Referrals are a vital source of sales for most small businesses. What separates the mediocre from the truly profitable referral marketers? Many pros are left scratching their head, wondering why some professionals seem to always have a mountain of new business while others sit around waiting for the phone to ring, you need to consider the referral marketing basics; the difference between mediocre and highly profitable referral marketing.
1. What is the quality of your business network?
Highly Profitable Referral Marketing: My business network is made up of top-notch service professionals I trust and whose quality of work I am familiar with. They refer people to me because they know I’m the best at what I do. We periodically reconvene to ensure we are both on target and continue to work toward our sales goals.
Mediocre Referral Marketing: My business network is an undefined cluster of people whom I have loose relationships with. I don’t personally know most of these people so it would be a bit uncomfortable to call them and talk referral marketing. I send out an email blast once in a while and hope for the best.
2. Do you regularly send referrals?
Highly Profitable Referral Marketing: I view referral marketing as a serious business activity and approach it with the same gravity as I would taxes, employees, and accounting. Everyday I am looking for more opportunities to refer people to other professionals I trust. Referral marketing allows me to leverage my most powerful asset; my reputation.
Mediocre Referral Marketing: I view referral marketing as a business-esque social activity. I expect people to send me business before I refer anyone to them. I sent one referral last month, unless an opportunity falls into my lap, I don’t bother.
Highly Profitable Referral Marketing: The people I refer are integral to maintaining my reputation amongst my associates. My long-term referral marketing success is contingent on my ability to create referral situations that are positive for both parties. It’s just as important that I refer quality prospects as it is that I am referring those prospects to quality professionals. I always follow up with both parties to ensure the referral was a success.
Mediocre Referral Marketing: I may refer someone but after that, it’s sort of out of my hands. My business associates should just be happy that I’m even sending people their way. If there is a problem they’ll let me know.
4. Are you organizing and tracking your referral relationships?
Highly Profitable Referral Marketing: I closely mange my referral marketing activities. To be successful I need to be able to answer fundamental questions. I want to know who’s in my network, which referrals are they sending to me and which am I sending to them? Are they following up on my referrals? Of the referrals I send and receive, which result in sales? Do my business networking partners feel the same way about our business relationship or are we totally out of sync? Which relationships need more attention? Are there opportunities to expand my network?
Mediocre Referral Marketing: I hand out business cards and wait for the phone to ring. I’m not exactly sure where my new business is coming from and I couldn’t really tell you how people in my network feel about the referrals I send them. I figure if there are any problems they can call me.
Small businesses on Referral Key fall into one of over 140 distinct industries. Being service professionals, we share an eagerness to network and exchange referrals. But outside of business networking and referral marketing, these small businesses are extremely diverse and can be grouped or divided according to many factors. One such factor is whether the day-to-day activities of the business occur in front of the computer or not.
Work and Pleasure
Marketing consultants, PR agents, graphic designers, programmers, etc. may spend the majority of their day browsing on a computer. For these professionals, leisure and work are often interspersed throughout the day. The line between using the web for fun and for work can be blurred too. It’s no wonder that these professionals are the strongest advocates of, and make up the majority of small business owners participating in blogs, Twitter, Facebook etc.
i.e. Jill is a freelance graphic designer, throughout the day she bounces back and forth between Photoshop and the net. (Twitter, her favorite blogs, Referral Key, message boards…)
Work then Pleasure
Landscapers, dentists, doctors, home inspectors, contractors, etc. are less likely to be in front of a computer; and if they are, they tend to be running specialized software. For these professionals there is a much clearer dichotomy between computing for work and computing for leisure.
i.e. Dave is a contractor. He has two Nextels and a calculator on him at all times. He carries his laptop in his truck but almost exclusively uses it to run his CAD software.
What Do You Think?
Do you believe think certain professions are more likely to be drawn to, or reap the benefits of new social technology?
If this is true, will there be a social media divide and what is the fallout?
Mobile apps may be a way to engage everybody but I wouldn’t count on them being a deal breaker. Most people don’t discover and become acclimated to tools via mobile, adoption usually happens the other way around. Mobile app users tend to be even further entrenched in a social media than their desktop-only counterparts.
We randomly selected 100 social media-savvy small business owners and asked them the following question:
“Do you generate more new from professional relationships with at least some face to face networking or do you generate more new business from exclusively online networking relationships?”
While this is not the largest sample size, it reminds us that a small trusted business network is much more effective at generating sales leads than a massive network of loose social media connections. The optimal idea is to incorporate both social media technology and your trusted business network into a sales focusedreferral marketing strategy.
Avid Twitter user and Toronto area networker Tad Mclaughlin:
“As great as social media is, and as much as it can enrich your existing relationships, the bottom line is that the majority of your new business is going to come from networking with professionals you already know and trust.”
According to the census, the overwhelming majority of small business owners are between the ages of 35 and 54.
