That’s a great question… You get in front of more decision makers by getting more qualified prospects. How do you get more qualified prospects? It’s been my experience the most efficient way to get more qualified prospects is to get more great referrals. So how do you do that? By targeting the very best referral partners, partnering with and keeping them. I’ve found that for the many years I’m been selling, working a targeted group of like individuals that want the same thing (referrals) is the best way to build a referral team. First, spend time prospecting for referral partners, not clients or customers. Second, find people that want to build referrals too, they can be part of your team. When your time is leveraged you multiply your capabilities many times also, hence getting in front of more decision makers.

Not to over simplify this, although it can be simple, but needs to have a structured system in place. The idea to network or to build referrals is certainly not a new idea, but the problem is most sales people and small business owners I have known and worked with may be great net-workers, but that’s where it stops, that’s why it doesn’t work for them. I think if most sales people knew they could build a solid referral team that could help them generate 100% of their sales through referrals, instead of all the other time wasting things that they are taught or by using “seat of the pants” sales tactics they use, I believe they would never go back to the old way of selling.

Many years before I learned this type of selling existed, I cold called almost exclusively because I knew no other way. If fact there was one sales organization I worked at in the 80′s, that called me the cold call king. To generate sales I worked at least 10 times hard to get similar results as with referral selling. Referral selling not only makes your life better, it’s much better for your clients. There are several reasons for this, you will have more time for your clients, your clients are generally more loyal, so you have longer, more profitable relationships. Referrals generate much more qualified prospects, people that want to talk to you, people that are introduced to you. Whether you are new to sales, a sales veteran, want a more productive way to sell or just want an alternative to the way you are currently selling you might take a look at referral selling. Written by Tim Frisch – GetTheSale.com