We’ve all been told at one point in our lives that money doesn’t grow on trees. While literally that remains true, there is a way in sales to have a money producing tree, by using the referral tree. We all have a client that loves what we do. They fully appreciate our product or service and are apt to tell others about it. Frequently, salespeople will sit back and wait for that person to bear fruit. The thought being, that sooner or later they will tell an interested party about what we do. They will want to talk, and the referrals come in. Sometimes, that works and other times it doesn’t. Have a plan to be active and nurture that resource and actively help it produce referrals for you.

Have you worked with someone for a significant period of time without receiving a referral? If so, you probably aren’t watering your referral tree to grow. If someone has worked with you for a while, chances are that they like what they are getting but don’t think to talk to anyone else about it. In fact, studies have shown that the majority of a salesperson’s clients fall into this category - 20% of clients will give you a referral without prompting, 20% will not give you a referral even when asked. That leaves 60% of the people we are working with that will provide a referral if prompted for it. Don’t waste that opportunity by remaining inactive.

Set a plan to approach clients about providing referrals. Most are willing-they simply don’t think about it. If you are active in getting referrals, your referrals grow exponentially. One client provides three referrals, two of those become clients, those two provide three referrals, and the referrals branch off from there. Don’t waste 60% of your referral potential by expecting your client to do all the work. Don’t just ask for referrals but help define for them what an ideal referral is. This will build a deeper relationship with your client and provide you with a great way to see new qualified prospects. The more referrals we actively seek, the more we receive, and those referrals branch into even more referrals. Water your referral tree and it will bear fruit.

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