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Archive for the ‘Fable Fridays’ Category

The Bald Man and the Fly or The Two Small Business Bloggers

Friday, August 28th, 2009

We proudly present Fable Fridays. This weekly installment will draw parallels between referral networking and some of society’s most cherished moral tales: Aesop’s Fables.

You could go to expensive seminars and buy up every book on referral marketing, but it doesn’t take a marketing genius to realize that Aesop got it right nearly 3,000 years ago.

See more Fable Fridays

The Bald Man and the Fly

A FLY bit the bare head of a Bald Man who, endeavoring to destroy it, gave himself a heavy slap.  Escaping, the Fly said mockingly, “You who have wished to revenge, even with death, the Prick of a tiny insect, see what you have done to yourself to add insult to injury?’  The Bald Man replied, “I can easily make peace with myself, because I know there was no intention to hurt.  But you, an ill-favored and contemptible insect who delights in sucking human blood, I wish that I could have killed you even if I had incurred a heavier penalty.”

“Revenge will hurt the avenger”

The Two Small Business Bloggers

There once were two small business bloggers. Each had their own marketing formula of which they’d write about and promote. They also each had a small but loyal niche audience; many of whom read both blogs. One week, the first blogger, seeing an opportunity to criticize the second, released an article disparaging the others marketing strategy.

The article had the affect of highlighting the triviality of both blogger’s offering.

“Marketers who criticize other marketers often reveal more about their own services”

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Posted in Business Networking, Fable Fridays, referral marketing | 1 Comment »

The Goose with the Golden Eggs or The Superfluous Accountant Referral

Friday, May 29th, 2009

We proudly present Fable Fridays. This weekly installment will draw parallels between referral networking and some of society’s most cherished moral tales: Aesop’s Fables.

You could go to expensive seminars and buy up every book on referral marketing, but it doesn’t take a marketing genius to realize that Aesop got it right nearly 3,000 years ago.

See more Fable Fridays

The Goose with the Golden Eggs

One day a countryman going to the nest of his goose found there an egg all yellow and glittering. When he took it up it was as heavy as lead and he was going to throw it away, because he thought a trick had been played on him. But he took it home on second thoughts, and soon found that it was an egg of pure gold.

Every morning the same thing occurred, and he grew rich by selling his eggs. As he grew rich he grew greedy; and thinking to get at once all the gold the goose could give, he killed it and opened it only to find nothing.

“Greed often overreaches itself.”

The Superfluous Accountant Referral

One day a fledgling accountant was contacted by an overburdened bookkeeper. The bookkeeper said, “I saw your profile in the small business directory and was impressed with your rating. Due to a new venture I’ve been pursuing, I’ve been unable to find the time to follow-up with every lead I receive. I’d like to refer a few  clients who could use your services in the hopes that you will reciprocate someday.”

Seeing this as an opportunity to boost lead generation, the young  accountant eagerly agreed.

The accountant received an occasional referral from the bookkeeper; this supplemented his current clientele. The accountant thought to himself, “How can a bookkeeper with such little time have such a surplus of referrals? Perhaps I can circumvent this bookkeeper and go straight to the referral source!”

After browsing LinkedIn, the accountant realized that the bookkeeper was receiving referrals from a close colleague at a larger firm. When the firm met with potential prospects who were too small to use their services, they would refer the prospect to the bookkeeper.

The accountant contacted the bookkeeper’s colleague without the bookkeeper knowing. He never heard from either of them again.

“Overreaching referrals seldom make freinds”

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Posted in Fable Fridays, accountant referral, referral marketing, referral marketing strategy | 3 Comments »

The Wind and the Sun or The Two Mortgage Brokers and The Mortgage Referral

Friday, May 15th, 2009

We proudly present Fable Fridays. This weekly installment will draw parallels between referral networking and some of society’s most cherished moral tales: Aesop’s Fables.

You could go to expensive seminars and buy up every book on referral marketing, but it doesn’t take a marketing genius to realize that Aesop got it right nearly 3,000 years ago.

See more Fable Fridays

The Wind and the Sun

The Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger. Suddenly they saw a traveller coming down the road, and the Sun said: “I see a way to decide our dispute. Whichever of us can cause that traveller to take off his cloak shall be regarded as the stronger. You begin.”

So the Sun retired behind a cloud, and the Wind began to blow as hard as it could upon the traveller. But the harder he blew the more closely did the traveller wrap his cloak round him, till at last the Wind had to give in despair.

Then the Sun came out and shone in all his glory upon the traveller, who soon found it too hot to walk with his cloak on.

“Kindness affects more than severity.”