This demographic, in large part, is not using social media for business networking.
Data source: Pew Internet & American Life Project and Auxiliary Quantitative Data
You know the power of online business networking. Here are “do’s” and “dont’s” that will help you communicate the importance of social media to your reluctant business colleagues
Don’t
Inundate them with every feature of your favorite business networking site
Complicate things by comparing too many services. For example, if they’re not interested in podcasts don’t keep pushing the issue just because it’s your most recent discovery
Use jargon… i.e. Tweet, RSS, Wall, User Generated, Tag Cloud… these terms can be learned later; they mean nothing to people at the beginning stages
Push colleagues on industry-heavy blogs, opinions, and articles before they discover social media for themselves
After inviting a colleague to a new site, follow up with a phone call. There is a good chance they may not know what to do with the information
Begin sending colleagues relevant information via social media platforms. i.e.(alerts, updates, messages)
Send them a referral! Nothing is a greater testament to the power of social media as a business tool than a qualified sales lead delivered right to their in-box
I always recommend Referral Key first if exchanging qualified sales leads and small business networking are what you’re after however, I realize that promotion and personal branding are also important areas of marketing, areas that social media can help facilitate.
Advice from Chris Brogan
I’ll admit, marketing guru and fellow Bostonian Chris Brogan’s blog got the gears turning on the subject of Twitter versus Facebook.
“Facebook has many more users, but it’s a bit harder to find customers, prospects, partners and colleagues. Twitter is easier to use and faster to connect with people, but there are far fewer users on there today. I’ll let you choose. If you go with Facebook, make a personal account under your own name, and then start a fan page for your business.” Chris Brogan
I happen to agree with Chris, except I don’t think the actual size of either Twitter or Facebook (Since they are both massive) are going to have much consequence for the average small business owner. A greater emphasis should be placed on demographics and niche’ prospects. I’m also not yet convinced of the effectiveness of Facebook fan pages, particularly for small business owners in less glamorous industries i.e. Law, Finance, Maintenance etc.
Facebook is 40% advertising 60% relationship
Pros
Facebook facilitates much more comprehensive media sharing (Within the actual site)
Fosters deeper relationships than Twitter.
Cons
Limitations set by Facebook mean that you are going to have a very difficult time connecting with people you don’t already know.
Facebook pages tend to be beneficial for big businesses who promote them but, are not as effective for small businesses.
It’s much more difficult to identify actual ROI from Facebook activities
Twitter is 60% advertising 40% relationship
Pros
Twitter is fast
It is easy to have a reach of a few hundred within a few days
If you produce good content people will listen
Twitter Search is an unprecedented way to identify people talking about your services
Demographic is older*
Cons
Whether they’d like to admit it or not, most people have never actually met the majority of their Twitter followers (at least for those using it for marketing)
The big advantage of Twitter went to early adopters. As more and more people crowd the space only two things can happen:
The natural laws of marketing clutter mean everyone’s voice becomes less effective as more marketers crowd the space (i.e. Myspace)
Twitter enables strict regulations, effectively eliminating much of the original advantages of marketing through Twitter. (i.e. Facebook)
The Winner:
Twitter (For Now)
If you are going to use one of the two for marketing I’d recommend Twitter, at least for now. Too many of your competitors either aren’t on Twitter yet or aren’t using their account. Ii is extremely important to get the most out of Twitter today. There will be a time, very soon, when we’ll all hark back to the glory days of marketing on Twitter.
1. Social Media naturally rewards those who give their customers something worth talking about.
2. Business Networking in the digital age means colleagues have greater access to information in determining if you’re someone they should associate with; that’s sound referral marketing.
3. Large companies are getting larger which inherently makes customer service more difficult for them and makes individual service that much more appealing.
4. The prevalence of outsourcing makes in-sourcing that much more appealing.
5. Communication is quickly becoming the most important the most important business asset and customer service is where the rubber meets the road.
Customer service is no small matter and it’s a big deal for the long term success of small business.
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. is quickly becoming one of the most sought after keynote speakers in the world. Audiences from the United States to Australia all agree that his speeches are deeply inspirational. His enthusiasm is contagious, and his delivery is dynamic.
We had a chance to catch up with Johnny and in this series, we’ll be discussing HR and more specifically how it relates to small business and business networking.
What is more important, hiring or retention?
Neither is more important than the other. It makes no sense to spend $100,000 to find an employee and then not focus on keeping him/her happy and engaged.
Employers must put a significant effort into finding the best people. But an equally (and in some cases larger effort) must be undertaken to retain these people. Even in this tough economic environment, your “stars” will have an opportunity to leave you for better opportunities. So, getting them in the door may actually be easier than keeping them.
Studies show that people like to talk; that’s a good thing. Most talented sales people will agree that a key component to any interaction, whether you’re selling b2b or b2c, is ensuring the other party felt as though they participated. All too often we become fixed on communicating the value of our product or worse… features.
