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You are here: Home / Blog / When is a referral not a referral?

When is a referral not a referral?

February 11, 2013 By maurasf

I was recently asked this question for an upcoming column in SOLD magazine.

Are there times or types of sales where referral prospecting is not worth it?

Here’s my answer.
Yes there are. Are you surprised I said that? There are times when businesspeople think they’re giving you a referral and it’s not. That’s when the   referral isn’t the value you think it is.  What do I mean? Say a customer or salesman tells you, “You should call John Doe. He would be a great prospect for you.”  You hear, “Great. I have a referral!” No, you don’t. What you have is a name of someone. That’s it.  Here’s what a great referral sounds like. “You should call John at Company XYZ. He would be a great prospect for you because he told me he is looking for (what you sell.) I know he has an issue that your products can solve. Here’s his number, but I’m going to call him first to let you know that I told you to call him.  I’ll tell him that he should speak with you because you can solve (his problem). Now do you see why some referral prospecting isn’t worth it? Now you also know how to ask for and give great referrals!
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About the principal

Would you take auto mechanics classes when you buy a car? Maura did because she wanted to be able to work on her car. She takes that same approach to selling. She can show you how to get below the surface of selling to learn why and how different strategies work. She will show you which skills to implement that will shorten your sales cycle and increase your sales. She was Mobil Oil's first female Lubrication Engineer in the United States and one of Chevron's top 5 salespeople in the country. She knows what works for sales.

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Selling is the easiest job in the world. Just ask anyone who is not in sales. Read Maura’s ideas on “more brain…less mouth” selling to make your selling easier and more successful.

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