The 3 Rules of Asking For a Referral in Sales

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• 3 ways to ask for a referral 🤝 

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• Selling the next steps ➡️ 

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3 Rules of Asking For a Referral

Referrals are the holy grail of sales.

They’re the secret back door that opens up conversations you wouldn’t normally have access to.

But getting a referral isn’t always straight forward.

To ask for a referral, one thing needs to be true… The person giving you the referral needs to be happy.

We're not talking about ‘that was fine’ happy. We're talking ‘I want to tell all of my friends how great this was’ happy. If they have bad feelings about you, there’s no way they’ll put their reputation on the line to refer you to someone else they know.

And nobody wants to be hit with an awkward ‘no’ when asking someone for a referral.

So today, we’re breaking down the 3 rules of asking for a sales referral. 👇️ 

1. Strike While the Iron is Hot

The best time to ask for a referral is immediately after a customer is happy with your product or service.

We are emotional creatures, and recency bias plays a huge role in how we feel. You could provide incredible service for 11 months. But make a big mistake in month 12? That’s all the customer is going to remember (and how they’re going to feel about you).

The best times to ask for a referral:

• Right after a deal is closed.

• As soon as you get positive feedback about your product.

• Anytime a customer has a success story using your product.

That's your moment.

Casually drop: "Do you know anyone else who could benefit from this?"

Bonus: When someone posts about your company on social, reach out immediately. Make them feel appreciated, and want to do it again.

2. Do the Homework for Them

When asking for a referral, you need to make it stupidly easy for them to say yes.

This means doing the heavy lifting.

• Know exactly who you want to be introduced to.

• Write the intro email draft.

• Explain why this connection makes sense.

• Give them a copy-paste template they can use in 2 seconds.

Your goal: Make referring you require minimal effort and zero brain cells.

3. Make Referrals Worth Their While

Ask yourself the question ‘What’s in it for them?’

Sometimes it’s just a favor. And that’s great.

However, sometimes an incentive can make things more enticing for your customer, and make it easier for you to ask.

But it’s important to remember that not all incentives are created equal.

1.  If you are selling to a business owner or consumer, incentives could be a deep discount on their purchase or future purchases for giving you a referral.

2. For corporate employees who aren’t so affected as much by the bottom line or savings for a company, aim for rewards that directly appeal to them. This could mean gift cards, cash, or cool swag. (P.S., no one wants to make a referral for your bland company logo tee… just sayin.)

The Golden Rule

Referrals aren't about begging and asking for favors. They're about creating such an incredible experience that people can't wait to tell others.

Be so good they want to give you a referral without asking.

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