The Two Mortgage Brokers and The Mortgage Referral

Two mortgage brokers were quibbling over who was the better salesman. They decided to validate their banter by pursuing a sales lead. The second mortgage broker said, “Let’s each follow-up on this sales lead and whoever can get the prospective client to refinance, is truly the superior salesman!”  The first mortgage agreed.

The next morning the first mortgage broker repeatedly called the prospect, emailed the prospect, and he even arranged a consultation where he gave his best pitch along with five pristine business cards. Despite the broker’s aggressive effort, the prospect became overwhelmed by his attempts and even questioned whether he really wanted to refinance at all.

That afternoon the second mortgage broker invited the prospect to lunch. He made a concerted effort to understand the prospect’s specific needs, he even discovered a few mutual connections, and when lunch was over he provided the prospect with a link to the small business directory which had a list of five references; colleagues and past clients the prospect could contact. Not only was the prospect eager to refinance with the second mortgage broker but he was looking forward to doing lunch again.

“A referral network affects more than a hard sell”

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Posted in Fable Fridays, mortgage broker referral | 1 Comment »

The Hare with Many Friends or The Consultant with Many Mortgage Broker Leads

Friday, May 8th, 2009

We proudly present Fable Fridays. This weekly installment will draw parallels between referral networking and some of society’s most cherished moral tales: Aesop’s Fables.

You could go to expensive seminars and buy up every book on referral marketing, but it doesn’t take a marketing genius to realize that Aesop got it right nearly 3,000 years ago.

See more Fable Fridays

The Hare with Many Friends

A hare was very popular with the other beasts who all claimed to be her friend. But one day she heard the hounds approaching and hoped to escape them by the aid of her many friends.

So she went to the horse, and asked him to carry her away from the hounds on his back.  But he declined stating that he had important work to do for his master. He felt sure, he said, that all her other friends would come to her assistance.

She then applied to the bull, and hoped that he would repel the hounds with his horns.  The bull replied, “I am very sorry, but I have an appointment with a lady… but I feel sure that our friend the goat will do what you want.”

The goat, however, feared that his back might do her some harm if he took her upon it.

The ram, he felt, was the proper friend to apply to. So she went to the Ram and told him the case. The ram replied: “Another time, my dear friend. I do not like to interfere on the present occasion… as hounds have been known to eat sheep as well as hares.”

The hare then applied, as a last hope to the calf… who regretted that he was unable to help her, as he did not like to take the responsibility upon himself, as so many older persons than himself had declined the task.

By this time the hounds were quite near.

The hare took to her heels and luckily escaped.

“He that has many friends has no friends”

The Consultant with Many Mortgage Broker Leads

A mortgage broker was very popular with many local professionals who claimed to be a part of her network. One day the housing market began to fail and the mortgage broker hoped to rely on her large network to help stay afloat.

So she called an attorney she knew and asked him to give her a call back.  But he returned her call with an email stating that he had taken on a difficult case and would not be available for some time. He felt sure, he said, that the rest of her network would come to her assistance.

She then applied to the accountant, and hoped that he would have some qualified sales leads for her.  The accountant replied, “I am very sorry, but I’m not coming across too many people who need loans these days but I’m sure my contractor will.”

The contractor, however, had been out of work for some time and felt that the real estate agent would be  eager to refer her some clients.

So she had lunch with the Realtor and told him the case. The Realtor replied: “Another time, my dear friend. I am down on my luck on the present occasion… as the recession has been hurting Realtors as well, perhaps you should consult the small business directory.”

The mortgage broker then applied, as a last hope to the young insurance agent… who regretted that he was unable to help her, as he did not feel comfortable networking with her, as so many older persons than himself had declined the task.

By this time revenue had nearly dried up.

The mortgage broker took some initiative and created a powerful referral system. “A 10% commission to anyone who sends me a referral that leads to a sale!” She let everyone in town know about her promotional offer.

Luckily she was able to get her practice back on track.

“He that has a big network has a weak network”

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Posted in Fable Fridays, mortgage broker leads | 2 Comments »

The Man and The Satyr or The Insurance Agent and Facebook as a Sales Leads Software

Friday, May 1st, 2009

We proudly present Fable Fridays. This weekly installment will draw parallels between referral networking and some of society’s most cherished moral tales: Aesop’s Fables.

You could go to expensive seminars and buy up every book on referral marketing, but it doesn’t take a marketing genius to realize that Aesop got it right nearly 3,000 years ago.

See more Fable Fridays

The Man and the Satyr

A Man had lost his way in a wood one bitter winter’s night. As he was roaming about, a Satyr came up to him, and finding that he had lost his way, promised to give him lodging for the night.

As he went along to the Satyr’s cell, the Man raised both his hands to his mouth and kept on blowing at them.

