Referrals to the right person

When someone says the conversation belongs with somebody else, treat the handoff as a routing job. Leave the call with a person, a reason that person owns the topic, and a small action the current contact can take. Make the referral easy to pass on. The connector should be able to forward your words without writing the case for you. A referral from the wrong contact gives you an existing connection when you reach the right person.¹

Run the referral in order

Work through the handoff in sequence. Each stage should produce the information or action needed for the next.

Confirm the mismatch

Find out whether the contact lacks ownership or is trying to end the conversation. Use a direct routing question: "Would there be someone better to speak to about this?".²

If they name a person, use the conversation to confirm who handles the topic and ask the current contact to make the introduction.³ Move on once you have a person to reach and a clear reason for contacting them.

Ask for the referral

Ask while the current contact still has the context in their head. Once the prospect identifies the responsible person, ask for the referral at that point.⁴

A common request is for the contact to make an introduction or forward a short blurb.⁵ Keep the ask small and specific. The contact opens the route; you handle the second sales conversation.

A referral down or across an organization can help you reach additional stakeholders.⁶ When the first helpful contact is an individual contributor, use that route to move referrals up to VPs.⁷

Make the introduction easy

A forwardable email style minimizes the connector's work and makes the introduction process efficient.⁸

Give the contact a concise reason for the introduction and a clear next action they can pass along. Let them send the message in their own voice. Writing the connector's email for them can appear presumptuous.⁹

Route across departments

The right person may sit in a different part of the account from the person who first replied. When a conversation starts in marketing, ask for an introduction to the sales team.¹⁰

The first department can open the route into the account. The contact who understands the issue may still be the best person to guide you to the team that owns the next conversation.

Respond and follow through

Respond quickly when someone sends a referral.¹¹ Waiting a day or two communicates that you are too busy to handle introductions.¹²

Reply to the referred person, acknowledge the connector, and make the next action easy to accept. After directing someone else to help the customer, follow up.¹³ Keep the original contact informed when the handoff needs their help again.

Record the route

A referral process improves when the team can see where routing breaks down. Keep a way to return misrouted referrals and capture feedback. A cross functional team has collaborated on new forms for returning misrouted referrals and capturing feedback.¹⁴

Use repeated names as a signal worth checking. Multiple people at an account may independently refer you to the same person.¹⁵ When that happens, ask what responsibility makes that person the right route and use the answer in your introduction.

What to listen for

Listen for ownership and willingness to route you. If the contact gives only a department, ask who handles the issue there. If they give a person but decline to introduce you, ask whether you may mention their name when you reach out. Move on when the route is clear enough for the referred person to understand why you are contacting them.

An internal referral can make a gatekeeper more comfortable allowing a sales representative to speak with the decision-maker.¹⁶ When you reach a gatekeeper, explain truthfully that you are trying to connect with the referred person, ask to be patched through, stay polite, and acknowledge the help.¹⁷

What not to do

Handle the referral carefully. Keep the current contact from becoming a barrier and remove work you can take on yourself.

• If you reach the wrong contact, seek a referral to the appropriate person.¹⁸
• Keep attention on the people involved and the action they need to take.¹⁹
• Let the connector write the email in their own voice. Writing the connector's email for them can appear presumptuous.⁹

Keep the route visible after the referral so the account can correct the next misdirection without starting over.