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Archive for the ‘Referrals’ Category

Knowing Your Market Is Key

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

I just finished a one on one meeting, and it was fantastic. I had been apprehensive because I hadn’t been sure how I could refer his particular business, but he quickly relieved my fears.

Turns out he has a second business, and he has very clear goals of who he’s marketing to, why, and the value for individuals in that market segment. Turns out I am marketing to the same segment (real estate agents), and when I mentioned that, he pulled out a flyer specifically showing how his product can bring them more business.

How cool is that? I’ve got several referrals I can work on for him, and I’m excited to get on with it.

The lesson here? Know your market. Know why you are marketing to them. Have a plan to approach that market and have key value statements. It won’t just make it easier to refer you. It’ll also give you clear actions to take to approach and sell to them.

Well, I need to get to work. I’ve got referrals to arrange!

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Tags: communication, Networking, Referrals
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Customer Service and Referral Follow Up

Monday, November 7th, 2011

Yeah, they are sort of related.

If you’ve been reading this blog, you know that follow up is one of the most important elements of a good networking strategy. Customer service is another piece of following up. I had a couple of good experiences recently, and I wanted to share them as illustrations.

1. Referral Follow Up

I recently had the make the phone call you never want to make. I had to call a friend to tell her the referral she’d made for me had gone south. The person she referred completely dropped the ball, and I hated to tell her, but she needed to know.

Her response to me? “I’ll get on it right away, call him and see what I can do.”

Awesome! It’s exactly the right way to handle it. She didn’t make excuses for him. She did ask me a few questions to make sure she understood the situation, and off she went. Now, we’ll see if her butt kicking has any effect.

2. Sales Follow Up

In another example, I was having trouble with logging in to my account for a particular service. Keep in mind that this is a network marketing type company, so my salesperson was just that, sales. He doesn’t know or get into the technical side. He wants me to order product so he gets his cut.

But he’s a good guy, and I thought maybe I was making a simple mistake, so I called him. He tried to troubleshoot. No good. Did he tell me to call customer service and see if they could help me? No, he went one better than that. He called customer service himself and set up a three-way call.

Awesome service! I felt special and cared for, and he learned valuable information in case another client calls with the same problem.

That’s how it’s done, folks.

When you pass a referral, do your best to make sure it all works out. You can’t make people do their jobs, but you can and should touch base with all parties to make sure everything went smoothly.

When you’ve sold a product, even if you’re not responsible for fulfillment, ordering and all that, it’s still good to maintain contact with the customer. Setting up a three-way call is an excellent way to ensure everything goes smoothly.

Anyone else have a good follow up story to share?

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Tags: communication, Follow up, Referrals
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Niche Your Way To More Business

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

The title may sound counter-intuitive, but I think if you consider your niche well, you’ll find it to be true.

Yesterday, I was having lunch with a new coach, and we started talking about niching. She wasn’t sure what niche she wanted to target, and as we talked, I mentioned ADD coaching and coaching for people with Asperger’s Syndrome. She’d never thought of those, and she has skills in working with both communities. It sounded like she’d be perfect.

What was the benefit for her in targeting those niches?

1. They are clearly defined and easy to describe

Rather than saying she’s a life coach or even a life coach specializing in working with disabilities, she’s narrowed the disability. She can create clear triggers to generate referrals. She can target specific strategic partners and show her value in working with people with those disabilities. I’ve repeated again and again the importance of being specific.

2. Those niches opened up a market she hadn’t considered

Both disorders are being diagnosed more in adults, and many of her targets are bright, well-educated and successful. In other words, they have the money to pay for her services. And a strong need for coaching. She should have an ample pool of potential clients to target, and most of her competition is not targeting them, which gives her an advantage.

3. She is passionate about helping them

She had said she wanted to work with people with disabilities, but she was concerned about finding paying clients. She had family members with both disorders, so she’s highly interested in working with them. Isn’t it nice when working with your passion can also make a living?