I noticed Chris Brogan, an authority on marketing, ends all of his blog posts with a question. This is a simple but powerful gesture that lets his audience know he has ears.
Attentive listening has been a staple of successful tele-selling and online business networking is no different. Nothing is more affirming than a popular blogger taking the time to respond to you. More times than not, good listening is one of the reasons why they are successful to begin with.
Whether tweeting, IMing, emailing, or blogging; a natural conversational rhythm is the goal.
When business networking online, do you find yourself doing most of the talking or listening? What are some challenges to attentive listening online?
If social media is a good way to evaluate a potential employee (or a good way to not get hired) then why shouldn’t small business owners apply the same practice when seeking new referral partners (or declining them).
“According to the study, “thirty-five percent of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them not to hire the candidate.”
Selective networking is a big part of quality control on sites like Referral Key and to a lesser extent, LinkedIn. The social media world is in its infancy and while social networking and business networking are often clumped together, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME THING!
Hiring employees polarizes the need for quality control in business networking.
It’s a very good idea to consider separating your online social networking from your online business networking.
If other professionals are evaluating you before they start networking with, why wouldn’t you do the same?
An article released by Mashable this afternoon notes a growing trend toward the use of social media amongst marketing professionals. A survey released by BtoB Magazine and The Association of National Advertisers indicates that marketers are increasingly using new media as apart of their marketing repertoire.
Not surprisingly, the amount of money marketers spend on social media is expected to continue to grow as well. The idea is not “if” but “when” will online business networking become a De facto practice amongst successful small business owners.
“That said, social media (including blogs) remains the quickest growing marketing segment, and as we recently reported, it’s expected to grow to a $3.1 billion industry by 2014. In all, it looks like social media marketing still has a healthy amount of growth in front of it.”
Although the findings are exciting for both small business marketers and us in the social media industry, like most surveys regarding social media, it leaves a few areas of warranted skepticism.
After a some digging I found that the survey consisted of 172 respondents and it is unclear what “using social media for marketing” specifically means. Does a marketer who has a Facebook page from which he occasionally sends business related media constitute as “social media marketing” Do business networking marketers count as marketing via social media? How much time is being spent using these particular tools?” What does social media spending refer to; the cost of having someone on these particular sites, advertising, or something else?
The survey was also conducted online, which may have some significant affect on the results.
We still encourage groups like B to B Magazine and The Association of National Advertisers to continue pioneering social media research. The more we know, the better we can leverage new technologies.
Is there a difference between business networking and social networking?
It’s the proverbial elephant in the office of every social media consultant. Those of us who make a living selling clients on the power of online social media, may get a bit uneasy when confronting distinctions between business networking and social networking. Business networking and social networking are in their infancy but I think the following points will become increasingly important as society moves beyond the initial sensation of social media.
Business Networking is for Profit, Social Networking is for Fun
Socializing with professionals does not necessarily constitute business networking. Ultimately, you’re in business to make money; business networking is a means to that end. Business networking involves at least two professionals working toward a common goal. At it’s essence, business networking is about generating more sales.
The benefits of social networking are as varied as the people who are networking. Some people are on social networking sites to express themselves, some derive pleasure spying on good (and not so) acquaintances, some get satisfaction from sharing media and ideas, some to like to gossip, and some people may social network to pass time.
The Benefits of Business Networking are Quantifiable, The Benefits of Social Networking are Personal and Indefinite
Business networking activities have a measurable return. That’s not to say that every phone call, message, or conversation has a fixed dollar amount however, looking back at your efforts over a given period, you need to be able to identify which activities have helped boost sales and which were time miss used. If you have a friend in a traditional networking group such as the Chamber of Commerce or BNI, you can be sure they are monitoring how much their investment of time, effort and membership fees is panning out.
People have very little expectation for a tangible return on social networking.
Business Networking is Expensive, Social Networking is Free (Well, sort of)
Many experts say that in our fast-paced digital age, “time” has overtaken “money” as the scarcest commodity. While most sites offer free business networking, the real question isn’t “What are the fees?” but rather, “What is the return on the time invested?”. Consider this: If you spend just a half an hour of your work day on business networking sites, you’re spending over 10 hours a month. Now suppose you make $20 an hour; that’s over $200 a month.
Of course, social networking is time consuming as well. Assuming that you are social networking when you would otherwise not be working, then the cost of social networking is, “anything else you could be doing with that time.”
Open ended questions are the secret sauce when it comes to good business networking. Simply asking open ended questions will do more for your networking game than a three piece suit and the best pitch on the planet.
Studies show that when people do most of the talking in a conversation they have positive feelings after the interaction.
If you’ve got the time, you can even play a game, “see how long you can keep the other person talking with as little interruption as possible.”
