Coffee's for Closers

23Gaining Referrals

‘Champions keep playing until they get it right’.

—Billie Jean King

One of the most effective ways of doing business is by referral. Once you have done a great job for someone's business and they have personally recommended you to one of their friends or contacts, you are 90% on the way to sealing the deal by the time you first speak to them. It eliminates all the fear of dealing with you for the first time and questioning whether your product or service works. Whenever you can gain a referral, make sure you get one, as this will increase the amount of business you do over time.

Clients I work with who deal with many inbound enquiries always take the prospect's contact details and then ask how they heard about them. This a great way of understanding where your enquiries are coming from, so you can amend your marketing spend accordingly.

I do feel there is a better way of asking the question. The key is to create the perception that the majority of your business comes from referrals, as this gives the prospect the confidence that you are clearly good at what you do. For any inbound enquiry, I would suggest asking, ‘Who recommended you to us?’ You need to get all the sales team asking this question consistently, as this gives the perception that most of your business comes from recommendations.

I shared this idea with a property client who sells distressed properties. The directors and the sales team liked the idea so much that they changed the strapline ...