21 Referral Machine

# Skill: Referral Machine

## What This Skill Does

Builds a systematic referral generation engine from your existing customers, partners, and network — including who to ask, when to ask, exactly what to say, and how to track it. Outputs a prioritized referral hit list, segmented ask scripts for each relationship type, and a simple follow-up system. Referrals close at 5–10x the rate of cold outreach. This skill makes asking a discipline, not an accident.

## When to Use

- You have happy customers but you've never formally asked them for referrals
- Your best leads come from word of mouth but it's inconsistent and unpredictable
- You just closed a new customer and want to activate the referral moment
- You want to build a referral program into your sales process permanently
- Your cold outreach is expensive and you want a lower-cost pipeline channel

## Inputs Required

Before running this skill, ask the user for:

1. **Customer list** — names, companies, and relationship quality (happy, neutral, at-risk) for your current customers. Even 5–10 names is enough to start.
2. **Partner/connector list** — anyone in your network who sells to the same ICP but isn't a competitor (agencies, consultants, complementary SaaS tools, advisors)
3. **ICP reminder** — who is the ideal referral target? (title, industry, company size)
4. **Recent wins** — any customers who have had a clear positive outcome in the last 90 days (renewal, expansion, stated satisfaction, NPS 9–10, public testimonial)
5. **Referral incentive** — does the user offer anything for referrals? (commission, gift, reciprocal intro, charity donation, nothing — all are valid)
6. **Preferred ask channel** — email, LinkedIn, phone, or in-person?

## Step-by-Step Instructions

### Step 1 — Build the Referral Candidate List

Segment all potential referral sources into three groups:

**Group A — Happy Customers (highest conversion, warmest referrals)**
Identify customers who meet at least 2 of the following:
- Renewed or expanded in the last 12 months
- Gave a positive review, testimonial, or case study
- Responded positively to an NPS survey (score 9–10)
- Proactively said something positive on a call or in writing
- Have a large professional network in your ICP (check LinkedIn connections + activity)

**Group B — Strategic Partners (high volume, consistent flow)**
Identify connectors who:
- Sell to the same buyer but offer a non-competing solution
- Have an active, engaged audience in your ICP (newsletter, events, LinkedIn following)
- Have referred leads informally in the past
- Have a business reason to send leads your way (reciprocal, commission, co-marketing)

**Group C — Network Champions (lower volume, high trust)**
Former colleagues, investors, advisors, board members, and professional contacts who:
- Know your work personally
- Have relevant networks in your ICP
- Would vouch for you if asked directly

### Step 2 — Score Each Referral Candidate

Apply a Referral Readiness Score:

| Factor | Points |
|---|---|
| Customer had a measurable win with you in last 90 days | 10 pts |
| Customer proactively praised you (email, call, LinkedIn) | 8 pts |
| Partner sells to exact same ICP | 8 pts |
| Candidate has 500+ LinkedIn connections in your ICP | 5 pts |
| You have had a conversation with them in the last 60 days | 5 pts |
| Referral incentive applies and they'd care about it | 3 pts |
| You've never asked them before | 2 pts |

Score 18+ = ask this week. Score 10–17 = ask this month. Score below 10 = warm the relationship first.

### Step 3 — Identify the Referral Moment

The best time to ask for a referral is immediately after a success moment — not randomly, not at renewal time, not on a quarterly check-in. Define the specific trigger moments in the user's business:

Common referral moments:
- Within 1 week of a customer hitting a key milestone or reporting a win
- Within 48 hours of receiving a positive review, NPS score, or testimonial
- At the end of a successful onboarding or implementation
- When a customer expands or upgrades their contract
- When a customer says "this has been really helpful" on a call

For each Group A customer, identify which moment has occurred most recently. That determines timing.

### Step 4 — Write the Ask Scripts

Write one tailored ask script for each of the three groups. Each script must:
- Reference the specific relationship or win (not a generic template)
- Make the ask clearly — no hedging, no burying the request
- Make it easy to say yes (give them words, a name, or a company type to think of)
- Have zero pressure — they should feel good about helping, not obligated

**Script Template — Group A (Happy Customer):**

"[Name] — really glad to hear [specific result or milestone they mentioned]. Quick ask: we're growing and the best customers we work with tend to come through referrals. Is there anyone in your network — a VP Sales or founder at a similar-stage company — who you think could benefit from what we do together? Happy to make it easy for you — just an intro email I can draft, or even just a name and I'll take it from there."

