By Ahmed al-Akber/Dubai

The majority of sales people I come across source a large part of their business through referrals. But an equal majority of these sales people don’t have a plan to grow this valuable source of new business! Selling to a referral is second in effectiveness only to selling to current clients. That’s because referrals move the barriers of the “unknown”: you become a known entity even though the referee hasn’t worked with you previously.
To make this happen, the referrer (which can be someone like a current or past client, partner, friend, or supplier) must have trust in you and your work. Secondly, there needs to be a catalyst for them to actually make the referral.
Building trust is about ensuring that you act in the referrer’s best interests always. Focusing on getting them the results they are looking for is a key element of that.
Providing free information and advice on an issue they have also works extremely well. You can also show your appreciation for your relationship: hand-written season’s greeting cards are a powerful way and differentiate from the typical emails and calls that everyone gets all the time.
The second-most powerful way to get referrals is to ask for them. This is where people hesitate, and for an understandable reason: the majority of people ask for referrals in the wrong way and believe that they shouldn’t do it again. Saying something like, “If you know of anyone that might need our help, let us know” is a wrong approach.
Asking a general question like that makes the referrer do all the work for you gets limited results. It gives the referrer a reason to remain passive and politely answer, “Sure, I’ll keep it in mind”.
The best way to ask for a referral is to be specific with who you want to meet: “I would love to meet the CEO of your sister company. Do you know him?” That way there is less ambiguity around the request, and you advance the referrer closer to offering to introduce you. If you don’t get that offer, follow up with something like, “His business would be a great fit for our company. May I tell him you and I do business together?”
Other ways to ask for referrals include:
“Who do you know in ABC company that could use our services?”
“I’m trying to expand our client base in the financial services industry and know that that’s your business’s stronghold. Do you know any of the senior management at ABC Bank?”
“I saw you are connected to Mrs So and So on LinkedIn. What’s the best way to reach her?”

- Ahmed al-Akber is the managing director of ACK Solutions, a firm that helps companies to improve their marketing and sales results by offering more effective ways attracting customers and significantly better products and services. Ahmed has worked internationally in marketing, sales, and strategic planning at companies such as the Coca-Cola Company, Philip Morris International and Dell. Questions or comments can be sent to Ahmed on ahmed@acksolutions.com