I was recently on the train between Boston and New York and I struck up a conversation with the gentleman sitting behind me. We seemingly had nothing in common; he may even have been busy with some paper work now that I recall. However, by using just a handful of open ended questions and showing some genuine interest, I was able to keep the conversation going for the entire three hour trip. When the train pulled into New York, which one of us do you think insisted we stay in touch?
The same goes for open ended Tweets, instant messages, and communication in all of it’s forms.
Let’s say you want to get your Twitter followers involved in a blog on your site. Instead of just announcing your blog, solicit an open ended response.
Example:
Blog Title: “Obama’s New Plan for Small Businesses”
Tweet: “How do you feel about Obama’s new plan for small businesses? [Link]”
When it comes to networking events and referral marketing, success could be as simple as having a few open ended questions on hand.
Example:
What differentiates you from some of the other professionals in your industry?
In what ways do you think your industry has changed since you started?
Ideally, what does the future look like for your business?
What is your experience with face-to-face networking events?
Over the last couple of months, we’ve seen a number young small business owners join Referral Key.
We often don’t think of high schoolers or even college students as being small business owners but you’d be surprised just how entrepreneurial and motivated the younger generation is. At a time when unemployed professionals are taking jobs that in more prosperous times, would have gone to young adults; many young adults are forced to think outside the box.
Lawn mowing, caddying, snow shoveling, dock-hands, and even web design are just a few referral based jobs that require good word-of-mouth and very little capital.
Young adults, who take an entrepreneurial approach to their financial future, may be walking away with more than just a little spending money. They are learning the fundamentals of good business; relationship building, developing a reputation, and following through.
Good referral marketing practices are likely to help you throughout life whether your landing the biggest contract of your life or carrying a second bag to the green.
We get to help a the wide variety of small business owners; they may not have the time to try the “social site of the week” or every doo-dad on the net. So, we help them keep everything in perspective. In this day in age, small business must take advantage new technologies yet, they must also effectively allocate their online time.
Even your typical internet user is likely to receive a friend request to join an online network about every other day. This can become quite daunting even for the most avid networker.
The real question is do you accept or not? Through the lens of a small business owner, the answer requires some very fundamental questions many of us forget to ask.
1. Do I know this person?
It may sound obvious but many professionals that are new to online networking get in the habit of accepting any and every request to network. Unless you’re trying to build a phone book, it’s much better to have a smaller more powerful network than to have a cache of people who don’t know you. Spam, shameless promotions, and privacy are some of the more apparent reasons to not accept an invitation from someone you don’t know. Yet, the biggest reason is the integrity of your network. We may not think of ourselves at the center of our social sphere but a powerful network of a few dozen key professionals can do the impossible. Think of your network as a brand. Once you begin to move beyond your niche(people you actually know) you begin to lose traction. It’s not as easy to see the dilution as it is the fact that you have 1000 friends on your profile. It may seem chalice but if I receive an invite, even from someone I know, and they have a loose network of a 1000 friends, I am much less flattered and am not too keen on becoming just another “fan” in their army of connections.
2. What is my goal in networking with this person?
Again, the rules for good professional networking practices didn’t change when we moved online. Is the person who’s sending you the invite someone you can help? Can this person help you? You might be surprised how often the answer is “no”. If your objective is to cycle through personal photos and say “hi” on the person’s birthday, that is a very different goal than let’s say, swapping qualified sales leads. Neither reason for networking is invalid it’s just that successful professional networkers have an underlying strategy and clearly define their intentions. Creating a distinction between your personal and professional network will help avoid conflict, wasted time, and keep expectations clear. You wouldn’t bring all of your favorite baristas from the local coffee shop to a BNI or Chamber of Commerce networking event, would you?
3. What service was the invite sent from?
If you don’t see the site from which the invite was sent as useful then don’t accept. Like “space junk”, you’d be surprised how many dormant profiles there are on the net. These profiles are barren and often don’t reflect well on the person or organizations that created them. Even worse, they could be in the top Google searches for you or your company’s name. If you’re not going to actively engage the service it’s better to invest your efforts into just a couple of services you see a ROI in, rather than spread yourself thin.
In a perfect world, we would provide our service to a client and assuming we did a good job, that person would start telling their colleagues and all we would need to do is sit back and let the referral business roll in. The reality is that effective referral networking requires a two pronged approach. First we need to exchange referrals with professionals and customers who already know us and are familiar with the quality of our work; a tool like Referral Key helps track and manage those referrals. Second, we must build relationships via an open dialog with those who are not comfortable with us yet.