**Script Template — Group B (Strategic Partner):**

"[Name] — I've been thinking about how often we're talking to the same buyers. I'd love to set up a more formal referral arrangement where we actively send each other leads when it makes sense. No obligation, just a mutual heads-up when we spot a fit. Would a quick 20-minute call to talk through how that could work make sense this week?"

**Script Template — Group C (Network Champion):**

"[Name] — hope things are going well. I'm in a bit of a growth push right now and the best leads I get always come through people who know me. If you run into anyone who's struggling with [pain you solve] — especially [title] at [company type] — I'd love a warm intro. Happy to return the favor anytime. Is there anyone who comes to mind?"

Customize each script with the specific names, wins, and context from the input data.

### Step 5 — Build the Follow-Up System

Set up a simple 3-touch follow-up track for each referral candidate:

- **Day 1:** Send the ask (script from Step 4)
- **Day 5:** One follow-up if no response — shorter, warmer, no pressure. "Just bumping this in case it got buried — no worries if the timing isn't right."
- **Day 14:** Final touch — thank them regardless of outcome. Close the loop. Keep the relationship warm for the next ask in 3 months.

Track in a simple table:

| Name | Group | Referral Score | Ask Sent | Response | Intro Made | Deal Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|

### Step 6 — Design the Referral Loop

Once a referral intro is made:
- Acknowledge it to the referrer within 24 hours ("Just got your intro to Sarah — thank you, really appreciate it.")
- Update the referrer when the referred person becomes a customer (close the loop — people love knowing their intro worked)
- Ask the new customer for a referral as part of onboarding ("We grow mostly through introductions — when you see the results, we'd love it if you'd pass our name along.")

## Output Format

Deliver:

1. **Referral Candidate List** — all candidates scored and sorted into Group A / B / C with Referral Readiness Score
2. **Priority Ask Queue** — top 10 candidates to contact this week, with recommended timing and channel
3. **Custom Ask Scripts** — one per candidate in the priority queue, personalized with their context
4. **Referral Moment Map** — for Group A customers, the specific recent moment to reference in the ask
5. **Tracking Table** — ready-to-use table to track asks, responses, intros, and deal status
6. **30-Day Referral Calendar** — day-by-day schedule for the full ask and follow-up sequence

## Pro Tips

- The most common reason referrals don't happen is that no one ever asked. Most happy customers would happily refer you — they just never thought to. The ask is the entire system.
- Make it ridiculously easy. Don't ask them to "think of someone." Give them a sentence: "I'm looking for VPs of Sales at B2B SaaS companies between 50 and 300 employees. Anyone come to mind?" Specificity triggers memory.
- When a referral converts to a customer, always close the loop with the referrer. A simple "Sarah just signed — thank you, your intro made a real difference" costs nothing and creates a permanent advocate.
- Never ask for a referral when the relationship is neutral or the customer is at-risk. Fix the relationship first. An unhappy customer asked for a referral becomes a detractor.
- Build the ask into your process — not as a one-time campaign but as a step triggered by specific moments. The customer who just hit a milestone is 10x more likely to refer than the one you ask on a random Tuesday.
- For Group B partners, the best referral arrangements are reciprocal. Before asking them to send leads, identify one person in your network you could introduce them to first. Lead with generosity.

## Example Output Snippet

**Referral Candidate:** Maria Santos | COO | BrightPath Logistics | Group A
**Referral Score:** 26 (expanded contract last month + sent unsolicited praise on LinkedIn + 600+ relevant connections)
**Referral Moment:** Sent you a LinkedIn comment last week saying "we've cut our ops overhead by 30% — couldn't have done it without your team"
**Timing:** Ask within 48 hours of that comment

**Custom Ask Script (Email):**

"Maria — loved your comment on LinkedIn this week. A 30% reduction in ops overhead is exactly the kind of result that makes this work feel meaningful.

Quick ask while the momentum is good: we grow almost entirely through introductions. Is there a COO or ops leader in your network at a similar-stage company who you think might be dealing with the same headaches you had 6 months ago?

I'm not asking you to do a hard sell — just a one-line intro email if someone comes to mind. Happy to draft it for you. And if no one comes to mind right now, no worries at all."