Okuzeka
Sales & Retail vocabulary · Prospecting & Leads

Referral

Meaning in sales & retail, with examples

/rɪˈfɜːrəl/nounCore term

In sales & retail, referral means: A new lead that comes from an existing customer or contact who recommends you, or the act of recommending someone in this way.

In Turkish: tavsiye, referans, yönlendirme

How it is used

Referrals are among the best leads because trust already exists. You ask for, get, give or generate referrals, and companies run referral programmes with rewards. A typical question after a successful project: “Do you know anyone else who might benefit from this?”

Example sentences

  1. Half of our new clients last year came from referrals.

  2. Ask happy customers for a referral while the results are still fresh.

Common collocations

  • ask for a referral
  • referral programme
  • referral fee
  • warm referral
  • leadA person or company that may become a customer, for example someone who downloaded a brochure, called for information or was found through research.
  • lead generationThe work of finding and attracting new potential customers, through activities such as events, ads, content, cold outreach and referrals.
  • customer retentionA company's ability to keep its existing customers buying over time, instead of losing them to competitors.
  • prospectA possible customer who has been checked and seems a good fit, with a real need for the product and the ability to buy it.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Prospecting & Leads

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: