Boosting Customer Referral Programs

I wrote a book called The Referral Engine to make the case that referrals should be your #1 lead source—but there’s a catch. Early in my career, I thought doing great work was enough to keep clients coming. And for a while, it worked. One happy client led to another, and I stayed busy. Then, one day, the referrals slowed down. And I found myself wondering: Where’s the next client coming from? That’s when I realized something many business owners eventually figure out: Referrals don’t just happen. They have to be built into your marketing system. Too many businesses think referrals are random. They do great work, cross their fingers, and hope happy clients will spread the word. Yes, that better be happening. But that’s not a strategy. I started asking myself some different questions. ~ How do I make referring me the easiest thing my clients can do? ~ How do I teach my best customers to tell the right story about me? ~ How do I bake referrals into every stage of my client experience? Just thinking this way changed everything. Instead of waiting for referrals, I created a system to generate them. Here’s what I figured out. First, people don’t refer businesses. They refer experiences. If your work is just “good,” no one is talking about it. If your process is clunky, no one is bringing their best contacts into it. The easiest way to get more referrals is to create something worth talking about. Second, most people would be happy to refer you, but they don’t know how. If you want more referrals, you have to make it easy. Give people the right language to use. Create a process that naturally encourages introductions. Make referring you feel like a win for them, not a favor to you. Finally, the best way to generate more referrals is to teach before you sell. Create content that positions you as the expert people want to send their friends to. Be the person people naturally think of when someone asks, “Who do you know that does great work in this space?” When someone tells me their lead generation is inconsistent, I don’t tell them to start cold calling. I tell them to make referrals a system, not an accident. So I’m curious—what’s one thing you do to make referrals a natural part of the customer journey?

Referrals are by far the highest ROI channel for B2B businesses. So why aren’t you getting more of them? I use a dead-simple, but incredibly effective method to double my inbound referrals. 1 — Be Direct. The biggest mistake people make is relying on “automated emails” and “programs”. They take the easy way out because they are afraid. They wait for a follow-up email and send vague requests like, “If you think of anyone, let me know!” The reality is people don’t have time to brainstorm referrals for you! 2 — here’s what I do: make a specific and direct ask. And when possible, do it face-to-face right on the video call. Yes, you can do this over email, but asking directly, person-to-person, makes a stronger impact. 3 — Instead of leading with an ask, start by GIVING a lead first. Before ending a call, try this: “Before we wrap up, I’d like to give you two leads I think would benefit from your service. Would you mind sharing two people on your client roster who might find us interesting? I’ll send you a tailored email for easy forwarding.” Even better, do your homework: “I noticed these logos on your website. These two companies look like they’d be a great fit for us because [reason]. Would you mind making an introduction?” Be specific. Be proactive. Be intentional. What’s your go-to approach when asking for referrals? Let me know in the comments.

I made a $1M ARR mistake in 2024: treating my customer journey as a line & not a flywheel. My revenue flywheel didn't start (& we couldn't have done $500k last month) until I treated our customer journey as a loop. When you first start you think you have it all figured out: Lead -> Warm Lead -> Sale -> Customer. But I was missing a step & it cost me. Then I turned that line into a loop by feeding the customer back into our sales process. It's not rocket science: find your happy customers & amplify them. But adding process to it is actually hard. Look at the incentives: - sellers are comped on closing customers - CSMs are comped on keeping customers Whose job is this - Product Marketing? Customer Marketing? the Founders? It's everyones job. If I were a VP of marketing today I would make sure (even with a small marketing team) you're incentivizing someone to surface 5 customers wins/day and cycle them back into the top of your lead funnel. Here are 3 plays we started at Warmly that would have earned me another $1M ARR if I started them a year ago: 1/ Micro grants to customer advocates Find happy champions and offer them $2k in mico grants to be an official advocate. Compensate them for 2x referral calls per month & ask the to be 100% truthful even if its doesn't always make you look good. Push them to screenshare & show *how* they're using you - not just wax about you. 2/ Public posts about wins with independent audits/reviews I think case studies are kind of dead. Can't remember the last time a prospect truly read or referenced one. Real posts from real people are the way to go. We invite agencies and reviewers to get full access to what we sell to give their honest opinion even if its not 10/10. We strive for honesty & transparency as core to our brand and that is recognized in the buying process vs our peers. 3/ Customer love wall in TINY font Screenshot all wins and add them to a never ending scroll page for your reviews (get permission of course). No one trusts G2 anyways, but they will trust an actual public post with their name tied to it On Warmly's page you can literally click into ANY of the LinkedIn posts and go read it for yourself, including the comments. You can connect with the person and double verify they meant what they said. And the best part? TINY font. I have no proof but but we make the font small to fit in more reviews. My hypothesis is that prospects scroll down and are impressed at the sea of happy champions and think "Dang I need to zoom in just to see all these great reviews!" Check out our customer page on our website! Warmly, Max #marketingtips #marketing

