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.”
Social media is a great medium in which to build relationships, trust, friendships, business contacts and most important to the readers of this blog, referrals! The best marketing for your business is other people saying good things about your business, thus referring them to you. This is why building referrals is key.
How do you best accomplish this utilizing online social media?
Your first step is to start by being social. You need to talk to people and then add something of value to their lives. Do not try to sell them your product or service. Once people get to know who you are and find you trustworthy, they’ll be more likely to be interested in what you have to offer. Make them want to find out more.
Where are the best places to build referrals in social media?
Answer questions in LinkedIn Answers. Show you know what you’re doing, create a solid track record, and create a desire to find out more of you.
Online Communities
Message boards, forums, Ning social networks
Add a signature that says one sentence about what you do and a link to your website. Fill out your profile completely.
Add value to these communities, make people want to come to you instead of you chasing them down.
ReferralKey
It should be obvious that since I’m writing here on ReferralKey, that I would recommend their system. After all, it’s free and helps you build referrals off of each other where you all have the same goal in mind.
The common theme that I preach here in social media is that you must add value to your network. If you aren’t adding something, what can you take away? Leave the members of your network with the desire to tell others about you and your business. Create raving fans; don’t be a sales man, be a service man.
This article was written by Kim Fenolio. Kim Fenolio is the Interface Monkey and New Media Super Hero at America’s Best Companies (ABC). ABC is a national-level small business association offering hundreds of discounts, advice, information, tips, and other resources on small business issues that can be used right away to start, grow, and manage their businesses more successfully. Kim has been personally working successful social media strategy since the 1990s and is helping ABC realize success in that medium as well.
When big business marketing executives describe the success of their efforts, they often speak of “reach” and “frequency”. These two terms represent the dimensions by which marketers evaluate their impact. Generating small business sales leads requires an emphasis on the depth of your marketing efforts.
Throughout the twentieth century, “frequency” and “reach” were viewed as the two primary ways to disseminate the value of your brand.
An often overlooked aspect to marketing is “depth”. Yet, a paradigm shift, one that’s been catalyzed by new media and technology, is quickly making “depth” the most important way to interact with potential customers.
Reach
Reach is the number of people that are exposed to your marketing message. The zenith for reach would be large national/international events such as the super bowl, the Oscars, or even high a ranking on Google could be a form of incredible reach.
Massive reach has never been a strong suit of the small business owner. Reach is expensive which often means it’s less about interacting with customers and more about simply reminding everyone, “Hey, we’re still here, don’t forget about Pepsi.”
Frequency
Frequency is the number of times you expose each person to your message. An example of high frequency would be when Apple monopolizes every subway carin a city, with iPod advertisements.
Frequency through traditional media is extremely expensive and usually out of the question for small business owners. While it is possible to generate high frequency online, it is often in vein and can even be counter productive. For example, a web designer posting five ads, in fifty cities, on Craigslist, may have relatively high frequency and reach, but the odds of landing quality sales leads are still extremely low. In addition to compromising the quality of your clients and your brand, if your ratio of “sales to frequency” becomes too imbalanced, you’ve essentially, become a Spammer.
Depth
Depth is how intimately you connect with each individual. An example of incredible depth would be calling a client to say “hi” without the auspices of making a sale.
Depth has always been the small business professional’s domain. Whether it’s chatting with the pizzeria owner on a first name basis or wishing your accountant a happy holiday, depth is an advantage that a company, even with a trillion dollar budget, can’t duplicate; only hope to emulate.
New online technologies allow small business owner’s to efficiently create genuine depth with a larger number of people than solely face-to-face encounters. (Of course face-to-face is still extremely important)
This shift in priority is actually why many big businesses are having so much trouble with what they perceive to be an ever fickle customer base. People are overloaded with ads and they expect you to do more.
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.
Only mortgage brokers with the highest ethics and best track-record are likely to attract clients these days. Many associate the current economic calamity as a direct result of predatory lending. The fact is that no matter where you place the blame, borrowers are much more cautious about where they get their loans from and the lending industry is likely to change forever. Many states already have new legislation in the works that will hold mortgage brokers to the same “client-first” standards as many other service professionals i.e. lawyers, financial planners and real estate agents.
