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The sales process · After the order

A customer who would recommend you has still never been asked to.

Asking for referrals is the deliberate request for one introduction, made to a customer who has just had a good experience. It names the person you want to meet, gives them something they can forward, and takes a no without a second try. GullySales sets up the asking and the record behind it.

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

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In one paragraph

Asking for referrals is the deliberate request for one introduction, made to a customer who has just had a good experience. It names the person you want to meet, gives them something they can forward, and takes a no without a second try. GullySales sets up the asking and the record behind it.

Word of mouth, earlier in this list, is what your customers say when nobody asked them to. This step is the asking. It is a different job: done on a day you choose, aimed at a person you name, and owned by somebody in your firm.

Most firms ask at the worst moment, which is when the invoice goes out. The request arrives attached to a payment, from an accounts email address, in a month when the job has become a memory. Ask within a day or two of the thing going right.

The ask itself is one sentence, and vagueness is what kills it. If you know anybody who needs this, send them my way is a line your customer will agree with and then forget. You have handed him the work of thinking of somebody.

The reorder call before this is the natural place for it. The last step in the stage is the other conversation, with customers who stopped answering. A programme with a reward is a separate build, worth nothing until the habit of asking exists.

Where this sits

Stage 9 of 10, after the order. Handing the customer to whoever delivers, then earning the second order and the referral.

The stage before
Sales closure
The stage after
Running the process

If you want this done for you

Give your happiest customers a specific reason to send you the next one.

Read the customer referral programmes page

The work

What this step is actually like.

  • “One name, not a category”

    Decide who you want before you open your mouth. Not a good lead, but the purchase manager at the unit next to theirs, or another builder working in Kengeri. A customer can picture one person and act on it. Anyone you know is a wish rather than a request, and it is why customers say yes and send nothing.

  • “Write the message they will forward”

    Nobody composes a paragraph about you on your behalf. Send three lines they can paste into WhatsApp: who you are, what you did for them in one clause, and a number a human answers. Tell them to change whatever they like. A customer who has to draft it will do it next week, and next week does not come.

  • “When they say no”

    Take it once and take it cleanly. A no is nearly always about their standing with the person you want to meet, not about your work. Pushing costs you the customer as well as the introduction. Ask again after the next piece of work, not after the next fortnight.

  • “Where the asking breaks down”

    Somebody from your office the customer has never heard of makes the request. The same customer is asked three times in a month by three people who do not speak to each other. Or the introduction lands, the enquiry is quoted, and nobody tells the customer what became of the person they sent. That last one closes the tap.

What we do

What you end up with.

The artefacts this step produces, what each one is for, and how you know it is finished.

  1. The request, agreed in advance

    One line everybody uses, written where the service team can find it. Let the engineer put it in his own words, but the shape holds: the job went well, is there one person you would introduce me to.

    Result: Two engineers on two sites make the same request.

  2. The forwardable introduction

    Three or four lines carrying your name, what you did for this customer, and the number to ring. Short enough to read on a phone without scrolling, and written so the customer still sounds like himself.

    Result: The customer forwards it in ten seconds instead of putting it off.

  3. The referral log

    Columns: the customer, the date you asked, the name they gave, what you sent, what came of it, and what went back as thanks. Keep it beside the enquiry book, so an arriving enquiry can be matched to whoever caused it.

    Result: Nobody is asked twice in a month, and the sender is thanked by name.

  4. The thank-you, and what your council allows

    Decide what goes back to a referrer before you need it, and be careful with money. Doctors, dentists, lawyers and chartered accountants are bound by their own council's code on what may be paid for a referral. It is your registration at stake, so check first.

    Result: Nobody is guessing about what your profession permits.

Where this fits

Three pieces of sales work, in this order.

This work sits inside sales process design, at stage 7, after the sale. The audit comes before it, and sales management keeps it running.

  1. Step 1

    Sales audit

    Find where deals are being lost and what to fix first.

    Start here if you cannot say where orders are lost.

  2. Step 2 · you are here

    Sales process design

    One written way to sell, from first enquiry to repeat order.

    Start here if every salesperson sells differently.

  3. Step 3

    Sales management

    A target, a review routine and someone who owns the number.

    Start here if the team has targets and no routine.

Tell us what you need Your brief is read before we call. Scope, fee and term in writing.

FAQ

Questions owners ask before they call.

Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.

Tell us what you need
The job went well three months ago. Is it too late?
No, but change the opening. Do not pretend it is fresh. Ring about something real, such as how the unit has run since, and ask at the end of that conversation. The request works on a live relationship, not on the memory of one.
Our engineer says asking is not his job. Who does it then?
The owner, on the phone, a day after the engineer's visit. Asking is uncomfortable for somebody whose skill is technical, and forcing it produces a mumbled version that makes the customer awkward too. Give him the easier task: tell you which customers were pleased this week.
Should we pay for referrals?
Only once the asking works without a reward, and never in a profession whose council forbids it. Money changes what an introduction is worth, because the sender now has a reason other than your work. A gift sent afterwards, unannounced, does more for the next one.
How do we know we are actually doing this?
Take your last ten completed jobs and count how many of those customers were asked for an introduction by name. Most owners find the answer is none, and the fix costs nothing but nerve. We ask how your enquiries arrive for the same reason, and referrals are the source most commonly filed as other.
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. For sales work it is mostly our time, with production only where scripts, decks or CRM setup need it.
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?
Fixes to reply time and follow-up are the quickest to show, because the enquiries already exist. Process, CRM and training changes show as the team uses them. Each one is tracked against the baseline.
What do you need from us?
To start, last month's enquiries in any format and time with whoever handles them. After that, access to the accounts the work touches, such as the website, Google Business Profile or CRM.
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.

Where to go next

The work that carries this step further.

Services

The rest of after the order

Or read the whole sales process in order.

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.

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