The internet is awash with hundreds of articles written by amateur bloggers which promote an ever growing list of social applications as the saving grace of the real estate world. The reason for these blogs? The blogger probably just started becoming familiar with that particular site and wanted to share their enthusiasm. There’s nothing wrong with that however, just because you are a social networker and a real estate blogger, does not mean you should promote your weekend social networking exploits as the winning strategy for every struggling office out there.
Blogs like Newsweek’s, “Can Facebook revive the real-estate market?” really do a disservice to professionals who are unfamiliar with social applications. Social applications are great but what these articles forget to mention is that you’ll probably spend hours, days or even weeks sharing photos, jokes, and links with acquaintances but no studies, professional reviews, or peers would tell you that sharing YouTube Videos, even with other professionals, on Facebook is a great use of your work day.
Let’s face it, real estate professionals are hungry for new business right now. Many markets have dried up, forcing professionals to consider drastic options like getting a second job or relocating. You need actual ROI to buck this economic trend and referral marketing is the way to go. Referral marketing is where the rubber meets the road and while many bloggers may use an off-handed story about how they reconnected with an old buddy on Facebook and generated a new lead, friend requests don’t usually put money in the bank; qualified referrals do. Get your listings in front of potential clients seeking the service you provide by posting in logical places like an online small business directory. When you’re looking to for a qualified professional, like a seasoned real estate agent to sell your home, do you go to MySpace? No, so why would anyone else! Instead of sharing dismal stories of the market with other agents on their profile page, get your head in the game and generate some referrals first.
Tax season is upon us and most Americans are trying to avoid procrastinating this year. At this moment, there are thousands of potential clients seeking qualified accountants for this year’s tax season. Where do these potential clients find their accountants? How do you get in front of them?
How about print ads?
Traditional forms of advertising may occasionally be an option but remember, the results are unpredictable. This economy doesn’t lend itself to costly advertising campaigns; besides, most of your clients are online anyways.
What about search engines?
Gone are the days of “build a website and they will come”. Even a larger firm is likely to be competing with every other entity that uses “accounting” in their name or description, this will likely place your firm hundreds, if not thousands of places down in the Google search results. Considering most people never even see page two of the results, small to medium sized firms aren’t likely to generate much, if any of their new business directly from a search engine placement.
The Solution:
A directory of qualified professionals is exactly where many people will begin their search. This is great news for your firm because unlike search engine results or paid advertising, a small business directory is unbiased to the size of your wallet or even the size of your firm. The key to attracting clients in a directory lies in describing your business in a way that fits the needs of the clients who are browsing the directory.
Remember, not all directories are created equal. If the directory you are considering posting to is full of advertisements and doesn’t look very organized, it’s likely that potential clients will be thinking the same thing. Some directories ask you to pay in order to list your business. You may want to be skeptical of this transaction, as anyone can create a website and charge a fee to be listed on that site. The directory should look professional and have traffic. Of course, we’d suggest the Referral Key directory. Not only is it free but there are plenty of ways you can differentiate yourself from your competition right in your listing; your old referral software can’t say the same.
Watch this tutorial to learn how to fully take advantage of the Referral Key Business Directory:
Successful Realtors are always hungry for new qualified sales leads. Ask any Realtor and they will tell you that securing a few key closings can have a massive impact on their revenue stream. As we had mentioned in a previous blog posting, CPA referrals are special because of the trust clients place in their CPA’s. Realtor referrals are equally as important because of the critical value of each and every sale that’s made. The referrer, buyer, seller and Realtor are all vested in the process.
If you are a Realtor the objective is clear; send plenty of business referralst to your associates if you want to make this quarter a profitable one. If you aren’t a Realtor, you should definitely have at least one in your referral network. Realtors are some of the most social and gracious networkers out there. So, keep your ears perked and your referrals qualified because Realtors will advocate for you if you do right by them. Given the tumultuous economy, right now is the best time to begin building strong referral relationships with choice Realtors. The business directory is an ideal place to begin your search.
