Skip to content
GullySales
Tell us what you need

Cold storage operators · Referral marketing

Traders send friends to a cold store they trust, so give them a reason to mention yours.

Referral marketing for a cold storage operator means building on the people who already tell traders where to store: past customers, commission agents, transporters and mandi contacts. GullySales builds the referrer list, the written terms with agents and the record of who sent each trader.

Tell us what you needor call +91 80958 58589

Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.

A cold storage supervisor checks produce in a refrigerated chamber

What referral marketing means

Referral marketing is asking an existing customer to recommend you to someone they know, usually with a reward for both sides. It differs from a loyalty scheme because it brings in a new customer rather than a repeat purchase. GullySales builds the ask and the reward into a point where a customer is already satisfied.

Also for cold storage operators

Sales and marketing for cold storage operators, the overview.

Last updated 6 Oct 2026.

For cold storage operators

Where it usually goes wrong, and what we would do.

  • “The best referrers are not customers”

    A truck driver waiting at your gate and a commission agent at the mandi talk to more traders in a day than your own calls reach.

  • “Referral fees are agreed by phone and argued later”

    Verbal arrangements with agents turn into disputes at settlement, and next season's booking suffers.

  • “A referred trader's source is lost on the first call”

    The trader says a friend recommended you. Which friend is not written down, so the friend is never thanked.

What we do

What we deliver for cold storage operators.

Every deliverable, what it covers for you, and the result it is there to produce. Nothing here is an extra.

  1. A list of referrers, each with a keeper

    Past traders, agents, transporters, producer groups and distributors, each with a person on your team who keeps in touch.

    Result: Introductions are asked for deliberately.

  2. A written arrangement for agents

    What the agent brings, how settlement works and how the agent's name appears on the receipt, agreed before the season.

    Result: Fee disputes do not surface at settlement.

  3. A what-we-store sheet

    Crops, packing accepted, booking dates and what you do not take, short enough to forward in a message.

    Result: A driver or an agent can pass you on in a sentence.

  4. A referred-by field on the register

    Who sent the trader, recorded on the first call and checked again at booking.

    Result: You can see which referrers bring stock.

  5. A thank-you routine

    A call and a note for traders who introduce someone, and a settled fee in writing for agents, without breaking any customer's own rules.

    Result: Referrers know their help was noticed.

How the result is measured

  • Referrals received
  • Referral conversion rate
  • Cost per referred customer

Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.

Read the full referral marketing page

How referrals work in this trade

The people who send traders and food brands to a cold store, and how to make it easy for them.

Traders who stored last season
Ask a satisfied trader at withdrawal who else needs space and does not yet trust a store. Note the name and crop, and say you will call.
Commission agents at the mandi
An agent brings farmers' produce and chooses the store. Put the arrangement in writing before the season: what the agent brings, how settlement works and how the agent's name appears on the receipt.
Transporters and loading contractors
A driver at your gate hears who needs space. Give the regular ones your details on a card, and note which transporter sent whom.
Farmer producer organisations and cooperatives
A member's good season spreads through the group. Invite the committee to see the chambers and record who from the group booked afterwards.
Distributors of food and pharma brands
A distributor who needs cold space for a brand knows others who do. Ask after a clean first delivery, and respect the brand's confidentiality.
What never to do
Do not pay a referrer on a verbal promise, share one trader's quantities or rates with another, or give an inducement that breaks a customer's own purchasing rules.

Who it is for

This is written for these cold storage operators.

  • Agricultural cold storage
  • Multi-commodity cold stores
  • Cold storage for dairy and frozen foods
  • Pharmaceutical and vaccine storage
  • Cold storage with a transport arm
  • Controlled atmosphere storage

How it works

From your first message to the first report.

No open-ended retainer. Every step gives you something in writing.

  1. First

    Your brief

    You tell us what you need in a few short steps: your business, what you want, where enquiries come from and how they are handled.

  2. After the brief

    A conversation and a written scope

    We read it, then talk with whoever handles your enquiries. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come in writing, and nothing starts before you have read them.

  3. Before work starts

    Baseline recorded

    The numbers this work is meant to move, such as enquiries, quotations, orders, visits or renewals, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.

  4. After the baseline

    The first fix goes live

    The fix we agreed to start with is put in place and measured against the baseline, whether that is a reply, a follow-up, a page, a listing or the handover between marketing and sales.

  5. As agreed

    Report against the baseline

    What moved, what did not, and what changes next, in plain words. How often you get it is set in writing before work starts.

  6. At renewal

    Renew on the numbers

    The term ends and you decide whether to continue from the results. The length is agreed in writing before anything starts.

How the referral marketing work runs

  1. 1

    Understand your margin and customer relationship

    We agree what reward is genuinely sustainable and appropriate for your business and customer type.

  2. 2

    Audit existing informal referrals

    We check how much word of mouth already happens, to size expectations for the formal programme realistically.

  3. 3

    Design the offer and mechanism

    A specific reward and an easy sharing method are built and tested.

  4. 4

    Implement and promote

    The programme is surfaced at the right moments in your customer journey.

  5. 5

    Measure and adjust

    We track referrals and conversions, adjusting the reward or promotion if uptake is low.

Why us

Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.

  • Marketing and sales, as one job

    Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.

  • The person on the first call does the work

    No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.

  • A baseline before anything starts

    Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.

  • The fee in writing, split three ways

    Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.

  • No guarantees we cannot keep

    The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.

  • One office, and we say so

    Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.

#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.

Your brief

Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.

Tell us what you needor call +91 80958 58589

FAQ

Questions owners ask before they call.

Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.

Tell us what you need
Should we pay agents a commission?
Where an agent really brings business, agree the basis in writing before the season and settle on the date agreed. Do not pay informally to people who only mention your name. Keep each arrangement on paper.
How do we track who sent whom?
Record the source's name on the first call and again at booking. Ask who recommended you. If two names come up, record both and credit the first.
Can we ask a food brand's quality head to recommend us?
Only after a good experience, and with permission. Many companies bar staff from recommending suppliers. Ask whether a reference call is allowed instead.
A trader refers many people but pays late. Do we still say thank you?
Thank the trader for the introductions, and keep the payment matter separate. Do not trade easier payment terms for introductions. Record both on the trader's file.
How much does it cost?
There is no price list, because the work differs by business. The fee is scoped after we have read your brief and spoken to you, and put in writing before anything starts, split into our time, your media spend and production.
How long is the contract?
The term is agreed in writing after we have spoken, along with the fee and the reporting. It is never a default twelve months, and renewal is decided on the numbers against the baseline recorded at the start.
How soon will we see results?
It depends on the trade, the channel and what is already in place. After we have read your brief and spoken to you, we say what we would expect to move first and how it will be measured against the baseline. Nothing here is guaranteed.
Who will actually do the work?
The person you speak to before anything starts. We work from one office in Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru, with no account managers in between.
What do you need from us?
Your brief, and a conversation. After that, access to whatever this work touches, such as your website, your accounts or your enquiry record, and time with the people who handle your enquiries.
What if we are not happy with the work?
Tell us and the plan changes. Everything is reported against the baseline, so a number that is not moving is visible to both sides. The term is in your written scope, and the refund and cancellation policy sets out the rest.

From the blog

Further reading for cold storage operators.

All articles

More for cold storage operators

Everything else we would do for you.

Closest to this: customers after the sale

Also for cold storage operators

Or start from the overview: sales and marketing for cold storage operators.

Your next practical step

Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.

Tell us what you need