It’s Time for B2B Firms to Prioritise Referrals
I’ve had the privilege of leading marketing at two global organisations, and whilst I look back with pride at the volume of quality leads we generated daily - and the staggering marketing-driven pipeline of over €103.5m in Annual Contract Value each year - I’ve come to realise we missed one major source of high-quality leads: referrals.
Of course, we did some referral activity, but being honest, I now know we could, and should, have done much more.
Internally, we ran multiple programmes to drive referrals between service delivery teams and sales, incentivising those with daily client interaction to ask simple but powerful questions like, “Is there anything more we could be helping you with” or “What big projects have you got coming up?” There was some success. Internal teams enjoyed the chance to earn monetary and electronic prizes but sales didn’t see a significant uplift, certainly not compared to inbound enquiries. There were also ongoing debates over whether good corporate citizens should be asking these questions naturally, without extra incentives.
Externally, the best salespeople occasionally received referrals. New channel partners were often announced with great fanfare and photos of handshake moments but rarely delivered on the hype if the mutual sales teams weren’t targeted and motivated to drive referrals. We occasionally received leads from intermediaries, but rarely from existing clients. And when they did happen, marketing often had to proactively dig into the details, as CRM records frequently listed the salesperson as the lead source. Some referrals were shared anecdotally, but in terms of volume - real, business-shifting volume - it simply wasn’t there.
Why referrals were not a priority
Looking back, I think there were a few reasons why. Firstly, marketing-generated pipeline was on an upward curve, and sales teams were increasingly effective at converting, so resources quite rightly focused there. If something is working, you double down. Secondly, in a world where B2B marketing budgets tend to ‘stay flat’ at best, introducing a new programme that demands so much thought, compliance, terms and conditions, negotiation, administration, payment, and promotion can be daunting. It’s no surprise many firms launch a referral initiative, burn through as many Amazon vouchers as the CFO will sign off, and then quietly drop it. Thirdly, there are countless nuances: do you offer a commission percentage that’s a nightmare to administer? Pay for leads that may not convert? Comply with HMRC rules? It’s no wonder so many businesses that could benefit from a robust referral programme never start.
The numbers we can't ignore
But the numbers are too compelling to ignore. In an increasingly competitive business environment, where everyone is fighting for the same leads in the same places spending more on Google Ads (celebrating that £200 click-through that actually cost the entire £10k+ PPC budget) or buying £7.5k+ conference booths in the hope a prospect makes eye contact - referrals offer a smarter, higher-return path.
Consider these stats:
B2B sales account for £1.7 trillion (44%) of the UK’s total business turnover (Business Money)
Buyers are 4x more likely to purchase when referred by a peer (Nielsen)
91% of B2B buyers are influenced by word-of-mouth (DemandSpace)
A single happy client can yield 9 referrals (Oberlo)
50% of people are more likely to refer if given a direct incentive (SoftwareAdvice)
Referrals have a 69% faster deal velocity (Influitive)
Referrals convert 71% better than cold leads (Influitive)
Referred clients have 18% lower churn (Harvard Business Review)
Turning referrals into a growth engine
The message is clear: referrals deliver more high-quality sales pipeline, at lower acquisition cost, with shorter sales cycles, higher conversion rates, and lower churn. In B2B, trust is everything.
A successful B2B referral programme focuses on operationalising referrals making them a core part of the sales and marketing strategy rather than relying on ad-hoc luck. It’s about building a system that rewards not only existing customers, but also people who know, like, and trust you (even if they’re not customers themselves), for introducing you to those who could benefit from your help.
That’s exactly why we built Paartner - to unlock this opportunity while removing all the complexity and pain.
There are no excuses anymore.