We all know the sayings; “Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” “To have a good neighbor, be a good neighbor.” “Treat others as you would like to be treated.” While these are nice suggestions, we’re often so busy trying to keep up with our current clients (or actively seeking new ones), that we don’t feel we have the time to search for sales leads for our colleagues.
However, we all know that sending a qualified referral to an associate is an extremely effective way to obtain qualified sales leads for yourself. Your associate is likely to be extremely appreciative of your effort, especially in the current economic situation, and should reciprocate fairly soon with an equally qualified sales lead for you. But what if he or she doesn’t reciprocate? You may be so busy that you never even realize that your sales lead was unrequited. Or perhaps you become bitter towards your colleague after having wasted precious time to find him or her a qualified sales lead. In either case, your efforts were for naught. And as a service professional or small business owner, you simply don’t have time to waste on un-reciprocated referrals.
Time is money, and in these difficult times, neither can be spared. That’s why it is imperative to use a referral system to help you keep track of your professional relationships. Not only is it critical for remembering who you’ve sent referrals to, but also who you’ve received referrals from. Maintaining good relationships with your colleagues is of utmost importance, and if an associate takes time out of their busy day to find a qualified referral for you, it is important that you reciprocate as soon as possible. Set off a year of successful lead generation and lead sharing by using an organized method of keeping track of your referral relationships. Then you’ll be ready to go out and obtain qualified sales leads (for both yourself and your colleagues) without wasting any of your valuable time.
We had a chance to catch up with Tony Barrado of “Credit Maximized” in Port Charlotte, Florida. Tony’s referral system is just one example of how a seasoned small business owner can generate a ton of new business by rewarding colleagues who send him referrals.
Tony told us that most of his referrals are coming from mortgage brokers. As a Gold Key member, Tony’s been able to create ingenious promotion campaigns. Tony’s “finder fee” rewards, are a win-win for both him and the people who send him leads.
When the opportunity to send Tony a referral arises participants simply send him the contact information of the client being referred directly through Referral Key. Tony then immediately follows-up with prospects to turn leads into sales. The beauty of Referral Key is that the system tracks all of his referrals so he can easily reward everyone who sends him leads. The system even generates reward reports for each person who sends him a lead.
If you’re interested in participating in Tony’s reward campaign, visit Tony’s profile in our business directory. Also, we encourage you to embrace this powerful tool on Referral Key and create your own referral reward offers to generate quality leads from people who value the services you provide. Good Luck!
As a small business owner, the last time you heard the term “bailout” you were either surfing a big wave or had a hole in your canoe. Nowadays, it feels as though the whole world is resting on the small business owner’s shoulders. As major corporations put their hands out and ask the rest of us to pick up the tab, we are reminded that we will not be afforded the same luxury. However, small business has always been able to rely on their loyal customer base to help them pick themselves up by their bootstraps. One of the advantages a small business owner will always have, is their direct interaction with their loyal clients; building loyalty that lasts through any economic climate.
Instead of dropping the fees for your services, which may cheapen the value of your brand, offer your loyal customer base an incentive to send you qualified sales leads. Given our current economic situation, customers will be more enticed by the incentive you provide, whether it’s a Starbucks gift card or dinner at a popular restaurant. Take advantage of this opportunity to generate new referrals by creating a customer promotion campaign. As was stated in a recent News.com article, “Referral business is…much more powerful than your own outbound marketing efforts, so offering incentives to current customers for recommendations is [a] way to grow.”
So create your own bailout by focusing on your most important niche; the loyal customers you already have. Small business sales leads will never come from a government mandate, but that’s okay because your loyal customers already know your good work and with a little encouragement, they will actively advocate for you.
Every industry has its particular intangible offering when it comes to connecting with a client. A real estate agent isn’t just selling a house; they are helping a family own the home they’ve always wanted. A graphic designer isn’t just creating a picture, they’re helping develop an image for their client. A CPA is entrusted with his or her client’s assets and that makes them number one when it comes to trust. If you’re a CPA this means you’re a very attractive referral partner.
