1. Referrals are an important untapped lead source that can fuel sales growth. Building a referral engine requires focusing on customer satisfaction, tracking customer relationships, and leveraging connections between customers, prospects, and sales reps. 2. Key tactics for obtaining referrals include asking customers directly, connecting customers who share characteristics like industry or location, and sharing relevant customer content with prospects on social media. 3. Nurturing a culture of customer centricity and investing in customer marketing lays the foundation for an effective referral program. Repeatedly measuring results and sharing best practices helps strengthen relationships over time.

1. How To Build
A Referral Engine
#surroundselling
Emmanuelle Skala
Vice President of Sales

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#surroundselling @elleskala @influitive

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We work with the top B2B brands

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You’re missing out on VILs
Your pipeline
by lead source
probably looks
like this…..
(very important leads)
Inbound
Outbound
Partner

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Enlistment
Get your
customers to
voluntarily
recruit new
customers.
Acquisition
Gain new
customers.
Engagement
Create incredible
user experiences
so they want to
come back.
Monetization
Find ways to
earn revenue
from your
customers.
Source: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20121203173700-110300724-what-is-your-slowest-gear
You have a 4th untapped “gear”

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84% of B2B decision
makers start the
buying process with
a referral
Referred customers
have a 16% higher
lifetime value
Referral leads
convert 30% better
than leads generated
from other
marketing channels
Peer
recommendations
make buyers 5X
happier with B2B
purchases
Referrals are your MILs(most important leads)

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Starts with a strong foundation
Customer-
centric
culture
You!!!

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Want a secret weapon??
Your customers are
your only unique
asset….
are you investing
enough to
strengthen that
relationship?
CUSTOMER
MARKETING

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Building the referral engine
Track
advocates in
your CRM
Connect with
customers
and end
users
Surround
prospects
with social
proof

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6 “hacks” for getting referrals
THE DIRECT ASK
1. Use connections
2. Use history
3. Use geography
THE INDIRECT CONNECT
1. Be a matchmaker
2. Share THEIR content
3. The best logo slide ever

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This is Matt. Matt works for Analyze This.
Analyze This has ~50 customers.
(Joe, Susan, Diana, Billy, Jason…)
Matt would love to sell to ACME and Dunder.
Matt is also planning a trip soon.
The story of Matt, the sales rep

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1. Use connections
Sally is a prospect
who works at ACME.
Sally is connected to
Joe, a customer, who
works at Mifflin
ASK JOE TO REFER SALLY
(note, you don’t need to be in the
middle)

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2. Use history
Jason, a customer,
used to work at Dunder.
Matt is trying to get
introduced to someone
in finance at Dunder.
MATT ASKS JASON FOR AN
INTRODUCTION

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3. Use geography
Matt is planning a trip to
Chicago
Joe, Diana, and Susan are
all customers in Chicago
MATT ASKS THEM FOR
RECOMMENDATIONS

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1. Be a matchmaker
Sally is a prospect who works
at ACME.
Sally is connected to Joe, a
customer who works at Mifflin.
They are both financial
analysts in retail.
MATT INTRODUCES SALLY
TO JOE

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2. Share “connected” content
MATT SENDS DIANA THIS
BLOG POST
Larry is a prospect who works at
Dunder
Diana, customer at Riggit is
connected to Larry
Larry commented in a community
about your product

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3. Relevant and happy logos
Matt encourages Lisa to reach
out to any of these customers
Lisa is a prospect who
works at ACME and used
to work at HP and IBM.
ACME is a Marketing
Automation company in
Boston.
Same
Industry
Same
Geography
Prior
Companies

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Final tip: Don’t limit yourself

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A few keys to success
ASK!
CLOSE
THE
LOOP

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1. Referrals are your MILs.
2. Start with a culture of customer
satisfaction.
3. Build the engine w/ data & connections.
4. Invest. Measure. Repeat.
5. Share your best practices.
To recap…
#surroundselling

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I’m always hiring!
Roles:
Sales Development
Account Executives
Sales Managers
Regional Sales Managers
Let’s connect:
emmanuelle@influitive.com
@elleskala
www.influitive.com