Why Referrals Are Your Best Sales Leads (+ How We Earn Them!)

When it comes to finding the best qualified sales leads, referrals are one of the most cost-effective and lucrative lead generation strategies. Instead of relying on cold calls, cold emails, or social campaigns, turn to your current clients for lead generation support. After all, you’re more likely to have success with leads referred by loyal customers than leads gained through an online marketing initiative.

Wondering how to encourage referrals and gain more sales success? Here’s everything you need to know about why referrals are excellent sales leads and how to earn them.

What are the Benefits of Seeking Referrals?

Referrals have a leg-up over other leads from the start. According to Forbes, referrals are an ideal way to generate leads because “referral sales require almost no financial investment, but they bring in very valuable warm leads.” Additionally referrals are automatically primed to trust your company based on positive reviews from a friend, colleague, or family member.

Here are some of the other reasons why referrals are such a fantastic way to reach new leads:

• Low Cost: Referrals don’t cost you anything in terms of money or resources. Essentially, you’re asking your existing clients to do a small amount of work for you in order to generate a new lead. Unlike other forms of lead generation, referrals have the potential to grow exponentially, since one current client can provide a large quantity of referrals.
• Prior Interest: Since referrals are sent your way by a trusted friend or colleague, they are automatically primed to trust the quality of your business and are interested in learning more. This means that your reps are connecting with warm leads who have shown prior interest in your product or service.
• Faster Sales Process: Instead of leading a referral through the initial steps of a sales process, you can skip ahead to a more information-based stage of lead nurturing. Referrals tend to move through the pipeline more quickly since they don’t need as much initial familiarization with your company.
• They Keep on Giving: The more referrals you gain, the more potential you have for future referrals. Every new client is an opportunity for countless connections and growth.

How to Gain Referrals

Many salespeople struggle with gaining referrals since it often feels awkward to approach a client and ask for a favor. Just remember, customers who are excited about your product will be happy to share their experience with others—sometimes they just need a little encouragement!

Ask For Referrals Early-On in the Sales Process

According to the same Forbes article on the benefits of referrals, many sales reps wait too long to ask for a referral and miss a crucial window of opportunity in the process. This is because “if you wait too long, the customer is no longer excited about the product.” Even if a customer uses your product every day, the novelty-factor plays a huge role in the enthusiasm of recommendations. Don’t be shy about asking a customer to refer a friend or colleague right away. If they are truly satisfied and excited, they’ll be happy to encourage others to invest in your product.

Make Referrals Easy

Don’t ask clients to do the work. Remember, they are already doing you a big favor by agreeing to provide referrals in the first place. To make your client’s job simpler, include a referral email template with relevant product-information. This way, clients don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time they send out a referral, and you ensure that every new lead gets the same preliminary information about your business.

Offer Referral Incentives

It’s a fact that more clients will want to provide a referral if they get something in return. Whether you offer discounts, free shipping, promotions, or credits, it’s a great idea to sweeten the deal for participating customers.

How We Earn Referrals at Acquirent

Acquirent’s team of professional sales development reps are experts in the sales process from start to finish. We prioritize finding high-quality leads that meet your ideal customer profile and show genuine interest in your company. Through our extensive professional network and using the best in sales enablement technology, we’re able to gain relevant referrals from peers within the industry. Ready to get started? Contact us today!