According to All Business, “A survey of 614 family business owners conducted for the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. found CPAs were the most trusted advisers outside their family circles. Of the small business owners polled, 31% considered their accountants to be their most important outside business advisers, well above attorneys (9%), bankers (4%) and company managers (4%).”
Because of a CPA’s close relationship with his or her clients; CPA referrals are that much more likely to lead to a sale. It is a very good idea to invite a CPA to join your referral network. If you don’t happen to know a CPA you’d like to invite, you may want to start by reaching out to a qualified CPA in our small business directory.
Successful small business professionals know that one of the best ways to encourage sales is by building and strengthening relationships with the people who already know and trust their work.
A recent New York Times article addresses the core strategies that small businesses must adopt if they are to thrive in the current economic climate. “When times are bad, people are more likely to buy products from someone they know and trust. Building relationships with your regular customers…is more important than ever when business is slow.”
This just makes sense. In a recession, potential clients are naturally less inclined to spend money. They want to be sure that a service provider is truly worth the investment. Nothing communicates the quality of your service better than if the client being referred were recommended to you by someone they already trust. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important for small business owners to leverage their current client base to generate targeted sales leads. Conducting a customer promotion campaign is a highly effective form of referral marketing. Promotion campaigns send a clear message that you are serious about taking on new business and are prepared to reward those who help you.
Fortunately, referral marketing is incredibly cost-effective. An occasional email or phone call may be all that it takes to maintain a prosperous professional relationship. And in this economy, a qualified referral from someone who knows and trusts your work will be the propeller that takes your business to new heights.
Referral Key, a powerful online referral management tool, is joining in a partner program with Constant Contact, a leading email marketing/survey company.
Thousands of small business professionals already know the benefits of leveraging Referral Key and Constant Contact into their regular business practice. The new standard, these tools enable you to grow your businesses exponentially and blast past your competition.
The result of this partnership is a giant step in the effort to empower small business owners everywhere. “Referral Key’s ability to help small businesses generate and track quality referral leads from their trusted business networks coupled with Constant Contact’s commitment to helping its customers effectively communicate with their client base via email marketing makes this partnership a logical fit,” said Lewis A. Weinstein, CEO of Referral Key.
Both organizations recognize a positive social shift which translates well when applied to small business. It is crucial that every small business maintain positive customer relationships and grow its practice through qualified business referrals.
“Email marketing and online surveys are proven tools that help small businesses connect with their customers and build successful customer relationships,” said Len Bruskiewitz, senior director, Partner Programs, Constant Contact. “We are pleased to be working with Referral Key since we share the belief that one of the best ways for small businesses to remain competitive is to capitalize on the business relationships they already have.”
We are glad to welcome seasoned business networking expert Adrianne Machina. Adrianne founded Tornado Marketing to serve the marketing needs of small businesses, especially those in technology consulting. Adrianne became an authorized Duct Tape Marketing Coach in 2007, which allowed her to expand her offerings to the needs of the smallest entrepreneurial businesses. During her 15 year career, she has met and helped many business owners and executives who are technically competent and business savvy, but who struggle with marketing.
Today Adrianne gives us valuable insight into her formula for success as well as explaining how a tool like Referral Key can create new opportunities for professionals looking to expand their business through qualified business referral exchange with professionals they know and trust.
The New York Times recently reported the potential sale of business and social networking site Plaxo.
Plaxo claims about 15 million registered users, and despite that fact that the site is not yet profitable, the asking price is said to be around $100 million.
Plaxo started out as a kind of electronic Rolodex management tool - we all remember receiving multiple uninvited emails asking us to provide our updated contact information. The company changed tack recently and launched Plaxo Pulse, a service that compiles information from competitors MySpace, Facebook, and other social networking sites.
What does this mean for your business to business networking strategy? What sites can you, the small business service professional, rely on for the referral marketing services and tools you need before they change functionality to keep up with their competition? We wonder how many people actually liked and used Plaxo for what it set out to do for them (manage contacts) as opposed to what its mission is now (collect information from other social and business networking sites).
