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Archive for the ‘Referral System’ Category

10 Phrases For Any Networker Who’s Serious About Generating Sales Leads

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

We found inspiration for today’s blog in the OED (Oxford English Dictionary).  After listening to NPR’s interview with Ammon Shea, who spent the last year reading 22,000 pages of the OED in a Manhattan basement, we realized that referral networking had its own unique lexicon. Because the OED contains words and not phrases, we thought it would be interesting to fuse definitions to create a more standard interpretation of today’s heavily used networking vocabulary.

Referral Business

The referring of an individual to an expert or specialist for advice whom one is united in enterprise with.

Reciprocal Relationship

A state or relationship in which there is mutual action, influence, giving and taking, correspondence, etc., between two parties.

Promotion Campaign

The action of helping forward; the fact or state of being helped forward; furtherance, advancement, encouragement. The publicizing of a product, organization, or venture so as to increase sales or public awareness.

Qualified Sales Lead

A guiding indication which possesses a certain quality; a clue to exchange a commodity for money or other valuable consideration.

Relationship Building

To construct by a process, a condition or character based upon this; kinship.

Trusted Colleague

Confidence in or reliance on some quality or attribute of one, two or more leagued together; a confederate, an ally.

Drive Revenue

To put, bring, cause the return, yield, or profit of any important source of income.

Loyal Clients

Those who are bound by allegiance to and who employs the services of a professional or business man or woman in any branch of business, or for whom the latter acts in a professional capacity.

Business Directory

Something that serves to direct; a guide to a particular trade or professional.

Business Networking

The action or process of making use of a network of people for the exchange of information for professional advantage.

Oxford English Dictionary. Online ed. 2009.

If you want to generate sales leads, it may help to get back to basics; understand the verbiage that accompanies a strong referral system.

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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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How to Find a Good Mortgage Broker Lead

Monday, April 20th, 2009

Networking with quality professionals is always important. In this unprecedented housing market the quality of a mortgage broker lead has never been more crucial. Whether you’re looking for a mortgage broker or referring one to a client, trust is incredibly important. Many would say that the recent activities of some lenders would bring into question the trust of many clients and associates alike.

“For the last couple of years, low interest rates, aggressive marketing tactics, scant industry oversight and investors who want to put their money into real estate instead of the stock market have contributed to the ideal operating environment for predatory lenders.”

-Jay MacDonald, MSN Money

Choosing a mortgage broker based on a classified ad or a recommendation from someone you don’t know is foolish. At the very least, find a mortgage broker in a qualified business directory and prepare a list of questions you’d like ask.

Optimally, you want to get referred to a mortgage broker by someone who you know and trust. This could be friends, family or another professional, perhaps a real estate agent. It is important to maintain accountability so that you, the mortgage broker, and the person who referred you are all fully vested in the quality of the service and the  referral. This is a “satisfaction guaranteed” referral system.

In many cases, it’s all too easy for a trusting homeowner anxious to leverage a home’s value or lock up a low rate to fall prey to less-than-upfront lenders. Whether you’re a first-time buyer or looking to refinance your home, you need to find the right person.

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Posted in Business Referral Network, Referral System, business networks | 2 Comments »

Snow White and the Seven Referral Networkers

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

You can find hundreds of blogs citing examples of good networking practices, but at the risk of sounding negative, most avoid the topic of bad networkers. We thought a “G” rated movie would be the perfect vehicle to sneek past the status quo and engage a topic we all deal with now and then; bad networkers.

Below are some bad networkers you already know.

Bashful

Yeah, we all thought bashful was cute in the movie but in this article he’s a real drain on your referral marketing strategy. Bashful is not an active networker. Sure he’s a nice enough guy, if you get him alone for lunch, but the last time he sent you a referral Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was in theaters. Bashful might make a better friend than a referral partner. Even if they are nice, there’s no room for  freeloaders in your referral network.

