Not to managementIt’s up to you to lead the referral-selling charge.

Whether you are CEO, vice president, or a sales manager, you have a central role in your company’s sales process and in the decision to transition to referral selling—the only business-development strategy proven to convert prospects into clients more than 50 percent of the time.

Referral Selling is a Complete Shift

Referral selling is not just one more initiative to introduce to your organization. To successfully shift your sales team to referral selling takes accountability, reinforcement, and coaching. It means integrating referral selling into your sales process and making it your No. 1 priority. And it all starts with you—the sales leader.

You must commit to the transition, let everyone know you are becoming a referral-selling organization, and get your entire sales team on board. Align all systems in your organization (e.g., recruiting, training, and compensation) to support the referral-selling process. And help your team understand why referrals are the key to surpassing their quotas.

Referrals are Common Sense, but Not Common Practice

Imagine the impact on your sales, revenue, and profits when your team commits to referral selling. You will:

  • Double your sales force without adding to your payroll
  • Get only qualified meetings at the level that counts
  • Penetrate prime accounts with personal introductions to exactly the decision-makers your sales reps want to meet
  • Consistently increase deal size by more than 10 percent
  • Ace out the competition and seal the deal

Yet, while every salesperson agrees that referrals are the most effective way to generate qualified leads, more than 95 percent of companies do not have a well-developed referral-selling process.

Think You Have a Referral Business?

Do you have:

  • A written referral sales plan?
  • Written weekly referral sales goals?
  • Metrics to track and measure referrals?
  • Accountability for results?
  • A system in place to reward employees for generating referrals?

If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, congratulations! If you answered “no” to even one, it’s time to focus on creating a disciplined, measurable referral program.

Start by downloading my Referral I.Q. Quiz. This 13-question, interactive PDF will not only help you evaluate your sales process; it’s also your checklist for referral selling.

Forget Cold Calling—Referrals are HOT, HOT, HOT

Referral selling transforms everything it touches. When you commit to selling and integrating referrals into everything you do as a sales organization, your team will bring in more qualified leads, foster better long-term relationships with customers, decrease the cost of sales, and generate more revenue than ever before. And best of all, your reps will never have to cold call again. Why would you spend time doing anything else?

Comment Here

How have you integrated referral selling into your sales process?