Plot twist: Your top performer isn't even on payroll. While you're grinding through cold calls and perfecting pitch decks, your actual sales superstars are sitting in your customer base, and most companies completely ignore them. Think about it: Who's more convincing? ❌ You explaining why your product is amazing ✅ A customer explaining how it transformed their business Here's the playbook that's turning customers into commission-free closers: 🎯 Turn success into content: Skip the generic thank-you note. Get that win in front of eyeballs; case studies, LinkedIn posts, video testimonials. Success is contagious. 🎤 Hand them the microphone: A 2-minute customer video explaining their transformation beats your entire sales deck. Let them tell the story in their words. 🔄 Build the referral machine: Make customer intros part of every quarterly check-in. The best reps I know cut their sales cycles in half with warm introductions. 💬 Steal their language: Stop using marketing speak. Use the exact words your customers use to describe their problems and wins. That's what resonates with prospects. 🏆 Make them famous: Customer of the month. Slack shoutouts. Social media features. People love recognition, and others want to be next. The reality check: Your customers aren't just buying your product; they're betting their reputation on it. When they succeed, they become walking proof that you deliver. And in a world where everyone's selling, proof beats promises every time. Your customers already said yes once. Now make them want to repeat it for you. #sales #customersuccess

Your best clients know your next best clients. But you're probably too scared to ask for the introduction. Here's why most service providers leave millions on the table: They deliver amazing results, collect their payment, and never leverage the relationship for growth. Big mistake. I used to be guilty of this too. Delivered incredible results for a client, got paid our fee, and thought my job was done. Then I realized something game-changing: satisfied clients are your most powerful sales force. They just need structure and incentives to activate. Here's the system I wish I'd implemented years earlier: Phase 1: Plant the seed during onboarding Tell every new client: "We grow primarily through referrals from partners like you. When you're thrilled with our results, we'd love an introduction to other companies who could benefit." Set the expectation early. No surprises later. Phase 2: Deliver exceptional results (obviously) This system only works if you're genuinely great at what you do. If your service delivery is mediocre, fix that first. Phase 3: Make the ask strategically Best timing? Right after a major win or positive feedback. Strike while the iron is hot. Say this: "You mentioned being thrilled with our results. Do you know other [specific role] at [specific company type] who might benefit from similar outcomes?" Phase 4: Sweeten the deal Offer a finder's fee or reciprocal benefit. Make it worth their while. The numbers don't lie: Referred clients have 3x higher lifetime value, 25% lower churn rate, and 50% faster close times compared to cold prospects. Yet 87% of businesses never ask for referrals systematically. Here's what kills me though: You've already done the hard work. You've delivered results. Built trust. Proven value. The hardest part is behind you. But you're leaving the easiest part undone. Your client already wants to help you succeed. They just need to be asked in the right way at the right time. Stop being modest. Start being strategic. Your business growth depends on it. Who's the last client that raved about your work? When will you ask them for a referral? Let me know 👇

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!

Last week, I turned 2 "not right now" deals into 15 referral introductions. Here's what I did: First, how about a few stats about WHY referrals are so key: - People are 4x more likely to buy when referred by a friend. - The Lifetime Value for new referral customer is 16% higher than non-referrals. - 83% of consumers are willing to refer after a positive experience—yet only 29% actually do. Okay, so we can agree this is important, yeah? And probably underutilized by you? Okay, let's proceed. Here are the steps I used: 1) Ask for help The hardest part is the START of the ask. "Gotcha, seems like this may not be a fit right now. But hey, before I let you go to your next meeting, mind if I ask a quick favor?" 2) Share your goal When selling Cutco knives in college, I would always tell people about my goals. I'm working to get back into that - a goal to positively impact salespeople while creating a life of abundance for me and my family. I'm in a service business - I train sales teams to build more pipeline - so a lot of the game is planting seeds and building long-term relationships "Here's my goal and I'd love to work with great people like yourself...:" 3) Clarity Clear communication is key. Saying "Who do you know?" is a lot different than "What VP Sales in Chicago that are company size 100-500 and building their SDR team"? 4) MAKE THE ASK For months, I was loose-lipping it: "Let me know if you come across anyone you think I can help". You know how many referrals I got? An unwavering 0. You know why? I was leaving the ball in THEIR court. "Let me know" is an entitled and lazy way to make an ask - and that's what I was doing. As soon as we hang up, the person is focused on something else - not on finding me a lead. Now, I say "We have a few minutes, who can you think of that might fit that description?" 5) Make it easy! I send a ghostwritten example of what they can send. I follow-up with them. I continue to follow-up if needed. I respond to the intro 6) Gratitude Say a heartfelt thank you. In some cases, I will send folks a handwritten note or - when a deal closes, I send a kickback to them either in a gift or cash. I want to reward the behavior and let them know how much I appreciate it. That's it. What else am I missing? PS - learned a lot of this from a session Alex Kremer did for our Alluviance community last month.

