31st October, 2023 • 3 mins

Written by Eloise Barbier
3rd July, 2024 • 4 mins
We all know how important referrals are. They are a key way to generate new business – both in terms of quantity and quality of new leads.
We also know that they facilitate conversion of opportunities: people are much more likely to accept a recommendation from a colleague, friend or family member. McKinsey’s research indicates that trust, often established through referrals, can shorten the sales cycle by up to 25%.
And yet we’re not asking for them enough.
Only 11% of us ask for referrals from our clients, even though 91% of clients say that they would give a referral.(Saleslion, 2023).
So how can we ask for more referrals and save valuable time in our business development activity? It is useful to first understand what we should not be doing.
Mistakes we make when asking for referrals
So how can we ask for referrals more effectively? Fundamentally, it is about creating better habits around referrals and defining who, when, and how to ask for them.
Systematic approaches
The main objective with creating a systematic approach is that it is embedded within your working rhythm, and holds you accountable. By doing this, you are regularly nudging yourself to ask for referrals and keeping them front of mind.
Trigger points in the conversation
As the name suggests, trigger points are opportunities in the conversation which lend themselves well to opening up a discussion around referrals.
Two trigger points/times to ask:
1. After someone has thanked you for your service. This is the perfect time to bring up referrals, as they will be looking for a way to repay you for your hard work. You can even create this moment by asking deliberately for feedback on the service you have provided.
2. During a business update in the client meeting. This is your opportunity to share a little bit about what’s going on in your world, anything that would be helpful for them to know about your business, and to ask about referrals as part of this. Including this in your meeting agenda will hold you accountable to have this conversation.
E.g. we have been focusing on ESG recently and have recently brought a new sustainable product to market. As you are involved in ABC charity we thought you might have some other individuals on the board who might be interested in hearing more about what we are doing in that space...
In short, it’s about being specific with the ask and making it easy for your client to think about who they have in their network that might be interested in understanding the service you could offer them.
— Jonathan Gottschall, The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human
People love stories, and you can use them to justify why you are asking for a referral.
For example, when you are asking somebody to refer you to someone in their network who owns a small business, you could add, ‘The reason I’m asking is that as a company we are really trying to demonstrate how committed we are to looking after small business owners in this area. We really see this as the space we can help in, and sometimes people don’t realise that we work with these kinds of clients.’
Adding a narrative and giving examples of others you work with shows intention in why you are asking for a referral, and can help get your clients’ buy-in more easily.
By showing your client the part they would be playing by giving you a referral, you also make them more likely to want to help.
In summary
1. Be aware of mistakes that you might be making around referrals (asking as a throwaway comment, not asking regularly, not following up)
2. Regularly review your network and client base to identify who you could ask referrals from, and when would be the best time to ask
3. Plan how you will ask: be specific and make it as easy for them as possible to refer someone