According to MSNBC, “While mortgage regulations vary dramatically from one state to another, the new system creates a uniform application for mortgage brokers and a database that banking regulators, and eventually consumers, can use to track down brokers who try to work in one state after being banned from another. Consumers should have access by next year.”
Putting your clients first has always paid off in the referral networking world. Part of maintaining a strong referral network lies in understanding that no single sale is an isolated transaction. This means, sell someone a bad loan to make a quick buck and you’ve seriously injured your relationship with both your client and the associate who referred that client to you.
If you are a potential client looking for mortgage referrals or you’re a professional looking for a broker to exchange referrals with, do your homework. Testimonials and recommendations are reasonable expectations before perusing any professional relationship. You can find many peer and customer rated mortgage brokers in the small business directory on referralkey.com.
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.
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.
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.”
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!
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.
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.
Referral promotion campaigns are about thanking people and reinforcing reciprocal behavior within your business community. Choosing the right premium can make all the difference. While cash incentives are universally appealing, you may want to reward your referrers with a special gift. Gift cards, tickets to events, or even gas cards are just some of the few ways you can say “thank you” while removing the impersonal nature of a monetary reward. Think about choosing gifts that have a high perceived value within your community. Ten dollars is ten dollars, but a ten dollar gift certificate to Starbucks may be a tasty part of your referrers morning commute for a whole week; presenting them more opportunities to reflect on the positive nature of your business relationship.
Tickets to events can generate positive word of mouth dialogue between clients and potential clients too. Let’s say you reward your referrer with a couple tickets to a ball game and he takes a friend. It’s likely your name and services will be mentioned. This increases the chance you’ll be thought of if the friend needs services like you offer. In a nutshell, there are many promotional premiums that work. Consider what your client base will appreciate and plan accordingly. Create a referral promotion campaign today and see positive results tomorrow.
When you post content to the internet in the comfort of your office you may feel as though you are miles away from the delicate “egg toss” that is small business networking. Many of us associate critical business moves with activities such as addressing the concerns of a long-time client or solidifying a strategic alliance with a new business associates. We often go to considerable lengths to maintain tact and decorum when communicating with our referral partners because small pieces of information can say a lot about who we are and the quality of our business. In an age of overwhelming information opinions are formed and reputations are created based on the most minute information.
Amongst many factors reputation often emerges as the most important when developing alliances between small businesses. It is becoming increasingly important to recognize the link between the reputation of your small business and the content you post online. As “googling” prospective partners, clients and businesses becomes second nature to us, we may want to consider our audience even when we post personal content. Many social and business networking sites make it all too easy for potential clients and associates to link those “pictures at your brothers wedding” or “that funny story from the boat” with your business. As wholesome as we may perceive our personal lifestyle to be it is unlikely others will agree with every joke and story on our homepage. Unless you’re a photographer or a fiction writer, keep your online profiles clean, concise, and up to par with your business values. As any great catcher, football coach or poker player will tell you, what you don’t show is just as valuable as what you do.
It’s safe to say that timing is a big part of the networking equation. Like an exciting volley at Wimbledon, knowing when to return the favor is crucial. Yet,you are not going to ace every relationship.
We’ve all made errors before. For instance, an estranged associate sends you a qualified lead during the holiday season. You mean to return the favor however, time slips by and before you know it, it’s mid-January. At this point you are on the fence, wondering if you should reciprocate the favor, given your untimely response. Confront this discomfort head on.
When you neglect a professional relationships you not only lose an associate but you forfeit credibility within their entire circle, so the stakes are higher than they may appear on the surface. The saying “better late than never” holds true in small business networking. While unbalanced networking certainly is undesirable there is undeniable consolation in attempting to rekindle a dormant relationship. It shows initiative, humility and a willingness open up a dialogue; which is the most important step in revitalizing weak connections within your referral network.
The best practice is to avoid these situations all together. Through diligence and awareness you can keep a nice volley going. If you are busy you may want to try using tools that will help you effectively manage a number of relationships. Unlike sports, referral marketing is the only endeavor in which merely participating means winning….for all parties.