To this end, it is important that we build an ongoing communication stream with the people we want to recommend us. This serves multiple purposes; it reminds them that we are an expert in our field who is willing to share that expertise with them and it keeps us “top of mind” so that when an opportunity to refer comes up, they remember us. There are a number of ways to build these types of relationships (in-person meetings, webinars, direct mail, etc.) but the most efficient is via an Email Newsletter sent through a service that creates a professional-looking message that is trackable. These newsletters can be short – no more than a paragraph or two – but as long as they are providing valuable content to the recipient, they meet the dual objective of confirming your expertise and staying in touch with potential referrers. When thinking about newsletter content, always try to make sure that after reading it, your recipients will either feel “smarter” or “cooler” than they did before. If instead, your recipients will feel like they just endured a long sales pitch, start over again.
A real-life example of how this works is a Human Resources consultant who sends out a few sentences in her monthly newsletter regarding issues relevant to Human Resources personnel. Within a few hours of sending the newsletter, her phone rings and she gets business either from one of her recipients or someone that received a forwarded copy of it. Many times, the business has nothing to do with the content of her newsletter but is a result of her sending useful information and building relationships through regular communication.
Building relationships through a dialog with your current clients and members of your business network is crucial to generating referrals – and it is easy to get started. Share your expertise and you will be on your way to building your referral network.
A CEO, International Speaker, and bestselling author, Jill Lublin knows it’s all about developing strong professional relationships. Her new book “Get Noticed Get Referrals” maps out a solid approach to playing your best game, even amidst this dismal economic situation. We here at Referral Key are big fans of Jill because she promotes a proactive networking strategy.
Jill stresses the importance of viewing clients, customers, referral sources, and vendors as friends. Like any relationship, maintaining that friendship requires effort. Tracking and managing your referrals with a referral system will ensure you reward those who advocate for you. The most important point Jill drives home is that PR is not an isolated activity. Every time you communicate with someone you are either strengthening or weakening your reputation so don’t take a halfhearted approach or you will lose overtime.
There are plenty of business networks but don’t let going to a weekly meeting give you a false sense of accomplishment. Successful professionals regard reputation building as a full time job. Along with the quality of the services you provide, it may be the most important thing you do.
We think Referral Key is the perfect tool to put Jill’s philosophies to work. I’d recommend you pick up her new book at Amazon or you can visit her website.
Whether you’re using a referral system like Referral Key to drive revenue to your small business or you’re using corporate-support on Linked In to get your resume out there, business networking sites are indispensable tools for the modern professional. Once you’ve established yourself on a business networking site, it can be timely and difficult to make changes to your “virtual reputation”, so the best strategy may be to start-off with a game plan.
It may seem trivial but when joining a business networking website ask this simple question, “What is my overall goal in networking?” Not all networking produces the same results therefore, not every approach should be the same either. We all network for a wide variety of reasons. Let’s take a look at some major networking stereotypes.
1. The Newbie - Some network online as a form of entertainment, chatting with strangers and spying on estranged colleague’s profile-pages to fill the gaps in their day. These people like to think of themselves as riding the wave of new social trends however, there is very little expectation for real-world benefits from their endeavors. These people make up the bulk of online networkers. The effort is minimal therefore, the expectations should be too. To achieve this level of networking one merely needs to sign-up and start browsing.
2. Professional-Professional Networkers- Then there are others who actively, share, discuss, and contribute to networking sites. These networkers are the heart and soul of the website, often playing important roles such as group leaders, forum moderators, and content creation. These people’s true reward for networking is in the act itself. In the virtual world they’re king however, if you find yourself asking the question, “They are on this site all day, how do they get any work done?” the answer may simply be that “they don’t”. As exciting as technology is, we haven’t been able to add more hours to the day. That means spend two hours networking online and something’s got to give… hopefully it’s not your business.
3. The 500’s – Know what it’s like to have 500 close friends? I don’t think anybody does either but some use business networking sites to develop a contact list that rivals the phonebook. These networkers will add just about anybody to their network, from the CEO of a company they’ve never heard of to their high school sweetheart’s former dog –walker. The reality is that just because it says you are friends with someone on a webpage doesn’t mean you have any juice. In fact, having so many contacts could make you a less effective networker. If I am looking for legal advice and I contact “Larry” and tell him I am your acquaintance and he says, “Who the hell is that?”, I might be better off knocking on doors than consulting your massive network. If having a massive contact list is your goal, grab some Joe and start clicking.
4. The Promoter- Just like the 500, the Promoter has a huge cache of connections. Unfortunately, if you happen to be one of these damned connections, you mind as well make friends with a billboard. The Promoter will use any free space to shamelessly advertise everything from their resume to their cousin’s real estate listings. They often clutter your homepage and inbox with poorly constructed messages like, “Hey, how have you been? By the way, did you know that Dubai is one of the fastest growing real estate markets..”. I think you get the point.
While some may partially embody several or some of these stereotypes, none of these strategies really add value to your small business.