“What do you do that for?” said the Satyr.

“My hands are numb with the cold,” said the Man, “and my breath warms them.”

After this they arrived at the Satyr’s home, and soon the Satyr put a smoking dish of porridge before him. But when the Man raised his spoon to his mouth, he began blowing upon it.

“And what do you do that for?” said the Satyr.

“The porridge is too hot, and my breath will cool it.”

“Out you go,” said the Satyr. “I will have nought to do with a man who can blow hot and cold with the same breath.”

Moral-

A man who talks for both sides is not to be trusted by either

The Insurance Agent and Facebook as a Sales Leads Software

An insurance agent was surfing the web one day at work. He clicked a blog which touted Facebook as the greatest referral system. The insurance agent signed into his Facebook account and kept adding strangers to his network.

The insurance agent’s colleague who happened to be sitting in the room, asked, “Why do you keep adding these contacts to network with you if you don’t know them? This is what you call referral software?”

“I could always use more referral partners,” said the insurance agent, “and this is very easy.”

Later that afternoon the insurance agent and his colleague planned to grab a drink after-work. The colleague called-out, “What are you doing still at your computer, let’s go.”

The insurance agent replied, “I’ve got way too much clutter on my Facebook profile so I’m blocking some connections, deleting spam messages, and clearing my wall posts.”

The colleague: “Why are you doing that?”

The insurance agent: “I could always use less Facebook friends.”

Moral-

“Consistent strategies pay-off”

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Posted in Fable Fridays, Referral System | No Comments »

The Miser and his Gold or the Accountant and his CPA Referral

Friday, April 24th, 2009

We proudly present Fable Fridays. This weekly installment will draw parallels between referral networking and some of society’s most cherished moral tales: Aesop’s Fables.

You could go to expensive seminars and buy up every book on referral marketing, but it doesn’t take a marketing genius to realize that Aesop got it right nearly 3,000 years ago.

See more Fable Fridays

The Miser and his Gold

Once upon a time there was a Miser who used to hide his gold at the foot of a tree in his garden; but every week he used to go and dig it up and gloat over his gains.

A robber, who had noticed this, went and dug up the gold and decamped with it. When the Miser next came to gloat over his treasures, he found nothing but the empty hole. He tore his hair, and raised such an outcry that all the neighbours came around him, and he told them how he used to come and visit his gold.

“Did you ever take any of it out?” asked one of them.

“Nay, said he, “I only came to look at it.”

“Then come again and look at the hole,” said a neighbor; “it will do you just as much good.”

“Wealth unused might as well not exist”

The Accountant and his CPA Referral

Once upon a time there was an accountant who belonged to a very powerful referral network. Every week he would gloat over the caliber of the professionals within his network but would rarely send referrals to them.

A competing CPA from the business directory, who had noticed this, began encouraging others in the referral network to send him new business. He promised them a timely and qualified business referral for every referral they sent him.

When the accountant noticed he was receiving less referrals, he called his colleague and told him about decline in new business.

“Did you always thank your referral source and send them reciprocal sales leads?” asked the colleague.

“Nay, said the accountant, “I rarely send new referrals back to my colleagues.”

“Then come and look at the phone book,” said the colleague; “these sales leads will do you just as good.”

“Referral relationships unused might as well not exist.”

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Posted in Business Directory, Fable Fridays, referral marketing | 1 Comment »

The Bundle of Sticks or The Bundle of Small Business Sales Leads

Friday, April 17th, 2009

We proudly present Fable Fridays. This weekly installment will draw parallels between referral networking and some of society’s most cherished moral tales: Aesop’s Fables.

You could go to expensive seminars and buy up every book on referral marketing, but it doesn’t take a marketing genius to realize that Aesop got it right nearly 3,000 years ago.

See more Fable Fridays

The Bundle of Sticks

A father had a family of sons who were perpetually quarreling among themselves. When he failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations, he determined to give them a practical illustration of the evils of disunion; and for this purpose he one day told them to bring him a bundle of sticks.

When they had done so, he placed the bundle into the hands of each of them in succession, and ordered them to break it in pieces. They tried with all their strength, and were not able to do it.

He next opened the bundle, took the sticks separately, one by one, and again put them into his sons’ hands, upon which they broke them easily.

He then addressed them in these words: “My sons, if you are of one mind, and unite to assist each other, you will be as this bundle, uninjured by all the attempts of your enemies; but if you are divided among yourselves, you will be broken as easily as these sticks.”

“Union gives strength”

The Bundle of Small Business Leads

A small business CEO had a Sales Team, a group of IT Specialists and several Marketing Consultants who were constantly blaming each other for poor performance. When the team was unable to meet revenue expectations for the quarter, the CEO decided to teach his team a costly lesson in the power of union.

