We have a healthcare client whose sales strategy is to build business through its current customer base. Yet, that doesn’t mean that all its doing is trying to get its current customers to buy more. This client has a huge network of clients across the country that in turn all have networks of colleagues, former coworkers and/or industry connections. The company’s sales strategy is to proactively drive referrals from its existing client contacts to gain access to new ones and leverage its clients network for faster access to more prospects than it could gain on its own. It helps that this client has a very high customer satisfaction rating.
A referral and a warm lead from a trusted friend, coworker, or former colleague are five times more powerful than the best direct mail piece or the best cold call.
When a trusted friend or colleague recommends that you talk to a vendor, don’t you typically pay attention to them. The fact is, everybody wants to do business with somebody who they know and trust, or even better, somebody they know and like. So referrals become a very powerful tool for growing your business.
If you company has a very strong reputation with its current clients, it becomes even easier because those people are not only willing to provide you with referrals and ideas or people to call on with friends and connections, they’re actually glad to pick up the phone and make an introduction on your behalf. Why? Because they love your product and your service.
If your company doesn’t have an active strategy to mine your current customer base, looking for referrals to new ones, you’re probably missing a great opportunity to tap into the easiest revenue expansion channel that is available to most companies: referral sales from existing clients.
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