A good follow-through is just as important in networking as it is in baseball, tennis, or golf. Follow-through is the bridge between good planning and good results. So bite the bullet and nurture those professional relationships that need attention now.
We’ve all heard about them. Many of you may have even been at early morning networking events you just don’t remember because you were asleep.
Isn’t it ironic that in an age of hectic schedules and on-demand everything, some are still braving the cold at as early as 4:00AM to listen to business networking pitches?
Increasingly, research shows that our productive peak can vary greatly between what the Wall Street Journal identifies as the two professionals types; Larks and Owls. According to research psychiatrist Thomas Wehr’s report in the Wall Street Journal “Ironically, the period when we’re most alert and at the highest state of arousal is after we leave work.” 4:00AM is a bit daunting for even the most motivated Lark in us.
But even if you consider yourself a “Lark” you are still trying to exchange referrals with “Owls” and if half the room is in dreamland you can bet your pitch is not going to be the first thing on anyone’s mind at 2pm.
Building a referral network before the sun comes up is less than productive according to entrepreneur Dani Nordin, “For one, the time it takes to actually get ready and head down to a 7am networking event would literally have me up sometime around 4:30-5am, given the long commute into Boston via public transit, and that just didn’t work for me. I’d show up with hair still wet and making a beeline for the coffee and breakfast, and while I did meet a couple of folks, they were almost never folks that I kept in touch with.” Lets face it, we would rather be spending our time and money with our family and friends than gassing up the car or buying a train pass to go listen to a pitch about vacuum cleaner attachments.
Fortunately, technology has enabled us to replace or rework many time consuming activities; conference calls, video conferencing and webinars to name a few. Referral marketing should be no different. Integrating referral management into your work day is a much more time/cost effective solution than extending your work day by three hours and not seeing a return.
Exchanging referrals online keeps you fresh in your associates’ minds. Small business networking is an investment. Rather than leaving your investment to chance you should utilize a tool like Referral Key which delivers regular reports allowing you to evaluate your professional relationships. Those who understand their network best can decide where to focus their attention, fix weaknesses, and ultimately maximize the benefits of business networking.
Does your small business service have a blog? Chances are, you either
1) have one but have trouble keeping it up to date; dreading each update
2) wish you could drive more traffic to it
3) don’t have one but know you should
In the business of referral marketing, you may consider a blog is a neat extra that adds credibility or even nice visuals to your website. In truth, your blog is much more than a nice-to-have when it comes to referrals and generating leads from your business network. Just like your website itself, your blog makes a statement about who you are, the quality of your product, who your customers are, and why they chose you to begin with.
There are thousands of blogs, with new business blogs being started each day. So how can yours stand a chance and serve your business? Simple. By following the rules your small business does – staying within your niche. If you are a Real Estate Agent, don’t blog about the Grammys, even if you think your clients are interested (chances are they’re not coming to your site for that kind of information).
The second thing to remember when worrying about your blog’s traffic is also the prime rule of thumb in referral marketing and the mantra at Referral Key: quality versus quantity.
Here are a few guidelines for keeping your blog relevant to your business network:
1. Offer useful information – While it’s tempting to simply comment on other posts and articles relevant to your industry, your audience is looking for an informed, educated viewpoint on the topic at hand – whether business referrals, tax law, mortgage rates or the latest high performing mutual funds. If you’ve been judicious about building a business network, your audience is a network of varied professionals in related industries, and if the content of your blog helps them look smart in front of colleagues and clients, they’re more likely to return to it frequently – and see you as a valuable resource for their clients.
2. Be informed – Pick a few relevant business blogs, websites or columns to read everyday; there’s no way we can keep up with all of them. Do your homework on who the “gurus” of your industry are and read where they post and comment. Often these sites are the ones everyone defers to, and you need only to read them to stay abreast of current topics of discussion. You’ll also find inspiration for new content topics this way. Be sure to join the conversations and post a comment occasionally, always leaving your blog’s link in the signature.
