Drive Referral Leads in B2B

It’s common for us to trust the advice of our friends and colleagues. Often if they mention a product or service at a time when we are looking for something similar, we explore their recommendation. It’s human nature to share experiences and help each other out when we can. That’s why referrals make sense. No matter what business you’re in.

In the B2B sector referral leads have been underutilized. There are countless excuses as to why referrals won’t work, but what about the reasons why they will? When someone comes to you  on the recommendation of a colleague, they already have an expectation that you can help them. The sale becomes that much easier because your credibility has already been established. Who wouldn’t want this kind of lead in their pipeline?

The thing is, not a lot of businesses in B2B are actively asking for referrals. The key to success in gaining these warm referral leads is to know how to get people talking about you, and this can be a steep hill to climb when you don’t know how and where to begin.

If you’re going after referrals it’s easy to make these top 3 mistakes:

1. Asking Once
   You ask for referrals once, and when nothing comes through you close the book on your attempts at generating referral leads. Asking for referrals isn’t a passive activity. Your request won’t stay top of mind forever.
2. Desperation
   Asking too many times and through improper methods. You don’t want to come off desperate and if you breach the idea of referrals when it isn’t warranted you will have missed out on an opportunity down the line.
3. Poorly Communicating Your Business
   When asking for referrals you give too little or too much information about what you do. If you’re asking contacts outside of your work environment for referrals you need to provide them with enough information about how you can help their network, or else they won’t tell anyone about you.  Similarly, don’t overload them with minute details of your business that they’re unlikely to understand.

Don’t fall victim to these mistakes! Discover the step-by-step process of successfully attaining referrals.

SALESWORKS has developed a referral methodology specifically for the B2B environment that takes away all of the guesswork. Learn more about what the Referral Program can do for your business: http://www.salesworks.com/store/sales-referral-program-kit/