  • He gave his Sales Team a budget to buy expensive marketing programs, attend big-ticket seminars, and fly all over the country seeking the secret to sales success.
  • He gave his IT Specialists an allowance to spend on a pricey Pay-Per-Click campaign to gain ad placement by outbidding competitors twice their size.
  • He gave his Marketing Consultants the funds to launch an experimental social media campaign whereby a group of 10 people would be paid to blog 24 hours a day.

At the end of the quarter he gathered his team together and asked them how they had done. Neither the Sales Team, the IT Specialists, nor the Marketing Consultants were able to claim any net profit. They were unable to offset their spending and therefore unable to break last quarter’s revenue drop.

He then said, “I want each of you to write down the names and contact information of 20 professionals you know and trust; then combine your networks and figure out a way to send each professional a few qualified sales leads.”

By connecting the right service providers with the appropriate prospects, they were able to create an incredibly efficient network. They increased the quality and quantity of their inbound referrals, they had also become an integral source of revenue for others; making their word of mouth reach phenomenal.

“Network glue equals revenue”

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Posted in Fable Fridays, referral marketing, sales leads | No Comments »

“The Fox and the Grapes” or “The Accountant and the Bookkeeping Referral”

Friday, April 10th, 2009

We proudly present Fable Fridays. This weekly installment will draw parallels between referral networking and some of society’s most cherished moral tales: Aesop’s Fables.

You could go to expensive seminars and buy up every book on referral marketing, but it doesn’t take a marketing genius to realize that Aesop got it right nearly 3,000 years ago.

See more Fable Fridays

The Fox and the Grapes

One afternoon a fox was walking through the forest and spotted a bunch of grapes hanging from over a lofty branch. “Just the thing to quench my thirst,” quoth he. Taking a few steps back, the fox jumped and just missed the hanging grapes. Again the fox took a few paces back and tried to reach them but still failed.

Finally, giving up, the fox turned up his nose and said, “They’re probably sour anyway,” and proceeded to walk away.

“It’s easy to despise what you cannot have.”

The Accountant and the Bookkeeping Referral

One day the accountant received a sales lead and followed up with the prospect. “”Just the thing to fill up my schedule this tax season,” quoth he. While speaking with the prospect he learned that they were actually looking for bookkeeping services. He was unable to close a sale.

Finally, giving up, the accountant muttered, “Why did this guy call me anyways, it clearly says I do accounting on my website; not bookkeeping!”

“We often forget that sending indirect referrals today, could be the first step to a prosperous referral relationship tomorrow”

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Posted in Fable Fridays, referral marketing, referrals | 2 Comments »

“The Hart and the Hunter” or “The Graphic Designer and the Massive Network”

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

Due to the popularity of our last post, “Snow White and the Seven Referral Networkers” we proudly present Fable Fridays. This weekly installment will draw parallels between referral networking and some of society’s most cherished moral tales: Aesop’s Fables.

You could go to expensive seminars and buy up every book on referral marketing, but it doesn’t take a marketing genius to realize that Aesop got it right nearly 3,000 years ago.

See more Fable Fridays

The Hart and the Hunter

The Hart was once drinking from a pool and admiring the noble figure he made there. “Ah,” said he, “where can you see such noble horns as these, with such antlers! I wish I had legs more worthy to bear such a noble crown; it is a pity they are so slim and slight.” At that moment a Hunter approached and sent an arrow whistling after him. Away bounded the Hart, and soon, by the aid of his nimble legs, was nearly out of sight of the Hunter; but not noticing where he was going, he passed under some trees with branches growing low down in which his antlers were caught, so that the Hunter had time to come up. “Alas! alas!” cried the Hart:

“We often despise what is most useful to us.”

The Web Designer and the Massive Network

The web designer was browsing her LinkedIn profile and admiring the hundreds of online connections she had amassed. “Where can you see such a large network as this, with so many connections! I wish my ‘real-world’ referral partners would grow large online networks too; my attorney barely has 50 online connections.” Within a month the economy turned for the worse and her sales had dried up. Yet, because of the designer’s intimate networking relationship with her attorney, she was able to keep her head above water. One day she received a lead from a stranger on LinkedIn and she followed up. Unfortunately the lead was useless and the prospect said, “I don’t know who told you to contact us. We don’t need a website, we’ve got a LinkedIn profile with hundreds of connections.” “Alas! alas!” cried the designer.

“Stay true to your reputation, expertise, and close colleagues; everything else is ornamental.”

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Posted in Business Referral Network, Fable Fridays, referral marketing | 4 Comments »