Obtain Referrals to Increase Your Sales

Did you know that each human being has at least 250 people in his or her circle of influence? Making contact with one satisfied customer will give you the chance to increase your referrals exponentially. Referral marketing is not only an effective way to boost your sales; it is also a great tool to establish a pool of loyal customers.

Referral marketing is basically a process in which you ask someone to introduce you to or give contact information of potential customers. Many of your prospects are comfortable dealing with sales persons who have been referred by someone they know. A benefit of this type of sales method is the high success rate in making these probable customers as loyal clients. This concept of referral marketing or word-of-mouth advertising helped me turn a loss making branch in to a profit centre. Statistics show that you have over a 50% chance of closing a sale through referral system compared to the cold calling. Because of referrals I was able to close at least 80 % of the prospects I met.

Prior to asking your clients for referrals, you must ensure that they are satisfied and pleased with the product or service they have received. Referral marketing is based on trust, when people realize that you are sincere in your efforts to offer quality products or services, they will not be hesitant in making referrals for you and your business. This is the reason why you should always consider your customers needs before yours. Offer them a service that goes beyond their expectations and you can be sure that they will spread word positively concerning your business even without you asking them to do so.

You can implement the referral process by asking customers for referrals or offering incentives to them for referrals. For example, you could offer a 10 percent discount on the next purchase or contract after customers' referrals become new customers.

Requesting referrals and implementing the referral system are both very basic. First, build a relationship with customers. Once you are confident that the customer has a favorable attitude and opinion of the company, it is the ideal time to begin requesting customer referrals. These referrals include the customer's colleagues, friends, or competitors, which can create a huge network and more sales. It is important, that once a referral system is implemented, you create, maintain, and improve relationships with new customers while continuing to build networks. These new customers are candidates for additional referrals. Sales professionals who continue to build this process and improve their customer relations will definitely see a marked improvement in their overall sales and number of customer accounts.

The Referral Advantage - How to increase your referrals and grow your Landscape business now!