SimonTheSalesBooster 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:
- Customer list — names, companies, and relationship quality (happy, neutral, at-risk) for your current customers. Even 5–10 names is enough to start.
- Partner/connector list — anyone in your network who sells to the same ICP but isn't a competitor (agencies, consultants, complementary SaaS tools, advisors)
- ICP reminder — who is the ideal referral target? (title, industry, company size)
- 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)
- Referral incentive — does the user offer anything for referrals? (commission, gift, reciprocal intro, charity donation, nothing — all are valid)
- 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:
- Referral Candidate List — all candidates scored and sorted into Group A / B / C with Referral Readiness Score
- Priority Ask Queue — top 10 candidates to contact this week, with recommended timing and channel
- Custom Ask Scripts — one per candidate in the priority queue, personalized with their context
- Referral Moment Map — for Group A customers, the specific recent moment to reference in the ask
- Tracking Table — ready-to-use table to track asks, responses, intros, and deal status
- 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."