3. Refrain from the sales pitch – This is probably the most common mistake beginning bloggers make. Nothing turns off a cruising sales lead looking for useful information faster than a hard sales pitch. By gathering knowledge and expertise from your blog, they’re getting the sales pitch from your business in a far more subtle and effective manner. And they’re getting to know you – the first step in a qualified referral.
4. Invite comments and even arguments – When readers are encouraged to participate with dialog and criticism, they’re much more engaged in your site and as a result, in a two-way conversation with you and your business. This is a great way to build relationships and build your business network with qualified professionals, as well as weed out any prospects who clearly aren’t of value.
5. Stay Current – The blogosphere is not a print medium. It moves at lightning speed. If you’re going to discuss a controversial topic, like privacy issues in business and social networking sites (NYT article), post your content the day the news first appears. Many top blogs post hourly. As a small business professional with limited time, you cannot, so be sure to make sure your daily (or weekly) post is as fresh as possible.
6. Stay Brief – Make your point and get out. Top ten lists are great.
7. Invite guests – Invite professionals from your business network to post a comment or discuss a newsworthy topic, particularly if it’s in an area in which you are less informed. This adds value to your site and lets others know your professional network of contacts is solid and diverse.
8. Use visuals only when useful – Don’t use photos unless necessary. If there’s a graph or chart that illustrates your point, great. Your audience is comprised of business professionals who want facts and information and insight.
9. Offer helpful links – Don’t be afraid of offering links to other businesses – even competitors, in some cases. Your blog is not a sales tool; it’s a resource for your customers, a forum for discussion – and its authenticity ensures they remember you. At Referral Key for example, we might invite readers to check out other tools that can help manage the referral process – while subtly reinforcing the points of distinction we feel set us apart.
10. Use your network to build an audience – Marketing your blog starts at home. Use your business network of trusted associates to promote your blog – one post at a time. But don’t send every post to every one of your contacts. Wait until the content is particularly relevant to their field of expertise, invite their comments and feedback, and ask them to pass it along to clients if they found the information of value.
Increasingly, our local software and programs are becoming obsolete. Every year our favorite applications receive new vitalization on the web.
Don’t fret if you never buy another one of those….. what do they call them?….oh yeah CD’s. The migration from software to web apps can be especially beneficial to small business professionals. Web apps present a clear advantage for small businesses and professionals while many of their corporate counter-parts are still fumbling with instillation, synchronization, and hard drive space. According to Business Week, “No longer do small companies have to spring for servers and IT staff just to get the basics. With software services, you don’t install programs on your own computers or server. Instead, you sign up online for software and use it while you’re connected to the Internet.”
Web Apps like Referral Key, Google Apps, and Google Earth offer endless benefits. As a small business owner on the move I need to be able to access information, collaborate and be productive where-ever my travels take me. Just a few years ago you would have had to spend hundreds of dollars on word processors, contact managers, and mapping software not to mention the hard-drive space these programs take up. Want to access your referral network on an airport kiosk?… too bad.
Like many paradigm shifts, its small business professionals that really reap the benefits first. Why not take advantage of free space?
The limitations and billions of dollars associated with data recovery, collaboration, synchronization and network building are being easily over-come by forward thinking professionals looking for practical solutions.
Perhaps sometime in the near future ultra-slim computers will become the norm; computers whose sole function is to get you on the web.
We came across a great article in the Mass High Tech Journal by Richard Banfield
about the relative value of size versus quality of one’s personal or business network. Banfield makes three interesting points we feel are worth sharing when thinking about referral networking.
1) For younger users, or, the “Millennial Generation” or Generation X as they are known by advertisers and branders, the size of one’s network is more important than the strength of the relationships in that network.
This is interesting and not altogether surprising when you consider the mindset of a 21 year-old student hipster versus a 45 year-old small business professional. “If we only knew then what we know now…” comes to mind. When I was 21 I was certainly worried by the fact that I didn’t have a “ton” of friends; I was never part of a large clique. And this was well before social networks (or email for that matter) even existed.
