Referral Selling
Quick definition
A sales strategy where you ask existing customers or network to refer you to potential new customers.
Detailed explanation
Referral selling is the most underestimated and powerful sales tactic. A warm introduction via an existing customer or connection has a 5-10x higher conversion rate than cold outreach. Why? Trust. If your satisfied customer says "You really need to talk to Match-day," you start the conversation with 70% trust instead of 0%. The problem: most companies never systematically ask for referrals. They hope customers will refer on their own, but that rarely happens. A good referral program actively asks for introductions at the right moment (after a win, after positive feedback, after quarterly review) and makes it easy for your customer to refer. That means: don't ask for a long story, but simply "Do you know 2 companies that have the same problem?" and then make the first contact yourself with "Marc from Company X suggested I reach out to you." Top sales professionals get 30-40% of their pipeline from referrals.
Synonyms
Examples
A consultancy sends a quarterly email to their top 20 customers: "Who do you know who also struggles with sales growth?" with a link to their calendar. They call the mentioned names with "Peter from Company X mentioned your name." This yields 15-20 qualified meetings per quarter.
A SaaS company builds a referral feature in their product: "Refer a friend, get €500 credit." Customers share a unique link. After 6 months, 23% of new deals come via referrals. CAC of referral leads: €320 vs €1,840 for cold outbound.
When to use this?
Ask for referrals as soon as a customer reaches a positive milestone: after successful implementation, after achieving their goals, after a positive review, or in a QBR. Timing is everything – don't ask too early (no trust) or too late (they've forgotten you).
Match-day approach
We help you set up a referral system that doesn't feel like "selling to your friends." We create scripts that sound natural, build a trigger system in your CRM that detects the right moment, and train your CSM team to have referral conversations. Plus an incentive structure that works for your customers.
Related terms
Champion
The person within the customer organization who sells your solution internally.
Customer Success Manager (CSM)(CSM)
A professional who ensures customers get value from your product and achieve their goals.
Expansion Revenue
Additional revenue from existing customers through upsells, cross-sells, or usage expansion.
Learn more
Wil je weten hoe je referral selling effectief inzet in jouw organisatie? Neem contact op met Match-day.
Neem Contact Op