Look at your client profile. Can you develop or describe a niche that feeds your passion, works to your strengths and isn’t what your competition is targeting? If you can, you’ll have more business and be happier serving your clients. Not a bad situation, eh?

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Tags: communication, marketing, Referrals, Triggers
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Think Outside The Box!

Monday, July 18th, 2011

I met with someone last week, and we started talking about other businesses that could refer him. He said there weren’t any. I showed him that there were. In fact, I came up with several.

Strategic referral partners are tough to find. Good one are even tougher, but they are worth it. When you find and cultivate a few of them, you’ve got a mobile sales force of people looking for referrals just for you. And naturally, you’re looking for referrals for them.

But you have to get creative. Your competitors are already wooing the obvious ones. How do you find the less obvious ones? Follow the money.

Who else do your clients pay each month?

This is the easiest one to research because you can ask your clients. Talk to them and find out who else is marketing to them and what services they purchase/hire on a regular basis. Then ask for the introduction. Your client should be happy to introduce you, assuming he or she is on good terms with you and the other service provider.

Once you’ve been introduced, get to know the person. Discuss strategy. Are there any specific questions you can both ask your client to uncover referrals for the other? Make sure you are both clear on what is a good client. And what is a bad one.

Then refer each other. It may take a while to find the right people, but when you do, you’ll have a new referral source, motivated to work to find business for you.

And best of all? Your competitors are blissfully ignorant because they didn’t think outside the box.

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Tags: Referrals, Relationship building
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Managing Relationships

Friday, July 8th, 2011

Making referrals and introductions can be risky, even when you know all the parties well. Yesterday I got one of those phone calls you just dread.

“Hey, Juli. Can you give me your perspective on a mutual contact.”

Uh oh. That was code for “One of your referrals didn’t go the way I expected. What now?”

All turned out well in the end, but it was an interesting conversation. In this case, the referral was potentially a good contact but required a bit of maintenance. Should I have been up-front with that when I made the introduction? Hard to say. Remember that you are referring people, and people are unpredictable. This person doesn’t always require careful handling, and I could have sent the wrong impression if I’d given a warning up front.

What to do? Follow your instincts. Stay in touch with all parties to see how things are going. And be willing to take that phone call and intervene if needed.

When you receive a referral or introduction, always remember that you are referring a person. Not just a product or service. People have good days and bad days. Keep that in mind when things don’t got quite as you expected.

And never, ever be afraid to pick up the phone to try to work things out. Talking can ease a lot of ills!

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Tags: communication, Referrals, Relationship building
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How To Refer 1 to 1 Discovery

Friday, June 24th, 2011

My friend Thom Singer recently published an absolutely brilliant post on how to refer him. I’m going to shamelessly copy the idea. I hope you don’t mind, Thom. Oh, and read his post too. He and I are both in the “networking” business, but we are looking for slightly different things, so I won’t be offended if you refer him.

So who are my ideal clients?

I’m looking for small business owners and sales people who want to build referral business relationships, either face to face or online. Ideally, I would work with people who want to do both. Financial services and multi-level marketers are particularly good clients. I’ve worked with lots of them. I know their specific challenges, and they’ve seen good results in their income level by working with me.

For pure social media work, restaurants are very good. My husband writes restaurant point of sales software, so I know the industry from dinner time conversation, and the last restaurant I worked with has seen a significant increase in private events through Twitter.

How do you recognize a good referral for me?

Listen for the following:

* I’m tired of cold calling. There must be something better.
* I know I need to network, but I’m afraid I’ll waste my time by going to the wrong events
* I’m not sure how to talk about my business so people will understand what I do and how to refer me.
* I meet a lot of people, but my meetings aren’t turning into referrals
* I think I need to learn this social media thing, but I don’t want to waste my time.

Or the myriad variations thereof.

So you’ve found a potential referral for me. Now what?

If you have been a client of mine, talk about how I helped you. Then ask if the person would like an introduction. Email introductions are fantastic. I promise I will follow up within 24 hours, so don’t worry about me sitting on a referral.