The key to getting good results is to decide early-on what it is that you want. If you are counting on timely and qualified referrals to help you generate new business, don’t start a resume pool. Develop a strong referral network of a few dozen small business professionals you actually know. Give them a call and let them know what your intention is. After you’ve developed the proper infrastructure, you can then go onto a business networking website and use technology to maximize the effectiveness of your efforts. If giving your contacts a call beforehand seems like too much work or it feels unnatural then they probably shouldn’t be in your network to begin with.
We all understand that online networking can be incredibly powerful. But like most endeavors, there is only a very small subset of people who actually know how to unlock the full potential of these technologies. They understand the Golden Rule of online networking, “Exchange qualified and timely referrals with professionals who know and trust you, and you will drive revenue.”
Online networking cannot replace the time-honored strategy of developing a tight-knit real-world network as much as the telephone did not replace good conversation.
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.
Taking out a quarter page ad in your local newspaper is probably not the most cost effective way to promote your small business. This is especially true during tough economic times.
We all have the urge to supplement our business referrals with additional advertising efforts. Too often, small business owners mull over whether to conduct a costly ad campaign or not, but forget to leverage many free opportunities right at their fingertips.
Describing your services in a online business directory is fast, free and very effective. Consumers often search quality B2B directories when seeking a service provider. Why not leverage this traffic?
Simply find a business directory that is up-to-date and organized. Be sure to tag your business appropriately so that the right clients can find you. Potential clients are much more likely to contact you if you’re specific. For example, a personal injury attorney would be better off putting the tags; “personal injury, malpractice, compensation, legal advice” rather than trying to cover all bases with broad tags like this; “lawyer, attorney, legal”.
In our connected society, it’s possible to generate greater visibility through a free business listing than paying for advertising. With a little effort and a little time, today you can list your company on a B2B Directory and promote your firm to thousands of potential clients seeking the services you provide. What do you have to lose?
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.
The holidays are a great time to reaffirm your existing professional relationships. A final interim before the long winter months, a little goodwill in December can go a long way. It’s an ideal time of year to reflect on your current strategy to generate sales leads and refine your approach.
There is plenty of literature on “power selling”, “cold calling”, and “persuasion”. In a struggling economy, the only way these strategies are going to hold a flame to exchanging referrals with professionals you already know and trust, is if you use them as kindling for your Holiday fire. Like most things, the most effective advice is often the simplest. Remember, the Grinch’s heart grew three times when he began thinking of others first. If these conversion rates hold true in the small business world, your sales will grow nine times by sending three referrals.
This season “Tis better to give than receive” which means the slick talking “Mr. Hard-Sell” needs to take a vacation for a while. The right path to successful small business lead generation lies in sending qualified referrals to colleagues who will appreciate it and will reciprocate. You’re a small business professional because you know that to truly be successful, you can’t wait around for others to make the first move. Send a few referrals at the end of this year and you’ll generate sales leads in the New Year.
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.”
Alex Liviertos, known as “the coach” by his clients, has been helping small business professionals in the Chicago area achieve greater income for nearly 22 years. A Referral Key Gold Key member and business networking guru, Alex understands the importance of developing and managing a strong referral network. To contact Alex you can visit his Referral Key profile or visit his website.
Whoever said, “Build it and they will come” obviously wasn’t a small business owner. One of the biggest barriers to growing your business is taking a passive attitude toward developing referral partnerships with people you trust. You can buy many business networking books and go to many pricey networking seminars and still have nothing to show for it.
Consider taking a few minutes to follow these 4 simple steps and you will have something to show for it.
1. Break the ambiguity of your professional relationships and formally invite colleagues you know and trust to exchange referrals with you. Your colleagues will likely be honored you’ve chosen them as a referral partner.
2. Make the first move. Actively seek opportunities to send your referral partners qualified leads. Think with your referral partner’s best interest in mind and you’ll be amazed at how quickly your partners will return the favor. It’s the old “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”.
3. Track your relationships to ensure your referrals are balanced and mutually beneficial. If you’re sending lots of leads but not getting your fair share, it may be a good idea to reach out to your partners to find ways of ensuring a more reciprocal arrangement.
4. Establish referral promotion campaigns to reward your customers and colleagues for sending you qualified leads. Nothing says thank you like a nice dinner or couple tickets to a ball game.
Guarantee YOUR business a referral tomorrow by sending one today. Visit Referral Key, and the customers will start knocking on your door!
Corporations understand that consumers are more likely to purchase their products when presented with fewer choices. Social psychologists Sheena Iyengar, PhD, and Mark Lepper, PhD, were the first to empirically demonstrate the downside of excessive choice. In a 2000 paper in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , they showed that when shoppers are given the option of choosing among smaller and larger assortments of jam, they show more interest in the larger assortment. But when it comes time to pick just one, they’re 10 times more likely to make a purchase if they choose among six rather than among 24 flavors of jam.