Most agents obsess over lead gen. But my best clients come from referrals. Last month: • 12 new policies from cold leads • 37 new policies from referrals And referral clients closed 3x faster. Here's the framework that changed everything: 1. Perfect timing 'Who else needs coverage like this?' - ask right after delivering good news 2. Make it worth their while I send a $25 Starbucks gift card for every referral that books 3. Speed wins I contact referrals within 2 hours (83% book when contacted same-day) But the secret was this... Referral clients stay longer, spend more, and refer others. I went from struggling to hit quota to consistent $20K months. All because I stopped chasing leads and started leveraging relationships. Your best prospects are hiding in your clients' contacts. You just need to ask.

⭐A mini case study on referrals at Flashfood ⭐ Marketplaces like Flashfood are built on the activity of our most dedicated shoppers. Referrals are important because when a user who loves Flashfood refers another, we tend to see those new users have much higher stickiness and GMV with the company. And like many companies, acquiring a new customer through referrals has a much lower customer acquisition cost (CAC) than other traditional methods. Two months ago we embarked on a project to increase referrals at Flashfood and I wanted to share some of those insights and results. What we did: Easier access: We added a dedicated “referral tab” to the home screen of the app. Lowering barrier to entry: We changed the minimum order value to $7 (from $10). Streamlined process: We added the ability to enter a referral code at checkout. Proactive outreach: We now include a referral block in our regular CRM emails to expand awareness. Results in just one month post-changes:  We saw a 60% increase in referral redemptions. The total number of orders made on referrals went up 107%. Average GMV for orders made on referrals increased by 28%. The total GMV these redeemers drove went up 113%. All brands are seeing higher CAC in a world where digital marketing costs continue to rise, and traditional outreach methods have diminished returns. The key to success is maximizing the value of existing shoppers, including their ability to be an advocate for your brand and product. I’m super proud of the team’s work on referrals and there’s more to come here. Reminder to pay attention to your most valuable customers!

The proper way to ask for referrals is the way where you do 95% of the work for the person you're asking to go to bat for you. Here's an example - with scripting - that's worked for me since the Nixon administration: Step 1 - Ask for permission: "Hey Keith! Noticed on the ol' LinkedIn that you were connected to Dan Wardle over at Noibu. Do you happen to know him well? Taking a look at his company, I'm confident we'd be able to add as much value to his team as we have been to Bullhorn over the past few years. If I wrote a separate email that includes a bit of context as to why I'd like to meet him, would you feel comfortable forwarding it along to him and seeing if he's open to an introduction? That way, if he's not interested, he can decline to take the intro, and you haven't really used any social capital on your end. All you did is forward along something from me. 🙂 What do you think?" Once Keith agrees to make himself useful, comes the next step... Step 2 - Writing a forwardable "opt-in" email: SUB: Intro to Dan at Noibu? "Hey Keith - how'd the month end up for your team? Noticed you're connected to Dan on LinkedIn - do you happen to know him well enough to feel comfortable making an introduction? I saw they added some BDRs and AEs to the team over the past few months. Given how much your GTM team has been engaged with and loved Sales Assembly over the past few years, I was hoping he'd be interested exploring how we could possibly be supportive to him and his team as well! If he's not interested in that, I'd still invite him to join our monthly Executive Revenue Leader Peer Group, so that he can jam with a room full of 30-50 of his VP and C-level peers every month.  We'd love to have him there as our guest. If you don't know him that well or just aren't comfortable, all good. Just figured I'd float this by you. Thanks!" What happens next? Keith forwards that to Dan. Now, is it possible that when he forwards that to Dan, he simply says "See below - interested?" Sure, I guess so. What's more likely? He forwards that to Dan and says: "Hey Dan, see below. Not sure if you've heard of Sales Assembly, but they've been an amazing partner to us at Bullhorn over the past few years. No obligation to take the intro, of course, but I think at the very least it would be worth connecting with Matt." Back to the original point about doing 95% of the work for your advocate, what did I ask Keith to do? Nothing. Just click forward on an email. I didn't ask him who he knows that might be interested. I did the work for him. I didn't ask him to look through his connections. I did the work for him. I didn't even ask him to endorse us. I just presumed he would anyway. And they usually do. This works when you're trying to meet prospects. This works when you're trying to get a new job. Do 95% of the work. Ask your advocates to simply slick FWD. Make it easy for people to refer you, and they'll refer you.