The Please & Thank You Of Referrals: Are You Getting Them Right?

by Compiled by GymLink Australia ()

Let's set aside for a moment the fact that fewer than 50% of salespeople ask for referrals in the first place and assume you're doing things right: you're asking your customers for referrals. But are you doing it in a way that focuses on the customer and his or her needs? Or are you, like most sales people, focusing on your own needs? Emphasising your own needs over those of your client is one of the top 10 mistakes in referral gathering, says Paul McCord, president of McCord and Associates and an authority on prospecting, referral selling, and personal marketing (www.mccordandassociates.com). Here, McCord offers his advice on the proper way to ask and thank clients for referrals:

Please.
When many reps ask a current customer for a referral, it sounds something like this, "Sarah, it would really help me out if you could give me the names of some other friends who could use our facilities." Or, in the financial business, it goes, "Sarah, I make my money in two ways: through performance fees and through referrals. Can you refer me...?" What's wrong with these statements? They are all about you. Customers are human; they will do things that are in their own best interests, so your request needs to be phrased in a way that shows how giving you a referral will serve them well. For instance, "Sarah, most of my clients give me five or six high quality referrals after the sale because, unlike other salespeople who must spend 80 or 90 percent of their time looking for their next commission, I spend my time taking care of you and making sure your purchase is exactly as you want it." Ninety percent of your customers will be happy to give you what you want, says McCord.

Thank you.
It is important to send a personal, meaningful thank you when customers give you good referrals. Go beyond the thank you note, says McCord, but not so far that your customers feel they’re being bribed. For instance, one salesperson McCord knows has a customer who collects antique cookbooks. When this customer passes along a hot referral, the salesperson finds and sends her a book for her collection. The books don't cost a lot – generally just $25 to $30 – but they are very meaningful to the customer, and well worth the $800 - $1000 referral! That same customer then goes out of her way to find and pass on referral because of that kind thank you!

In the end, remember the client isn't giving you a referral because they like you; they're doing it because it's in their best interest. The referrals are their property and what happens between you and the referral reflects on them. Make them confident the other person will be grateful you called.