If you aren’t a client but know me through networking, talk about your impressions of me. Send the person to my website or blog to see what I’m like and my philosophy. Of course, ask if the person would like an introduction.

Sound easy enough? Does that give you what you think you’d need? If not, let me know in the comments, and I’ll make sure to add it.

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Tags: communication, Referrals
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Be Specific To Get What You Want

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

I was at a networking event a couple of nights ago, and I ran into a contact I hadn’t seen in a while. We chatted and caught up and then agreed it was time to work the room. As we were departing, she said, “If you run into anyone you think I should meet, let me know, and I’ll do the same for you.”

It was a kind offer, and she meant it. We could have gone our separate ways then, but what would we have missed if we had?

You’ve got it. Neither of us knew who the other was targeting. So how could we have known who would be a good contact for the other?

I asked her who she most wanted to meet, and she gave me a short list, which immediately generated an event she needed to attend. We’re meeting there today, and I’m certain I’ll be able to make some introductions for her.

See what happens when you remember to be specific and ask for what you want?

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Tags: Giving, Networking Events, Referrals
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Who To Refer?

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

I recently heard something very disappointing at a networking event.

Three of us were talking. For ease of writing this, we’ll call the other two people Jim and Jane. Jim expressed a real need for a service. I knew Jane had a good relationship with someone (Bob) who offered that service and I turned to her and said, “I’m sure you’ve already referred Bob to Jim.”

People, this should have been a no-brainer, and I was so certain Bob had been referred that I almost didn’t say anything. Good thing I did. Because Jane said, “Oh, Bob isn’t in my networking group anymore.”

Don’t worry. Bob did get the referral, but I kind of felt like I was guilting Jane into it.

So what’s up with this? If someone provides a good service does it matter if you’re not in the same networking group anymore? Remember that networking is about building relationships. Relationships last (or should) no matter what group you belong to.

The situation would have been different if Jane had said, “No, I didn’t refer Bob because someone new in that position has joined my group, and I referred her instead.” That would have been fine. At least someone would have been referred.

But to hear about a need, know someone who can fulfill it and say nothing? That’s counter to every principle of good networking.

This must be a common problem because I’ve had so many people tell me, “When I left that group, I never heard from any of the members again.” Regular networking meetings are a way to stay in touch. They aren’t the only way.

You want people to remember and refer you, no matter what group they are in, right? Then stay in touch with everyone in your network, no matter what groups you do or do not share.

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Tags: Giving, Networking, Networking Groups, Referrals, Relationship building
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Giving Back During Your Job Search

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010

I’ve talked to plenty of people who are looking for jobs. They understand that they need to ask for help, but they also understand they need to give back. And they don’t know how.

If you’re worried about that, congratulations. Your heart is in the right place. But don’t sweat it so much that it stops you. You’ve got more to give than you probably think.

Remember that networking isn’t something you do once and stop. Networking is about building relationships. And relationships continue. You need the job today. But the people you are networking with may need a job tomorrow. So part of giving back is staying in touch so you can be ready to lend a hand later when needed.

Good job seekers get out and talk to a lot of people. That means you are meeting new folks. Which gives you an opportunity to be a connector. Let’s say you are on an informational interview with someone. They mention they need a new software package to address a problem. It just so happens that you met a couple of weeks ago with an IT guy. Offer to arrange an introduction. It’ll make you look good, and everyone potentially wins.

Always make it a habit to ask “And who do you need to meet?” People will usually tell you. And don’t worry if you don’t know someone right then. Life is funny that way. I was in a meeting yesterday, and the person I was meeting with asked if I knew any pharmaceutical sales reps. I don’t. But you know what will probably happen in the next month? I’ll probably meet one, just because I’m now tuned to listening for them.

Try it out. Ask the question. See if you can come up with some introductions for the people in your network. The harder you work for them, the harder they will work to help you find a job.

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Tags: Giving, job search, Referrals, Relationship building
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Archive for the ‘Referrals’ Category

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