1 Tip to Jump Start Your Sales in 2018

A new year means many things to those of us in sales. It is both a close to your previous year, and a start to a new year and a new quarter. With the new year comes a new desire to succeed and sell, sell, sell! In my management career, I have often had salespeople come up to me the first part of the year looking for ways they can get a jump on their goals for the new year. The advice I give more than any other is this: Work Your Referral Business!

Referral Business is the secret weapon of established high performing sales people across any industry. It is also something that is very easily overlooked, or put onto the back-burner. As salespeople, we sometimes fall into the mindset of moving onto the next sale once the ink dries. However, by doing so we are doing ourselves and our pipeline (prospects) an injustice. By working our past sales and establishing a plan to do so regularly, we are able to fully explore a lucrative avenue that can lead to more sales.

Here are some tips to maximize your referral business:

1. Check to see if your company has a referral program

Does you company offer an added bonus to past customers for sending their friends and family your way? Any company that is in sales (and what company isn’t) should offer a referral program. It is your job as a salesperson to make past customers aware that a program exists. Make sure to check requirements and familiarize yourself with the process. If one is not offered by your company then spearhead the initiative. Talk to management and see what can be done. A smart company will recognize the value right away.

2. Follow Up with each sale from the past 3 years

Depending on your industry this could be a dozen or less. For others, this could be well into the hundreds. Three years is crucial, as those customers from 2+ years ago may be ready for upgrades to other products that you offer. Couple that with a referral or two and you have now started to chip away at your first month / quarter quota numbers.

3. Call / Text / Email WITHOUT Automation

If there was ever a time when I advocate against using mass or automated follow up it is with past customers. This is your chance to get them on the phone and talk to them in a one-on-one environment. Go back through your notes and see what personal connections you can expand upon. Maybe their favorite sports team had a good year?Are they still living in the same place? If they have kids, ask how their children / grandchildren are? Work these into the conversation, and the barriers will come down. Make yourself personable, and remind the customer why they bought from you in the first place. Call, then text and finally email. If they do not immediately reach back out don’t sweat. Circle back around to them once you have gone through your list.

4. Ask them about their experience with your product

Salespeople can oftentimes be afraid to do this, as this can be viewed as opening a proverbial “Can of Worms”. But, the feedback you will get from this will serve you and your company in many ways. Maybe the customer had an amazing experience and loves everything about your product. If that is the case, great! Ask for the referral.

Maybe their experience was less than stellar, or worse. First ask what you as a salesperson could have done differently. More often than not, the perceived issues will be with other departments. Hear the customer out. Take as many notes as you can. Show empathy with the customer. End the call by creating a follow up appointment with the customer in another month. Take those notes and pass them onto your supervisor or the department heads. This information is vital, as you may get information from the customer that was not expressed before. When the time comes to contact the customer again, repeat the process and see what has changed.

5. Push the referral program

In the process of the call / text or email do not forget to bring up the referral program. If there are forms associated with it, send them ASAP. A happy customer will be more than willing to share their family and friend’s contact information with you over the correspondence, but do not forget the back-end paperwork.

6. Do this at least once every 3 months

The important thing of note is this is not just a one time thing. Much like sales, consistency is key. Make your plan and stick to it. I know of salespeople that do this regularly to the point where 30% of their business is done off of referrals.

7. Recognize the value in referrals

The best way I can describe referral business is “Passive Income”. These are leads that neither yourself or your company have to pay initial monies to get. These are word-of-mouth leads from actual owners of your product. The customer is doing the work for you while you can focus on other lead generating avenues. Who wouldn’t want an extra sale or two each month for simply reaching out to past customers.

If you take the time and implement a plan now, you too can be positioned for a record year in 2018. 

Copyright 2018 by Zachary Jahnigen