If fewer choices consistently results in more sales, then why do so many small business professionals insist on offering far too many services in their company’s description? The answer is two fold. First, because we invest so much time and energy into our practices, we’d like to believe that we’re capable of providing the absolute best service, even if the client’s needs are slightly out of our scope of expertise. Secondly, we inherently believe that if we offer more services, more clients will seek us out.
Every industry has its self proclaimed “renaissance person” however, and we are not trying to pick on them, computer professionals tend to have the “I do it all” bug the worst. This approach may work if you are looking to do odd jobs for friends and family but it presents a barrier for customers trying to find a specific solution. For example, if you are browsing the Referral Key Business Directory looking for an experienced web programmer, which profile are you more likely to follow up with?
Kevin Smith: Web Programming - 12 years
Richard Wilson: Computer Networking, Computer System Designs, Computer Repair, Computer Consulting, Graphic Designer, Web Programming, Search Engine Optimization - 12 years
The first professional is much more appealing because if anything, he appears to be dedicated to his craft. It’s the same reasoning that dictates why we probably wouldn’t want to purchase life insurance at a Walmart. Because of our own experiences and limitations, we have developed an unspoken dialog in our mind. We believe that specialization equals quality.
While business referral networking is the single most important source of new revenue for over 90% of us, there’s value in supplementing your network with other low-cost, yet effective methods of generating more sales. A presence on the Internet can give your business added exposure.
Small businesses face a particularly puzzling challenge when it comes to web visibility. Many newcomers become enthusiastic when they learn how inexpensive and easy it is to create a website. Unfortunately, the joy is soon replaced by frustration when they realize the economic laws of scarcity apply to Internet traffic as well. In other words, because there are so many websites competing for your customer’s attention, you need to spend more of your resources promoting your site instead of concentrating on growing your business.
Fortunately, you can have your cake and eat it too. Sites like Referral Key, Linked In, and Facebook have already done the hard work for you. By adding your business profile on these sites you are in effect, utilizing them to promote your business without the catastrophic prices and risks involved with promoting your own site.
The question then becomes, which networks should I add my business profile to? The answer is all of them! For instance, it’s foolish not to take 3 minutes to add a complimentary business listing on Referral Key. Even if it results in just one sale, it’s surely worth spending the time.
It’s common sense that the more people you’re connected with, the more opportunities they’ll be to exchange business referrals. But because you’re connected to 600 people on Facebook, doesn’t mean that those connections are going to be beneficial to the growth of your small business. When it comes to business networking, it’s imperative to build a trusted network in order to get the most out of your relationships.
Teresa Morrow, Board of Advisors with The WECAI Network agrees that, “Networking is not about how many people you can get on your list (by receiving business cards in record speed) or how many followers you can get on twitter or friends on Facebook. It takes time to build a solid connection and meaningful relationship with another person.”
These meaningful relationships that you develop will quickly turn into a trusted network. Of course numbers can matter while networking, but the point is that you want a large effective network. If you can manage your network and trust that each referral you receive will generate a positive outcome, then your business will prosper.
Don’t call Len Rosen a businessman, blogger, networker, or humanitarian… because he is all of the above. Len’s approach to small business networking encompasses everything from furthering biomedical research technology to capitalizing on new social media tools like Referral Key. Occasionally, it is important to take a step back to understand the full potential of relationship building and the true power of developing your trusted circle of professional relationships. A strong network can be utilized to enact positive results in a variety of endeavors, wherever your career may take you.
We are excited to welcome Jim Tome onto Referral Key Small Business Radio. Jim is no stranger to new social media. An accomplished blogger, technocrat and networker; Jim is familiar with the power of businesses networking. In fact it’s Jim’s job to help his clients effectively utilize the web to generate new business. Despite the recent push for amassing a vast number of contacts on applications such as MySpace and Linked In , Jim explains, that for a small businesses, your personal circle of professionals whom you know and trust cannot be replaced.
After reading Jim’s profile page you immediately get the feeling that he knows online marketing as well as most of us know are way home. However, Jim along with many experts, believe that the best method of generating new business is to invest in a reasonable number of professional relationships with those whose work you are familiar with. After trust is established, technology can then be utilized to more effectively manage and grow those relationships. In short, “It’s all about the interpersonal relationships” and the small business owners here at Referral Key couldn’t agree more.
On Tuesday August 5th, Referral Key CEO Lewis A. Weinstein was asked to provide a little insight into how Referral Key has been such a powerful tool in helping small businesses drive more revenue. Lewis explains how better management of your professional relationships will create new referral opportunities and ultimately help you drive more revenue through your business network.
We often receive referrals with varying degrees of confidence. A referral is not necessarily a sale but it can be if handled properly. The reality may be that your prospect only has a slight interest in your services or perhaps they may be doing some planning for a service they’ll need in the near future. Therefore, it might be beneficial to contact your trusted associate in your business network who sent you the lead before you contact your prospect to get a better understanding of their needs and concerns.
