Jessie Shipman
May 22, 2023
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5 min read
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If trust is the economy of partnerships, referrals are the currency.
What is the point of building trust if it never results in a business outcome. That business outcome should be revenue. Sourced revenue is just another way of saying a referral that resulted in a sale.
While referral programs are one of the most powerful tools available, they've always had a fundamental problem.
Being top of mind.
Channel partners struggle to keep all of their partners and their solutions in their conversations. Software partners struggle to be top of mind at their channel partners. Both are missing out on opportunities for revenue.
Referral programs help channel partners and software companies work together. This way, when opportunities arise, they're both top of mind.
By incentivizing channel partners to refer leads to software companies, the companies can make sure that those leads are genuine and from trusted sources.
Incentives can help to create a more efficient and effective sales process, as well as increase sales. Additionally, referral programs can help build trust between channel partners and software companies, making it easier for them to work together.
I asked the CEO of a Sales Operations agency which partners he was referring most often, he said, "The one's who pay me".
If it takes your partners a lot of time or work to refer a lead, they're unlikely to do it often. If they have to work hard to get paid, they won't refer often. There are an abundance of referral management softwares that make it easy for your partners to sign up and start referring quickly. It's a good idea to invest in them.
These referral management softwares also make it easier to track the performance of each partner. You can see who is referring the most leads, and if they are converting to customers. This data allows you to reward partners who are doing the best job. You can also set up automated messages that let your partners know when they have referred a lead, or when a lead has converted. These communications help partners feel appreciated and encouraged to keep referring. By investing in referral management software, you'll keep the flywheel spinning.
But what about the problem of remembering at scale?
Partnerships are an economy of scale. Referrals are what create the efficiencies for that scale. Sellers and consultants in the channel can't remember which solution solves which problem, because there are too many options.
The inability of the human brain to hold on to so many connections is to blame. The scale problem is a biology problem, not a will problem.
The best way to increase the scale of your channel is to invest in technology.
A dedicated platform that automates the process of providing the right referral to the right seller, at the right time, for the right customer. Working with their stream of work and sending them through a straight-forward referral process.
Automating the referral process gives partners the ability to refer solutions to their contacts without needing to remember what problem each partner solves. It reduces confusion and increases sales velocity. A modern referral enablement platform, like Fluincy, streamlines the process, and makes it easy to scale.
Being top of mind has long been the holy grail of sourced revenue, and one of the hardest things to unlock.
Get on the Fluincy waitlist today to start finding referral revenue opportunities from everyday conversations.