Referral Marketing: Sharing is Good for Business!

Can you remember when your mom told you to share your toys? I'm sure she didn't realize that she was teaching you a valuable business lesson. Indeed she was!

Sharing is good for business. Actually, sharing is GREAT for business! I believe that the most successful people in business are those that know how to share genuinely and authentically. They share themselves freely by mentoring others behind them. They share their time with meaningful causes. They share their resources with others in need. They share their connections with other colleagues. They share their knowledge with those who can benefit from it. They share their clients with others who can serve them as well. They share their reputation by referring their close relationships. They share their energy with those they care about most.

Sharing is a critical life skill that will help you succeed in referral marketing. If you are a true giver, sharing comes naturally. If you're a taker ... sharing is tough. Takers don't like to share because they suffer from the scarcity mentality.

Are you sharing all that you possibly can with those around you? Would you make your mom proud?

Referral Marketing: Relationship Model

Greetings from the UK. Currently, I'm visiting Bristol as a guest speaker for the Referral Institute Great Britian and Ireland Conference.

Today, I heard a fascinating presentation from Jeremy & Kay (can't remember their last names right now) on Emotional Intelligence and its connection to relationship development. I found it significant enough that I wanted to share it here.

The relationship model that was discussed had five stages. The belief is that every relationship (personal and business) will at some point go through the stages of this model if given the opportunity. Some relationships may get STUCK in a stage if one party doesn't take a leadership role to move beyond the barrier. Here are the five stages ... think of your relationships and determine where you are and what, if anything, you can do to move forward.

1. Honeymoon stage - everything is good; nothing could be wrong
2. Power stage - pushing buttons; need to be right; polar opposites
3. Dead zone - hurt feelings; "Is it worth it?"
4. Partnership - share the load; cooperate; do what's best for the pair
5. Leadership - consistently put the needs of the other person first

Key points:
* you can't expect the other person to change; YOU must change FIRST
* accept that you'll never have the honeymoon stage again; move forward and lead the relationship into maturity
* giving up the need to be right can help get you past the power stage

Of course, this is just the tip of this information. Hopefully, I've given you enough to think on for a few minutes.

Referral Marketing: Fishing for Leads?

I just returned home from a fantastic fishing trip to Alaska. It was spectacular. (That's me on the left!) Since we were there to specifically catch salmon, which you see in this photo, I learned alot. I learned how to fish for four different kinds of fish ... king, silver, and sockeye salmon and halibut.

Each one requires a different technique and different bait ... some no bait all! As we became more efficient with the technique, our success increased dramatically. We brought home 86 pounds of fillets!

Referral marketing has it's own technique, too. If done well, you can achieve incredible results. If done well, you can literally grow your business entirely by referrals. If done poorly, you can waste a lot of time, spin your wheels, invest in risky relationships, and end up with a bunch of dead-end leads.

I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of leads ... especially when the person giving them to me THINKS they're giving me a referral. Do you know the difference between a lead and a referral? Since I can't hear your response, I'll give you my definition of a "lead" and the next post will define a "referral". You can add your comments, too, if you like.

LEAD ... In my book, a "lead" is mostly just information. It might typically, sound like this ...

"Hey Michelle, you said you wanted to meet financial advisors. Here's the name and phone number of someone in my Chamber who is a financial advisor. Tell him John said to call."

Typically, the person passing the lead really has no relationship to John at all. And ... typically, if I were to call this lead, they would respond, "John who?" In this case, I would thank the person and ask him how well he knows John. If he says "really well", I would ask him to arrange an introduction for me in person. I would also coach him a bit on what he might say to that financial advisor on my behalf. If instead he said, "not that well", I would thank him for the information and tell him that I'll be asking around my network to find someone who can introduce me in person to John.

Most people don't realize that you have complete power over the quality of their referrals. You can choose to follow leads all day or you can coach and educate people how to bring you higher quality, bonafide referrals.

It's all in the technique ... just like if I wanted to catch a king salmon ... I certainly wouldn't be using the sockeye salmon technique!!

Time for a salmon dinner!!

Referral Marketing: Meaning vs Pleasure

Have you ever stopped to consider how much negativity there is surrounding you on a daily basis? It's absolutely everywhere! People don't need a recession to have something to complain about. Listen to your daily conversations ... really listen and I believe you'll be shocked.