It’s a good idea to find out as much about your prospect as possible. What stage are they at in the decision making process? Have they used similar services in the past? If they were unsatisfied with previous services, what were the reasons why? Knowing how to approach your prospect and being able to address their concerns before they volunteer them; is a priceless advantage that will make you appear receptive, knowledgeable, and trustworthy. A little insight can go a long way in helping you close the sale.
SummerMash is an event hosted by the networking blog Mashable. Innovative web-based companies go to SummerMash to network, stay informed, and to ensure their customers are receiving the best in new technology.
You may recognize some of this year’s roster but many of the names will be new to you. Not all attendees are small business oriented however; we think there were a few companies you should know about.
Take Stickam for instance. Stickam connects users via streaming video. While YouTube may be dominating the video space, Stickam has taken video one step further by allowing its 2 million users to stay connected via personal streaming video channels. With a little bit of patience and a webcam, you can forgo those costly video-conference fees and keep your organization on the same page. You can watch Stickam in action as they interview Referral Key founder and C.E.O., Lewis Weinstein.
Budding entrepreneurs may want to consider EFactor for help with financing, health insurance or even exchanging advice with seasoned entrepreneurs. The site takes an unorthodox approach to “business as usual” and aims at providing entrepreneurs with some important tools.
Yoono, a messaging/aggregator service allows its users to stay connected to several tools at once. A Firefox browser add-on, Yoono will integrate with your instant messenger, keep an eye on your Facebbook account for you, and even stay up to date with Referral Key on all of your business social networking news; all from a window adjacent to your browser.
The attendees comprised of a diverse group of organizations, all at the top of their industries. However, the common consensus was that professionals who take advantage of these user-focused technologies are experiencing better results than those who insist on “doing it the old way.”
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Many professionals are vested in traditional methods of networking such as meet up groups and business card exchanges. As a small business owner myself, I understand that some professionals may find it intimidating to completely take advantage of emerging technologies. Furthermore, there is nothing wrong with networking with associates you know and trust regardless of the venue, so long as your referral relationships remain reciprocal and fruitful. But for those who are constantly looking for ways to generate new leads and strengthen their existing business network, but who are most comfortable meeting associates over breakfast, utilizing online referral tools in conjunction with your meet up group can be a very rewarding strategy.
It is very easy to begin reinforcing and generating new referral relationships online by leveraging your existing meet up group. You can confidentially invite associates you know and trust from the group to exchange referrals with you. Because it is unlikely that all members in your group will be equal contributors, you should invite only those associates who are willing and able to reciprocate. This strategy will also allow you to effectively exchange referrals anytime the opportunity arises and will keep you fresh in your associates mind regardless of the groups scheduled meetings. Seasoned networkers are probably going to find that they have quite a few relationships which exist outside the group. By managing a strong network of select associates, which exists both within and outside the group, it is also likely that you will become an even more valuable referral partner to your meet up group. As your network grows, so will your revenue. Furthermore, online tracking reports will help analyze your relationships and strategically allocate new leads where they are needed.
When considering digital referral campaigns among other strategies, we realize that this is certainly just the tip of the iceberg. Online tools such as Referral Key provide members with an undeniable advantage. Even power networker and BNI founder Ivan Misner acknowledges this unique advantage, “Over the past few months, I’ve been doing quite a bit of research about online networking. And the more I read (and work on the net), the more I realize that if you’re in business today, you definitely need to be on the net”. Online referral management and meet up groups are analogous to snail mail and email. To unlock their full potential, small business professionals will at least need to become comfortable with utilizing both.
Simply type a message in the text box, click the orange POST button, and your message will immediately appear in the Brief queue of all of your colleagues.
If you'd like to send a Brief to just one of your colleagues you can send a Private Brief. Just type ‘@’ as the first character in the text box, choose your recipient, and type your message.
Find past Briefs by choosing briefs in the top search bar and typing a search-term.
You can also attach a file such as a picture or document to your Brief by clicking Attach File and selecting the file from your computer.
Sync Briefs with Facebook: Click the radio button next to the Facebook icon (Under the Brief box) to have your Brief also posted to Facebook.
Sync Briefs with Twitter: Click the radio button next to the Twitter icon (Under the Brief box) to have the first 140 characters of your Brief also posted to Twitter.
The Sent tab displays the referrals you've sent to others and recent comments. Simply return to the sent tab and click “View Referrals” to see all comments and respond.
Referrals are a vital source of sales for most small businesses. What separates the mediocre from the truly profitable referral marketers? Many pros are left scratching their head, wondering why some professionals seem to always have a mountain of new business while others sit around waiting for the phone to ring, you need to consider the referral marketing basics; the difference between mediocre and highly profitable referral marketing.
What is more important, hiring or retention?
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.
Indicates your referral relationship is balanced,
Indicates an imbalance.