Pop quiz hotshot—what’s your best channel for bringing in quality leads? Is it cold calling? Or email? Maybe LinkedIn? [Buzzer sound] Bzzzzzt. Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. These are all okay sources. But they’re far from the best.

It turns out it’s your own buyers that are the most superior source of leads. Because they open up the door to the holy grail of all lead types—the referral. The question is, do you know how to earn those referrals without alienating your clients?

What’s so great about referrals anyway? Well simply put, referrals are just plain better than any other type of lead. Here’s why.

First up, they’re the easiest leads you’ll ever uncover.

According to a report from Social Media Today, more than half of marketers (54%) say referral marketing generates more cost-efficient leads compared to other marketing channels.

Referral leads bypass all that time-consuming rapport-building right off the bat. And that means they’re more likely to convert.

Marketo found that referred leads have a better conversion rate than any other channel—at 10.99% from lead to opportunity, 3.74X the average rate. Compare that to sales prospecting (0.90%, 0.31X), inbound (3.82%, 1.30X), paid marketing (2.98%, 1.01X), and email (0.55%, 0.19X).

Referred leads are easier to close.

70% of sales leaders and 69% of frontline sales reps report that referrals close substantially faster than traditional leads according to Influitive and Heinz Marketing.

Nice.

Plus, referrals spend more.

The Wharton School of Business found the lifetime value of referral customers is 16% higher than your average customer.

Referral leads bring in even more referrals. With each referral you bring in, you’re not just earning a single new customer. You’re also expanding your network of potential referrals and boosting the odds that you’ll bring even more of these high quality leads.

Because according to Invesp, referred customers have a 37% higher retention rate and are 4X more likely to refer more customers to your brand than non-referrals.

Alright alright, enough with the stats. Let’s get to the meat of it all…

The More Referrals Framework. How do you ask for referrals in the first place?

And that means you have to deliver real, tangible value for your customers. But if you have delivered, all you need to do to earn a referral is follow this four-step framework…

One, Confirm Your Value. Basically, this is where you prove to your buyer that you’ve earned some serious results for them. And to do that, just follow this mini-framework we’ve put together…

Ask “Who Else?” Who else is in their network that you can help?

No need to overcomplicate here. Just follow this simple script…

Then you shut up.

No kidding—don’t say anything else. Let the buyer think about it on their own and don’t help them out. Don’t point them in the right direction. Don’t say a word.

It might be awkward for a minute or two. And that’s okay.

But remember—you’ve made a promise and delivered value to the buyer at this point. They’ve agreed to it. And now it’s time that they do you a favor in return.

After the buyer gives you a name and their contact info, don’t give up there. Instead, say:

Don’t be satisfied with just one name. Keep going until the buyer really has tapped out of potential referrals they can introduce you to.

After you’ve got multiple leads to reach out to, it’s time to…

Make a Specific Ask—get your buyer to set up a quick introduction.

Here’s the difference between a regular ask and the specific intro we should be aiming for:

See the difference here?

The best way to make this step more successful is by doing a lot of the work upfront. And that means passing on this template the referral source can use.

Hi [NAME],

I’ve been working with [YOUR NAME] and [he/she] has helped us with [COMMON PROBLEM].

I know they have really useful content and insights that they can send over. 

Does it make sense for me to introduce [YOUR NAME] so they can see if they can help you out too? 

Thanks,

[BUYER]

Nothing complicated here. But the goal is to make everything as easy as possible for your buyer.

And once you’ve made the specific ask, you can move on to…

Using the 1-1-1 Follow Up method.

You can’t get lazy after you’ve gotten buy-in from the buyer. Because most of the time, they won’t act unless you do a bit of pushing. That’s why it’s up to you to create a system that ensures your buyer is making good on their promise.

I’ve found the 1-1-1 Follow Up method is the best way to stay on top of your referral sources. Check it out…

That’s all there is to it!

So if you’re not getting the results you want with normal prospecting, turn to mining referrals.

The post How I Keep My Sales Pipeline Packed (Referrals) appeared first on Salesman.com.