Doc

Doc’s smart. He knows all the buzz words,  he’s bought all the e-books, he has a Facebook friend list that rivals the population of China and every referral author on speed dial. He’s already Tweeted about this blog and we haven’t even finished it. Yeah, he sent you a referral just yesterday… unfortunately 50,000 of his Twitter followers got the same referral too. You don’t get points for being into referral marketing, you get points for doing referral marketing. Tell Doc to go write a referral marketing book and find someone else who’s ready to play ball.

Dopey

Dopey is the opposite of Doc, he just doesn’t get it. You’ve tried to explain it 600 ways but he just doesn’t get how referral networking works. He blew $5000 last month trying to generate sales leads through a pyramid scheme. He doesn’t accept your invitations to exchange referrals, hasn’t followed up with any of the leads you’ve sent him, and probably wouldn’t think to mention you if there was a prospect standing in front of him with a megaphone, begging for the services you provide. While this guy is still looking for the “on switch” to his referral system; ditch him!

Grumpy

Grumpy claims to have a boat-load of referrals but he’s just not going to send any until he gets one from you. He’s still playing a chess game from 1983; he refuses to go first. Referral marketing isn’t poker and you don’t need to call his bluff; it’s time to call someone else.

Happy

Happy couldn’t be more different than grumpy. He views referral marketing as a holy path to nirvana. He gives self-help seminars on “referral marketing and your inner child”. He thinks that tracking referrals is wrong because he teaches that anyone who expects their professional relationships to be balanced must be evil. You’re not making sandwiches, so lose the fluff. There are more worthy charitable causes than deadbeat referral partners. It’s time to let the rubber meet the road. Let this guy “conceptualize” revenue as he gets smaller in your rear view mirror.

Sleepy

Sleepy’s referral was timely… last month. You once sent him a client in need of pediatrics but unfortunately by the time Sleepy followed up, the client needed geriatrics. Besides, Sleepy gets Grumpy if you interrupt his siesta. It’s time to kick Sleepy off the couch and tell him to go home.

Sneezy

Sneezy is a good sport but his reputation is a little under the weather.  He can put his business card in your pocket from forty feet away but what you’ll really need is a tissue to soak up your client’s tears after they experience the quality of his work. Don’t worry about Sneezy, he just doesn’t see the value in repeat business.  It’s time to quarantine this referral relationship.

Do you think Walt could have foreseen the terrible networkers he had created?

Mirror mirror on the wall. Who’s the most referrable of them all?

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Posted in Business Referral Network, Referral System, referral marketing | 1 Comment »

There’s No Business Like Referral Business

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

For small businesses, it’s vital to band together and actively exchange referrals. Creating an environment exchange referrals will improve your business and increase revenue. This is why business networks are so important. For many networkers the easy part may be agreeing to send each other referrals, but the hardest part is ensuring a steady flow of referral business.

This leaves small business owners asking the question, “How can I ensure this important source of revenue is consistent?”

A promotional campaign is a powerful strategy that allows you to secure a consistent flow of qualified referrals. With a promotional campaign, you offer an incentive to your contacts for sending you new business. i.e. Mary is offering an iTunes Gift Card to any of her contacts who can secure her a new graphic design  job.

If you want to add a little grease to the gears of your referral system, try a promotional campaign to motivate your contacts to send you more referrals. A promotional campaign lets you reward trusted associates who send you referrals that end in a sale. The gift is usually proportional to the amount of revenue you make on a sale.

Promotional campaigns are proven to work when your participant knows they’ll be rewarded. Through our research we’ve found that the difference between an extremely profitable promotional campaign and a flop, is how confident the participants are that they’ll be rewarded. At Referral Key, we’ve put together a tool to circumvent this challenge. There is no need for your participant to doubt whether they’ll be rewarded for sending you new business because the campaign is tracked and managed through the Referral Key system.

Referral Key is the most cost effective ways to conduct a promotional campaign. Be wary, there are a handful of services that offer costly snail-mail or stationary solutions. The success rate of direct mailings is extremely low and blowing your budget on cards that are going to end up lining someone’s garbage bin is foolish.

Ideally you are looking for a promotional campaign that fits your budget but is strong enough to drive some real revenue!

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Posted in Referral System, business networks, lead generation, referral promotion campaign | No Comments »