This is an important question because, we see individuals and companies asking for referrals all the time, from the gym to the hair salon; “refer and receive blah, blah, blah.” And to be honest, it simply does not motivate me. When you think about it, receiving a referral fee is typically not the first thing that comes to mind. I’m not saying ditch the “bird-dog”, I am just saying let’s dig a little deeper.

I don’t know anyone that makes a referral based on financial reward alone. It’s nice when it’s received, but in good conscious it can’t be the reason I gave the referral. In fact, some people even feel a twinge of guilt knowing that they profited from influencing a friend or family member.

So, what motivates me?

Having confidence in, and liking the person or company that I am referring. I want them to succeed and prosper.

I want the person I am giving the referral to, to be well taken care of and receive preferential treatment.

If it’s a product or website I’m referring, it is because I know that the person can really use it and benefit from it.

Knowing I made a connection for two parties that will prosper them both.

Successful outbound referrals increase my network and sphere of influence. You take care of people, and they take care of you.

The question is; how do we get our customers to feel this way about us, so that they refer us when the opportunity arises? Your goal is to create a system that develops a relationship to foster growth. It is more than just doing an exceptional job for a customer. It is more than asking for referrals. It is more than simply sending out a well worded mail merge from your CRM every couple of months. All this is important; however you must have a system in place to ensure you make a personal connection with your customer, every time.

If you are a sales manager and one of your salespeople has a customer that was referred in, go talk to them, connect with them, make sure that they know you are glad they came to your store, go to the parts dept. and surprise them with a couple of baseball caps. A customer who came to you as a referral is also the customer who is most likely to give you referrals; this is where you gain momentum. Creating a personal connection is an often missed and essential step in exponentially growing your referral business. 

The purpose of this post is not to give you a system; there are plenty of great resources for that. The point is for you to gain an understanding of what motivates your customers to refer you, then build your system around that, be sincere, and work it.

At EasyBuyBid.com we have a financial reward built into our referral system. However, our customers consist of dealerships, used car stores, and wholesalers who also understand that the more people that are using our product, the better it is for them, it increases their wholesale network and profitability. That is their primary reason for referring us.  

To find out more about EasyBuyBid.com visit our website and watch our short video on how it works.