy? What type of business events do they currently attend? Where do they network? And so on.
Doing this provide a couple of benefits. Not only will it help you connect with potential referral partners but it will also help you serve your customers better because you have a better understanding and appreciation for them.
Go where you potential referrals are. After planning and strategizing it will then be time to actually interact with the people who can provide you with referrals. In order to find and connect with Referral Partner prospects use a networking strategy. Don’t just rely on the Chamber events but take time to assess where they go – what associations do they belong to, conferences they attend etc.?
Determine who has regular contact with your target customers. Understanding this aspect will take you a long way in identifying the potential referral candidates that will return the greatest value. Work to understand the services and products that your ideal client would need. From whom do they buy their supplies, and who do they contract for the services they need?
If your goal is to sell to restaurants you could begin by determining which businesses provide them with services or products similar to yours. Find out who cleans their linens, and who supplies their coffee. It is more than likely that those service providers have a number of other clients in the same area. This puts them in a perfect position to introduce you to their other restaurant owners .
Current clients are an excellent source of referrals. Are you uncertain where to begin? A great way to find out is to simply ask your own ideal clients who else they buy from and tap into their network of suppliers and service providers. So keeping to the restaurant example above, if you want to find out who does their linen service or their books, just ask your current restaurant clients. And then ask for an introduction them.
Once you have some prospective Referral partners in mind get on the phone and suggest a coffee date to talk about how you can help each other. A key piece of information you need to ascertain when you meeting with a potential referral provider is do the have the right level of opportunity to interact with the type of potential clients you want to meet. These type of relationships will take time, but with the right referral provider it will be worth it.
Although you will encounter a wide range of business occasions over time, having a solid skill set for face to face communication will be a real benefit. Regardless of the business activity having good communications skills will help in building a highly effective and satisfying career.