Ever wonder how to do referral selling when you don’t even have a referral to start with? The answer is starting with non-traditional buyers. 

The truth is, we spend so much time thinking about our buyer that we create all of our messaging for that buyer. Sometimes if we want to reach that buyer, the best way to do it is not with more people who agree: it’s with more people who disagree. 

If I don’t have a referral, I try to find one. But, I don’t look in the places you might expect. Instead, I try to find a referral at a title slightly higher than my buyer and also slightly to the left or right of my buyer. So if I’m calling someone who reports to a director of IT, then I might reach out and cold call a VP of marketing. Or maybe I’d look to find a head of product.

Why? Because the heat of opinions from people to the left and right of my buyer could absolutely influence them. Sometimes the influence is even greater than their boss. Because if their boss says, “You should talk to this guy,” that that person only has to say, “Eh, I talked to him last week. It’s all set.” But if it comes from a VP of marketing or a head of product, they probably need to do their due diligence on this before they say it’s all set.

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