Your parents may have been wrong when they said money doesn’t grow on trees. In sales, it actually does—on referral trees.
At Sandler, we’ve seen it time and time again: closing a referral from a client or professional connection is roughly five times easier than closing a brand-new opportunity with no shared connection.
The real question is: Are you intentionally growing your referral tree, or just waiting for referrals to happen by chance?
Why Referrals Matter
They shorten the sales cycle.
They bring warmer, better-qualified prospects.
They increase your closing ratio.
Referrals aren’t luck. They’re the result of a proactive referral-generation process that you build and execute consistently.
How to Grow Your Referral Tree
Be proactive. Don’t wait for clients to bring you referrals. Make asking a regular part of your sales process.
Leverage LinkedIn. Look at shared connections and ask for introductions.
Map your client’s network. Study their org chart and request introductions to decision-makers you don’t know yet.
Stay in touch with raving fans. Your best clients want to help you succeed if you ask.
Make Referrals Part of Your Cookbook
Referral generation isn’t a one-off event. It’s a behavioral plan—part of your daily or weekly sales activities. Track your results, refine your approach, and keep building.
Sales professionals across Minnesota and beyond have closed millions in revenue by consistently executing referral strategies. Why wouldn’t you want to do the same?
Commit to growing your referral tree and watch how much easier it becomes to close business.
If you truly want to accelerate your referral tree growth, one key skill is asking the right questions at the right times.
This complimentary resource gives you 100 proven questions across 20 categories—questions to help you uncover needs, understand timing, respond when prospects say “no,” and importantly, questions for referral conversations.
Download it now to sharpen your sales conversations and make your referral process more intentional.
