Have you ever been set up on a really bad blind date? You are probably thinking to yourself, “What the heck does a blind date have to do with sales rapport and referrals?”
Have you ever considered that sales is a lot like building a home?
Landing a referral is the holy grail of sales leads for most reps. Referrals are viewed as an easier win because they are motivated to buy, have at least basic knowledge of your product, and were pointed in your organization’s direction by someone they trust.
“If you build it, they will come.” We aren’t talking about a cornfield in Iowa, but the statement rings true in sales, nonetheless. This is especially true when discussing building rapport, and for sales leaders looking to build a robust referral pipeline, it simply cannot be overlooked.
A referral is a powerful thing. It’s a personal recommendation from a trusted source, which can be a make-or-break factor in a customer’s decision-making process. From a sales perspective, a referral is a gimme, a slam dunk, a home run, or any other sports analogy that comes to mind. Or at least they should be.
Referrals are the golden goose of sales leads and prospects. They come prepackaged with a seal of approval from a trusted source, they already have an idea of the type of solution you provide, and they can move through the sales process faster than prospective clients that are cultivated through cold outreach. Recent studies have shown that around 85% of decision-makers start the buying process with a referral.
