Latest / Closing the Deal with Fexingo: Sales, Negotiation, and Revenue Conversations for Operators / How One Rep Won a Deal by Asking for a Referral Mid-Process
Transcript
- Lucas: So you're in the middle of a deal, things are going well, the buyer seems engaged—but then they hit you with, 'I need to get a few other people on board before I can decide.' Luna: That moment where you lose direct control of the timeline. I hate it. Lucas: Yeah, and most reps do the wrong thing. They either go quiet and wait, or they try to schedule a big group demo that nobody shows up to. But there's a different move here. One rep I know did something counterintuitive: he asked the buyer for a referral—not after the deal closed, but right in the middle of it. Luna: Huh. So instead of waiting for the buyer to bring in their stakeholders, he asked the buyer to introduce him directly? Lucas: Exactly. The rep was selling a sales analytics platform to a mid-market company. He had a strong champion in the VP of Sales—let's call her Sarah. She loved the product, but she said, 'I need our CFO and the head of IT to sign off.' Classic multi-stakeholder stall. Most reps would send a one-pager and cross their fingers. Luna: Right, and then the CFO reads it, has one question, and the whole thing dies. I've seen that happen. Lucas: So this rep did something different. He said, 'Sarah, I totally get that. To make sure I address their concerns directly—could you set up a brief call where you introduce me to the CFO? I'll handle the rest, and I promise not to waste their time.' And she agreed. Luna: And that worked? Lucas: It did. The CFO joined a 20-minute call, the rep had done his homework on the CFO's metrics—cost per lead, pipeline velocity—and framed the conversation around that. The CFO became a second champion. The deal closed two weeks later. Luna: So he basically turned a gatekeeper into a bridge. But I imagine a lot of reps worry that asking for an intro mid-process looks needy or aggressive. Lucas: Sure, and that's the fear. But there's actually data on this. Gong did a study of over 20,000 deals a few years back and found that deals where the rep asked for a referral or introduction during the sales process—not after—had a 40 percent higher close rate. And they closed 15 percent faster. Luna: That's a big number. What's the mechanism? Why does it work? Lucas: I think it's a few things. First, it signals confidence. If you're willing to talk to the CFO directly, you're not hiding anything. Second, it transfers trust. Sarah's endorsement to the CFO is stronger than any slide deck you could send. And third, it forces you to prepare for stakeholder objections in advance, because you know you're going to face them. Luna: But the buyer might say no. What if Sarah feels like you're asking her to do your work? Lucas: That's a real risk, and it comes down to framing. The rep in this case didn't say, 'Can you get me a meeting with your CFO?' He said, 'I want to make sure your CFO is comfortable with this, and I think the best way is for you to introduce me so I can answer their questions directly.' He positioned it as protecting her—not as her doing him a favor. Luna: So it's less 'referral' and more 'internal advocacy enablement.' I like that. And it works best when you have a strong champion who's already bought in. Lucas: Exactly. If the buyer is still on the fence, don't ask for an intro. But if they're a true champion—if they've said 'I want this to happen'—then they have a vested interest in making sure the other stakeholders don't kill it. They want you to succeed. Luna: There's also a psychological trick here, right? The champion is now even more committed because they've put their reputation on the line by introducing you. Lucas: That's the commitment-consistency principle. Once Sarah sends that email introducing you to the CFO, she's publicly aligned with your solution. Backing out later becomes harder. It's a gentle lock-in. Luna: Okay, but what's the actual script? How do you ask without sounding like you're trying to bypass the champion? Lucas: The rep I mentioned used something like this: 'Sarah, I want to make sure this doesn't get stuck. In my experience, the deals that move fastest are the ones where I can address everyone's questions early. Would you be open to a quick 15-minute call where you introduce me to your CFO? I'll take it from there—I promise not to go over time or blindside them.' It's direct, it's low pressure, and it shows you respect their time. Luna: I like that it gives the champion a script too. They know what to say to the CFO: 'Hey, this vendor wants to answer your questions directly, it'll only be 15 minutes.' Lucas: Exactly. And you can even prepare a one-paragraph email for them to forward. Make it easy. The easier you make it for the champion, the more likely they'll do it. Luna: So what about timing? Do you ask for the intro right when they mention other stakeholders, or do you wait? Lucas: I'd say strike while the iron is hot. As soon as they say, 'I need to check with X,' you respond with, 'Great, let's get them on a call together. Can you introduce me?' If you wait a week, the momentum dies. You want to leverage the excitement they have right now. Luna: And if they push back and say, 'Just send me some materials I can forward'? Lucas: That's the classic stall. And you can push back gently: 'I find that materials get buried. A five-minute conversation usually answers more questions than a 20-page deck. Can we try a quick call first? If it's not the right fit, no hard feelings.' The key is to be confident but not pushy. Luna: Makes sense. I could see this working especially well when you're selling to a buying committee. We hear so much about multi-threaded selling, but this is a practical way to actually do it. Lucas: Right. And it's not just for the CFO. It could be legal, procurement, IT, the end user. Anyone who has veto power. The goal is to get in front of them with your champion's stamp of approval. Luna: I want to try this on my next deal. But I'm also curious—are there situations where this backfires? Lucas: If the champion is lukewarm, it can feel like you're pushing. Or if you ask too early, before you've built enough value. The general rule: only ask for an intro once the champion has explicitly said they want to move forward. If they haven't committed verbally, don't ask. Luna: Fair. And what about the opposite scenario—what if the champion introduces you and the CFO is hostile or skeptical? Lucas: Then you've got a live objection in front of you, which is better than a silent objection. You can address it. And your champion is there to back you up. It's actually a gift. Luna: Right. Because if the CFO had just said no via email, you'd never know why. Now you can handle it. Lucas: Precisely. So to wrap it up: next time you're in a deal and the buyer says they need to consult someone else, resist the urge to send collateral. Ask for the introduction. It builds your champion's commitment, surfaces real objections, and shortens your sales cycle. Luna: And you get to practice selling to a tougher audience. That's never a bad thing. Lucas: Exactly. Okay, that's our time. We'll be back tomorrow with another tactic. Until then, keep closing.