#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.