Surely many business professionals used Plaxo as a supplemental tool for their referral marketing strategy – what better way to refresh your new business leads than constantly reminding people of your presence with a friendly contact information update email? Trouble is, without a personal relationship and a “first degree of separation” communication, it started to feel like spam – and frankly, in my opinion, it was. I stopped responding to the requests and they went right into my delete folder, even if they were from people I knew and worked with regularly. It was obvious they were automatically generated and had nothing to do with the professional relationship I shared with the sender. It was also obvious there was no return for dedicating my time to fill out the form.
When Sean Smith wants my updated contact information, including my cell and home numbers, you can bet I’d be more likely to respond if he’s offering something - like a qualified referral – in return.
Why would Plaxo consider MySpace and Facebook rivals in the first place? Certainly their strategy (automatic emails to a user’s database of contacts) was flawed, but did anyone ever really consider them a social or business networking site?
We believe in doing and being one thing – and doing it better than anyone else. If you’re not going to be a huge social networking site with multiple features, applications, and fun stuff then offer something for your users that will actually affect their sales lead ratio and revenue. For us it’s referrals. Nothing else.
Of course, we’re biased, but Referral Key is just one of the sites that we feel remain elegantly simple and true to its mission. Generating, tracking, and rating professional referrals from a personalized business network.
This week the band Radiohead made music industry history by making their new album available exclusively by download (http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/10/09/radiohead-reveal-in-rainbows-download-details-we-anxiously-salivate-into-our-keyboards/).
No middle man in the form of a big record company, just the band selling their music directly to their fans online. Bold move. The boldest part of it, however? Fans get to decide what they want to pay for the album. A colossal kick in the pants to the recording industry, sure, but the band is taking a risk because they know three things:
1) They know they have an outstanding product
2) They know who their customers are
3) They understand the power of their customers’ trusted networks
And why should your small business operate any differently? You may not be a rock star, but if you have been in business long enough to be profitable and enjoy a healthy client base, chances are you have a great product – your service. Your customers know this, and so do your valued professionals who operate in your circle. For Radiohead that circle is composed of diehard fans, music journalists, critics, industry executives and other artists. For you, if you’re an accountant, it may be tax lawyers, financial planners, mortgage brokers, industry analysts, professional associations and trade journals.
The network doesn’t have to be huge, either, for the band or for you. (Okay, maybe Radiohead’s referral network is a bit larger than yours). It is far more important to have the right people in your business network than the most. People who know you and your work through personal experience. These are the people who can and will send you qualified leads. It’s about quality, not quantity.
Choose your business referral network carefully. Nothing less than your professional reputation is at stake.
Radiohead understands this. They know their fans well enough to know that it’s not about the number of people who download the album for free. It’s about the quality network of loyal fans who will return again and again to support the band and the music, paying for CDs, attending concerts, and subscribing to email lists and newsletters.
May we all be so confident in our product, and may we all have such faith in our referral network.
*Note: you will not be able to take advantage of the features outlined in these tutorials if you have not upgraded to a free Referral Key “Basic Account”. For help , watch the Grow Your Small Business with a Free Basic Membership tutorial.
Step 1 Add Your Business Profile to Our Popular Directory
Step 2 Inviting Associates to Exchange Referrals With You
Step 3 Send and Receive Qualified Sales Leads
Step 4 Create A Referral Promotion Campaign
Select a Cash Bounty Amount
Consider setting up a Cash Bounty that you'd be willing to pay to people who send you new business. It's free to setup and you control whether to issue the cash.
Successful Realtors are always hungry for new qualified sales leads. Ask any Realtor and they will tell you that securing a few key closings can have a massive impact on their revenue stream. As we had mentioned in a previous blog posting, CPA referrals are special because of the trust clients place in their CPA’s. Realtor referrals are equally as important because of the critical value of each and every sale that’s made. The referrer, buyer, seller and Realtor are all vested in the process.
