How to Request Business Referrals

I booked 75 first meetings over three months last summer when I launched Inspirewell. 99% through outbound. My totally repeatable trick? Ask for a referral on Every. Single. Call. Prospect calls. Customer calls. Partner calls. Build the habit to not leave any commercial calls without asking for someone else to speak with. Here is a simple 4 step framework I follow: Toward the end of the call, ask for permission to ask one more question. “Hey, before we jump, okay if I ask one last thing?” Describe several characteristics about what kind of a referral you are looking for, e.g. company size, company sector, position, personality traits, etc. The idea is to help narrow their field of vision a bit and make the task seem more approachable. Use an open-ended question. Not “Do you know anyone?” but rather “Who do you know?” Make it a low-friction ask. Not “That would want to partner with us?” but rather “That may benefit from a quick call with us?” All summarized the ask may look like this: “Really great chatting with you today. Before we jump, would it be okay if I ask one more quick question?” “Thanks. Generally the right person for us to speak with is someone that is only 1-3 years into managing sales people. Who do you know in your network, maybe someone that you used to work with, that may benefit from a quick call with us?” And shut up. You won’t hit every time. But you’ll certainly get a lot more contacts than by not asking. Happy Selling. What other referral strategies work for you? P.S. - I keep this sticky note on my computer to always remind myself of this practice. Even after years of practicing this, I still find myself wanting to chicken-out sometimes!

Most job seekers on LinkedIn are sending the same dry, desperate messages. And it sounds like this: “Hi, can you refer me?” “Hey, I applied to this job - please help.” “Hi, check my profile.” Then they sit back and wonder why no one responds. I’ve done this too. It felt frustrating and discouraging. But here’s what no one tells you: People don’t reply because there’s no connection. They don’t owe us a referral just because we’re job hunting. But many are willing to help - if you approach them right. So what works better? Let me break it down - this is exactly how I turned cold connections into actual conversations: ✅ Step 1: Start by talking about them Look at their profile. See how long they’ve been at the company, what they do, if they’ve switched teams recently. ✅ Step 2: See if they’re actively posting or commenting If someone’s regularly creating content or sharing posts, engage with it. Drop a thoughtful comment or like their posts before messaging them. It helps you show up as a familiar name when you DM them - and shows you’re genuinely interested in their work, not just a job referral. ✅ Step 3: Transition gently to your job interest Do NOT start with “Can you refer me.” Instead, ask for their thoughts about the team or role. ✅ Step 4: Be polite, human, and non-pushy Thank them for their time, whether they reply or not. Why This Works: Because it’s human. Because it respects their time. Because it turns a cold DM into a warm conversation. Even if you don’t get a referral immediately - you build insight, connections, and sometimes, an unexpected lead. People respond when you show curiosity, not desperation. Simple as that. Even after doing all this, some people won’t reply. Some messages will get ignored. Some won’t lead to anything. And that’s okay. It’s not personal. Everyone’s busy, and timing and consistency matters. If you’re job hunting - focus less on directly asking for favors, and more on building meaningful conversations. It makes a difference. #jobsearch #internationalstudents #linkedin #networking #cfbr

I’ve received over 500 LinkedIn DMs asking for a referral. Do these 4 things to 10x your responses: 1. Be personal. (never use AI) I get a ton of messages that are either written by AI or obviously copy and pasted to 100 people. Be personal by mentioning something you have in common with the person you’re messaging or what you got out of one of their posts. 2. Have a specific job that you want to apply for and send the link. “Can you look and see if there are any openings?” is incredibly rude and inconsiderate of the person’s time. If you want them to help you with a referral, do the work for them by sending them the link, why you’re a good fit, and other needed info. 3. Reach out to people who are active on LinkedIn, but not content creators. Everytime there’s an opening at my company, I get 50 messages asking for a referral. As much as I want to, I can’t refer everyone. Therefore, look for those to connect with at a company you’re interested in that post occasionally on LinkedIn, but are not content creators. These people will be active enough to see your message, but not have 3 dozen other messages asking for the same thing. 4. Build relationships way before you ask for a referral. While I don’t do many referrals bc of how many inquiries I get, I’d be much more likely to refer someone who adds to the conversation by commenting on my posts, creates good posts themselves, and overall seems like a smart, nice person. Doing this turns you from a complete stranger to a friend. I know a lot of people are pressed for time on here, but building relationships is what networking is all about. Do that effectively and your network may offer you referrals when there’s an opening. Do these 4 things, and I guarantee you’ll get a better response rate than not doing them. (As I said in this post, I’m unable to do referrals because of how many ask every single day. Wish I could help everyone, but I can’t.)

TLDR: Understanding job referrals! 🚀💼   Last week, I shared an exciting opportunity for interning and #referrals at Amazon. However, I've also noticed a few gaps regarding referrals that I'd like to address. For anyone currently on the job hunt, I want to share valuable insights about the referral process.   𝟭) 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴: ⏱Referrals are typically made before you apply for a job or even begin the application. This practice is widespread across the industry. Always reach out before applying; otherwise, we will get an error message: "The Candidate Has Already Applied".   𝟮) 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘀: 🔁 Having multiple referrals for the same company won't help you stand out. In fact, you can't have more than one on your profile. Some companies attach referrals to a candidate for 6 months. It's best to follow up with your original referral provider for new applications too.   𝟯) 𝗕𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰: 🏹 When reaching out, clearly state that you're seeking a referral, the specific job you're applying for, and why you're interested. This helps the person understand your goals. Also, keep your LinkedIn profile updated in case they need to refer to it for more details.   𝟰) 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗨𝗽 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗔𝗴𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲: 💢 If someone has taken your resume for referral, give them 2-3 days to get back to you. They may need to use their work laptop to submit the referral and have other high-priority tasks. Once referred, keep them in the loop about your application's progress.   When someone refers you for a job, they invest time in reviewing your profile to see if you're a good fit for the role. They then fill out your details, sometimes following up for missing information. It's a process that takes time and requires a context switch from their daily work. As a candidate, you can make this process smoother for both parties by following these suggestions. 🙌🏻   𝗣𝗦: If I missed anything, feel free to add it in the comments. I aim to create more content like this, all based on my own experiences. You can follow me here or comment for any questions! 🗯🙂   𝗣𝗣𝗦: If you're interested in working at Amazon and need a referral, don't hesitate to reach out – provided you're following these best practices! :)   #mentoring topmate.io #BeAvailable #jobsearch #referrals #internships #bestpractices #linkedin