76% of salespeople only occasionally ask, or never ask, for referrals.

That’s quite a shocking number.

This was from a LinkedIn poll I ran over the weekend where only 24% of them said they asked for referrals with every customer.

When you add that to another recent statistic showing people are 4 times more likely to buy when referred (Nielsen), it paints quite a scary picture.

4 times more likely to buy.

It’s like having a sales lead that is 4 times hotter than any other lead.

Yet 76% of salespeople aren’t getting them on a regular basis.

A lot of the salespeople and sales teams that I’ve worked with admit to being too scared to ask for referrals.

After asking for the sale, they feel bad asking for more.

Let’s look at it from another angle though.

Customers actually really like being ask for referrals.

They feel valued.

They feel like they can help.

They want to help.

You should never feel bad asking for a referral.

Not only is it a very large untapped gold-mine of sales opportunities.

It grows your relationship with your customer.

And it opens the door for long-term referrals.

They’ll keep referring people.

Once you ask.

Do it today.

Ask your customers who do they know, like them, who you can help like you’ve helped them.