Situation: A company has been growing nicely, but could always use additional business. Employees are very customer service focused – a key differentiator for the company – but do not ask current customers for referrals. This is problematic because management emphasizes the importance of asking for referral business. How do you motivate employees to regularly ask for referrals?

Advice from the CEOs:

• Talk to the employees one-on-one to determine what would motivate them to ask for referrals. Also ask what prevents them from asking for referrals. It could be that they do not ask for referrals because they see themselves as customer-focused and interpret asking for referrals as not customer-friendly.
  • The reality is that if it is done the right way, it can be flattering to a customer to be asked for a referral.
• Conduct a customer satisfaction survey – include a question as to whether the customer would refer the company to other potential clients.
  • If the answer is yes, ask for an introduction to target customers that the company seeks.
• Think about the approach of a company with a cure for cancer. Imagine that this cure could work for any type of cancer at any stage. The job is to pick up the phone, call people and ask them:
  • First, whether they or someone that they care about has cancer?
  • If the answer is “yes”, would they be interested in a cure?
  • If this were the case, would they have a problem calling people with this message?
• In fact, the company’s product or service is the cure for the needs of both current and potential clients, just as if they had cancer. An important part of the job is to ask current customers whether they know others who would benefit from the company’s services.
  • If employees don’t believe this, they are representing the wrong product or service.

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