Formalizing Lead Generation

The biggest challenge when launching a new sales lead referral program is getting your customer-facing teams on board. If you can successfully motivate the majority of them
to participate, you’re guaranteed an increase in revenue.

Take this for example – a major telecommunications company launched a lead-referral
incentive program called “Just Ask!” and successfully inspired 83.5% of their customerfacing technicians to participate. The program encouraged technicians to identify up-sell and cross-sell opportunities when doing an in-home repair and then simply ask the customer if a sales rep could call them at later date to discuss the additional products or services. As a result, they generated close to $70 million in additional revenue.

What’s in it for me?

Let’s face it – this extension of your sales force may balk at the idea of going above
and beyond when you first launch the program. By training, recognizing and rewarding
those participants who help build revenue, you can easily prove they are contributing
real value to the organization and in turn, increase their interest in participating. (It also
doesn’t hurt to show you are freely sharing the increased revenue with them in the
form of rewards.)

Having a direct impact on the company’s success creates what Harvard researchers Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer call the progress principle. The progress principle states that “of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work. And the more frequently people experience the sense of progress the more likely they are to be creatively productive in the long run.”

The telecom company took advantage of this principle in their lead-referral program
by providing frequent progress reports, account statements and real-time entry of referrals 24/7 via web, mobile and company-automated machine-to-machine technology. They also put a considerable amount of effort into publically recognizing referral activity, giving technicians well-deserved visibility among their peers and throughout the organization.

The Keys to Success

We have come up with a seven items list to help you onyour next sales referral lead-generation program. Download the White Paper attached to learn more about them.