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“In every client file there are a dozens of referral phone calls to be made.” — G.A. Bartick

According to BNET, the popular online resource for business executives, a referral is 15 times more likely to do business with you than a cold prospect. With odds like that it’s no wonder top-performing Sales Professionals commit much of their new business activities to asking for, contacting, and following-up on referrals.

The way we ask for referrals will have a huge impact on the number and the quality of the referrals we get. Ideally, we want the person we are requesting the referral from to think of people who would be interested in working with you and your company.

When asking for referrals from current buyers, top performers use the Silver Bullet Selling 4-Step generating referral process:

Step 1 – Thank the buyer for their business
Step 2 – Describe your ideal referral
Step 3 – Point out places where the buyer may interact with the ideal referral
Step 4 – Ask for an introduction