Ways to Build a Referral Network Without Cold Calling

90.99% of all my freelance work has come from referrals. Ok so that's not an exact figure, but it's close. I've landed one client from a cold email and another through Upwork. The rest: All high-quality referrals. Since many of you asked, I'll tell you how. Here are three things I consistently do to get referral business: 1. Give referrals. I stopped trying to be everything for everyone a while ago. I realized that if I do my best work and tap other people to do something I don't specialize in, it's a win for everyone. If we've worked together on a project or developed a relationship (and I know that you do good work), then you're on my list. I'm constantly giving referrals and pointing leads in the direction of folks who I know can get the job done well. More importantly: they're lovely to work with. This creates goodwill. It also keeps me top of mind with my referral network. When a job that matches my skillset comes across their world, who they gonna call? Not ghostbusters. 2. Maintain a system for building relationships. This "system" for me is nothing more than an AirTable spreadsheet, where I list my contact's name, what they specialize in, their ideal clients, and notes from our most recent conversation that'll help me deepen the relationship. That last column is the most important. During all of my relationship-building calls (a.k.a. networking), I take note of things that are top of mind for the person I'm speaking with. Maybe they just had a baby. Maybe they bought a house. Maybe they're about to launch a new product or service. Then, I put a date on the spreadsheet for when I want to reach back out and check in with how it's all going. I genuinely care, and having a check-in system ensures I'm following through on building the relationship over time. 3. Create strategic relationships. Beyond the relationships I naturally build with people I work on projects with or friends of friends in my network, I'm strategic about whom I spend my time talking to. By that, I mean connecting with people who provide adjacent services. For me, that means people who do PR, design work, paid ads, email marketing, social media management, etc. These are all folks who provide complimentary services to my content strategy work. We don't compete—we compliment. That's a beautiful referral ecosystem right there. There's more to this, but these things will get you started if you're not already strategically using your network to get ideal clients and projects. Was this helpful or should I go deeper here?

Most sellers do referral prospecting backwards. Smart referral prospecting is NOT asking your warm network "Is there anyone in your network who might find value in taking a look at our Legal Time Tracking software?" You're almost always going to hear "Hm, nobody immediately comes to mind, but let me think about it." (They're not gonna think about it) Asking someone to scan through their entire mental rolodex of every single person they know isn't going to get you good referrals. You're asking for too much of the referrer.  -- Here's how I do outbound referral prospecting: 1. Start with the end in mind. Identify the prospect you want to talk to. (If you don't start with the end in mind, you're going to get a bunch of random non-ICP or out of territory intros, if you get any at all) - 2. Find mutual connections who actually know your target prospect. I like mutuals who have shared work history (you can find this in Sales Nav). If that fails, I'll look for shared membership in trade association groups or folks who have spoken on a panel/event together. - 3. Ask your shared contact for permission to make the introduction. Here's what I send: 𝘕𝘈𝘔𝘌, 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩? 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 30 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵'𝘴 𝘊𝘭𝘶𝘣 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘕𝘈𝘔𝘌 𝘢𝘵 𝘈𝘊𝘔𝘌. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? - 4. If your referrer says yes, ghostwrite them a message in THEIR voice. This helps remove as much friction as possible for the person who is making the introduction. Don't worry about including pleasantries in the message you draft (Ex. "Hope you have been well since our days working together at ACME!). I've found that most people delete the pleasantries you write on their behalf so it's not a good use of your time. - 5. If someone makes a referral for you, send them a thank you note + a gift. Seems obvious but this goes a long way. - 6. If you start to find success with outbound referral prospecting, consider adding an "outbound referral blitz" to your weekly prospecting cadence. -- Anything else you'd add re: prospecting for referrals?

The $1M networking hack SDRs should know before we enter 2025 There's a simpler way to crush your numbers. I've spent years in the trenches of sales, and I've seen the landscape shift dramatically. The traditional SDR playbook is crumbling before our eyes. Cold calls? Prospects screen them. Mass emails? Deleted on sight. Talk time metrics? A relic of the past. It's time for a radical pivot. Here's what actually moves the needle: 1) Grow your network relentlessly    - Send at least 15 personalized connection requests daily    - Engage authentically with industry peers    - Attend virtual and in-person events 2) Make introductions easier      - Connect people in your network who can benefit each other    - Be the go-to person for valuable connections    - What goes around, comes around 3) Leverage your network (ethically)    - Ask for intros to decision-makers    - Share insights and opportunities freely    - Build a strong reputation as a trusted advisor 4) Track new KPIs    - Connection requests sent/accepted    - Network growth (daily/weekly/monthly)    - Warm intros facilitated/received and closed The future of sales isn't about hammering prospects with calls and emails. It's about building a web of relationships that generates opportunities organically. This takes time and patience. But the payoff? A sustainable pipeline of warm leads that actually want to talk to you. Start doing it today, so you won’t regret it next year.