The Reason You Resist Asking For Referrals and What To Do About It

The reason you resist asking for referrals is that you have waited too long to do so.

After months or years have gone by, it feels weird to ask for referrals. Even though you’ve been doing an excellent job taking care of your clients, it doesn’t feel natural because you’ve waited too long. The “ask” is now disconnected from the value you’ve created because you are now into a routine.

Asking for referrals can help you build a robust pipeline. The people who know you, know your company and know the work that you do also know other people who would benefit from the value you create. It’s a massive mistake not to ask those people for introductions to the people who would most benefit from your good work.

How to Ask for Referrals

Luckily, it’s easy to ask for referrals when you do it right.

Stay with me here, even of this may frighten you. The best time to ask for the referral is while you are just finishing your sales process. When your customer has said “yes” to your offer, you should be asking for the referral then.

You say, “I’m confident that everything we’re working on is going to work out exactly as expected. If you have an excellent experience, can I ask you to recommend me to other people who might appreciate the same experience that you have?”

You’ve asked in advance for the commitment that you will later ask for, provided you deliver the outcomes that you sold in promised. You’ve hinged the right to ask for that referral on your executing for your new client. If you don’t execute, you won’t ask.

As soon as you begin working with your new client, and they are thrilled with your work, you can ask them for referrals. You might say, “If you’re happy with the work we are doing here, can I ask you to make an introduction to someone else you know who might need my help? Could I trouble you to make a call, or send an email introducing us?”

Ask Now

You don’t want to wait months or years to ask for referrals. Make it part of your normal operating procedures. And make sure that you do everything necessary to deserve those referrals before you make the ask.