Ask for referrals after a success milestone, not after the sale. "You mentioned the platform saved your team 10 hours a week - do you know anyone facing the same challenge?" is specific and natural.
Strong answers show: timing referral requests after value delivery, making it easy for the customer (specific asks, not vague), offering reciprocal value, building referral requests into the customer lifecycle, and tracking referral sources and outcomes. Best candidates have a systematic approach rather than ad-hoc asks.
Tests relationship leverage. Referrals are the highest-converting lead source. Salespeople who systematically generate them build sustainable pipelines. Those who never ask are leaving their best leads on the table.