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Culture: the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization "a corporate culture focused on the bottom line" - Merriam-Webster
After decades of work with individual sales professionals and sales organizations, I have discovered that there is one thing that separates high performers from the rest of the pack: Culture. If you don't read anything more past this sentence capture this truth...your culture determines the effective application of the disciplines of success in sales.
If you and your sales organization, especially Independent Financial Advisors, have a culture that I would describe as predatory, you will never, ever reap the true rewards that referral based sales can provide.
When you and your organization are running your business on what you want to get...you are a predator. Top performing salespeople and their companies have a complete culture when it comes to referral based sales. I continually exhort/cajole/nag my clients to not only focus on what they want to get but also, to build in systems that ensure they consistently are giving referrals. Note: There is nothing morally wrong with wanting to get more referrals and sales appointments...it is just incredibly inefficient to have a system that is out of balance.
I can hear you now: "But Mike, I give referrals and am always ready to pass one to a client/referral partner when I find one!" Let me ask you this: Is that as it happens (surprise referrals), or, is it a direct result of a system that you KNOW will produce the referrals for the people you NEED to help and in the AMOUNT that is necessary to provide for your continued referral success?
Probably not.
It's simply not good enough to want to refer business, instead, if you want to make sure that your potential referral sources and current referral sources are able to help you when it's necessary for your success you need to make sure that you are proactively and purposefully building their success too.
Here are a couple things I've noticed over the years that happen when you don't have a predictable and proactive referral giving system:
When your organization and your own efforts are 100% aimed at how to take care of your needs you're not actually operating in a referral-based sales mode. You're being that stereotypical salesperson… all about your needs, all about the product, all about your commission.
Today's buyers are more able to swiftly sniff out the stench of commission breath and ruthlessly cut you out of their time and schedule.
Instead, if you truly want to reap the remaining 50% of the potential from within your current client base and future prospecting efforts when it comes to referral-based sales you are going to consider, draft, and implement a predictable referral giving system.
This looks like time in your calendar and the different teams in your business that is specifically allocated to researching, developing, and executing ways that you will be able to predictably give referrals to both customers and referral sources.
A referral bases sales giving system looks like your business and your sales career including specific goals to give back to your community. There is one simple truth about referrals: if you only take you will never receive as much as you could, and in fact, may have a gradually declining referral business.
The bad news, it's much harder to consistently give referrals than it is to get referrals.
This is why you can't have your referral giving system be something that you're trying to remember to do. Not only is that far less likely to work...you are taking extra time and effort 'in the moment' to try and remember instead of being present.
You have to do the extra work, spend more time, and consistently strategize about how to give. I will not accept any excuses about your not knowing how to give her not being able to give. There are no excuses there are just people that won't take the time to be creative and to be persistent and giving… You are or you aren't a giver.
Once again, this isn't a case of being good or bad it simply is a case of deciding that you want to get the most out of your referral base sales initiatives or not. I really enjoy challenging salespeople and sales organizations on the culture that they have when it comes to sales.
Next steps:
Do you have a culture that has written systems and devoted time to giving referrals?
We all want more referrals so the next step after admitting that is to schedule some time to evaluate what you're actually doing right now.
A great example is annual reviews. These often negatively viewed activities by average and mediocre salespeople and organizations are actually tremendous opportunities to consistently and predictably harvest referrals for your key relationships.
Related: Who Are You and Where Are You Going?
If you are an individual sales professional, in your weekly calendar schedule at least an hour of uninterrupted time (turn your phone off) to at first brainstorm and then execute on strategies and ideas designed to help create referrals for your best customers and key referral sources. Don't try and be perfect when doing this.
Instead, be wildly creative and write down every idea that comes to mind and remember giving strategies involve the person that you want to give to.
What I mean, is that you need to take your ideas and have the person and/or organization that you wish to benefit from them agree or disagree with those strategies. They might even have better ideas that are easier and provide far less relationship risk for you and your referral source.
Reality check, almost every single person reading this blog has a predominantly predatory sales and referral culture.
Basically, unless you're spending equal amounts of time trying to get and get referrals you’re a predator. The question now is whether or not you want to harvest the at least 50% more referrals that are easily within your grasp? If so, let the next steps above be the impetus for you rising to embrace what referral based sales is really about...and enjoying the insane profits and quality of sales life that occurs directly as a result.
At the end of the day, referral base sales that are predictable and continual rest upon a foundation of giving. This is where my work with organizations on having a real referral culture pays the greatest dividends, both now and in the future.
If this was of value I ask that you share it with any and all business professionals that you feel could benefit from it. I am always open to a conversation about referrals, culture, and the quest for innovation within the independent financial advisor space, or, other players in the SMB space.