I'm not a fan of negativity. To help me stay focused on the positivity in the world, I subscribe to a publication called "Success". This is a monthly magazine with a tagline ... "what achievers read". This magazine is absolutely outstanding. I wait anxiously for it to arrive and usually read it cover to cover (which is BIG for me). One really cool and unique feature is that every issue contains a DualDisc (CD/DVD in one) that features compelling and inspiring words of wisdom from extraordinary people. To check it out ... go to http://www.successmagazine.com/.

On one of the recordings, Ron White discussed the difference between "meaning" and "pleasure". Pleasure comes from what you GET out of life. Meaning comes from what you GIVE or CONTRIBUTE to your life. This is the truest foundation of referral marketing. Ironically, GIVING is a very positive activity ... it has positive effects on your health and the overall quality of your life.

Are you creating a meaningful life? How much do you actually GIVE to your referral network?

Referral Marketing: What's the Point?

Many people know that I'm a huge fan of BNI. I'm a six year member of BNI in my region and can't even imagine my business plan without it.

Part of what makes BNI work is the built in opportunity to be in the same company of people each week. Seeing everyone in the group once a week really helps you to build relationships at a faster pace. However, building the relationship is ONE thing ... generating REFERRALS is another!

Generating referrals can happen more quickly when you TEACH people how to do it for you. That's the point of meeting with people one to one. Many networkers fail to appreciate the value in time spent one to one. And ... many networkers fail to understand how to leverage their one to one meetings to generate referral opportunities. Furthermore ... many BNI networkers fail to take advantage of the full BNI network and limit their one to one activity to members of their own chapter. Big mistake if you ask me.

Last week, I had lunch with Larry Schwartz, owner of Midnight Blue Technologies. Larry and I have known each other for some time and continue to connect together even though we are in different BNI chapters because we can appreciate the value we bring to each other. [By the way ... if the possibility of your computer network crashing causes you to lose sleep at night, you might want to look into Midnight Blue].

So ... if you're in BNI ... take off your BNI blinders and connect with people in other chapters. You'll be amazed at the opportunities you're missing!

Referral Marketing: Opportunities

Referral opportunities are everywhere! You simply just need to know how to recognize them and how to respond to them.

Case in point ...

A week ago, I travelled to San Francisco for a Referral Institute franchise conference. One day of the conference was dedicated to the local Referrals for Life community. (If you want to know more about this community, click on the Referral Institute link above). Anyway ... we were encouraged to practice what we teach and help to make connections for people throughout the day. I was able to make meaningful connections for 3 people that day. On top of that ... I was also able to bring home a referral for a colleague in Pittsburgh!

How did I find a referral in San Francisco for someone in Pittsburgh? Easy! I heard a referral opportunity and I knew how to respond to it. A colleague of mine, Jeff Tobe, owns a speaker's bureau (Infinite Speakers) that features speakers from around the country. He looks to connect with meeting planners who often turn to a speaker's bureau to find the speaker they need for an event. At the conference, I heard a woman introduce herself as a meeting planner ... immediately Jeff came to mind. I approached her later in the day and asked if she would find value in connecting to a speaker's bureau. Guess what she said? Absolutely YES! Wa-La ... a referral opportunity!

Look ... Listen ... Respond. If I can do it ... you can do it. Set a goal for the second half of the year to find at least one referral each week for your network.

Referral Marketing: Contributions!

I believe there's a "ying" and "yang" to just about everything in life. In networking, you're either a GIVER or a TAKER.

I meet alot of "takers" out there. They're the kind of people that wonder why networking is not working for them. They wonder why they haven't received any referrals recently. They wonder why their network isn't helping them to get more business by referral. They feel alone. Guess what?! Referral marketing CAN'T be done alone!

In order to help you focus on being a GIVER ... I urge you to honestly look at how well you contribute to your network. Are you a CONTRIBUTOR to your network ... your life ... your family ... your friends? Or not? If you realize that you could contribute more in certain areas of your network ... then do it! If you realize that you could contribute more to your relationships (home & work) ... then do it.

Take a stand with me TODAY to be a better contributor. Look around you and focus on those that need you and could value most from your contribution. Then ... take action!

Who will you contribute to TODAY?