By the time I hit my thirties I realized that the six or seven quality people I chose to spend time with were all I needed. And now in my forties, well, I’m lucky to see more than a couple of them regularly. With my growing business network it was the same. As a young PR professional at a small agency in New York, I was focused on amassing the biggest Rolodex of press contacts in the office. Now, of course, I know that long standing relationships based on mutual respect and trust with the right ten journalists in the right industries are far more valuable. And when those journalists move to a bigger outlet or another medium – they take our relationship with them, introducing me to a whole new set of peers.
Banfield seems to agree. He argues that 2) “For businesspeople, we find the size of our networks being less important than the degree of trust between each connection….” He also points out something very interesting, that social and business networks, whether LinkedIn or Facebook, have not quite figured out how to measure the trust level between members; they have no way of qualifying or quantifying it to their audiences. So what’s the real value of hundreds of “contacts?” If vague prestige among strangers is your goal, maybe a lot. But for the average small business professional looking to turn business referral exchange into revenue, the answer remains, “Not much.”
This speaks to the notion that as the social and business networking industry matures, the natural evolution will be toward niche, or smaller, networks with a specific focus. We’ve seen the development of niche networking groups already – from lawyers and real estate agents to knitting enthusiasts. For those networks in which there is a specific, measurable business proposition (i.e. quality referrals or proven growth in business networking relationships) this trend will only sharpen. It’s the long tail theory at work again. We believe that the niche business networks who service several complimentary vertical industries (like Referral Key) are best positioned for the future.
Banfield’s final point is that 3) “The size of your network conveys popularity while trust establishes your longevity as a member of the network. Think of the size of your network being your marketing department while the strength of your connections is your customer service department… the strength of your connections suggests integrity.”
We couldn’t agree more. How does one measure the strength of one’s connections? This is where the mystery of humanity and precision of technology meet. Only you know how you rate those in your business network (and your personal network, for that matter) as far as trust ability, integrity, professionalism and reliability. Only you know the quality of the referrals driven by those in your business network.
No program or application or widget will ever assess a human relationship with the expertise your personal experience does. What the right technology tools can do for you is manage, track and store the information and experiences, providing reporting, tracking and reminder tools so your brain doesn’t have to. The right tools can make your professional relationships work harder for you, and grow your business as a result.
We would add that not only is the strength of your connections your “customer service department,” it is the very skeletal framework that houses your business. The controversial comedienne Sandra Berhnardt once had a one woman show titled, “Without You, I’m Nothing.” She knew the deal.
This is what a strong business referral network is all about. And the beautiful thing is that it works both ways – whether you’re twenty-one or sixty-one.
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.
Referral Key is proud to have participated in the 10th annual MIT Venture Capital Conference and in the Entrepreneur Showcase Event at the MIT Museum on November 29th and 30th.
Referral Key was one of 30 companies selected from an entry field of almost 100 applicants to the Entrepreneur Showcase, and was one of the only startups chosen to represent the business networking and referral category.
The event, organized by the MIT Sloan School of Management and supported by the MIT Entrepreneurship Center with several VC firms, corporations and media outlets serving as corporate sponsors, drew a heavy crowd of venture capital firms, private equity partners, Sloan students, fellow entrepreneurs and press.
The atmosphere was upbeat, and the overall opinion that the current environment for technology based startups generally positive, consistent with t he conference them of “Enabling the Entrepreneur.” “This is much different than the last time,” one attendee was overheard saying, referring to the last internet bubble boom that did not end well for many venture backed startups in the late nineties. According to the MIT student organizers of the two day event, “More than ever, with the plethora of capital available for new businesses and technologies, VCs, angels and mentors are looking for new ways to enable startups.”
Referral Key was front and center in a heavily trafficked area of the Showcase event, and our live video tour and product demonstration served attendees well.
“It was a very competitive field, and we are extremely excited to have been chosen to participate,” said Lewis Weinstein, founder and CEO of Referral Key. “We were able to showcase the product to a wide and influential audience, as well as accomplish some great networking.”
Frank Moss, Director of the MIT Media Lab and an experienced technology industry executive and serial entrepreneur, was on hand for the lunch panel, and Boston Globe “Innovation Economy” columnist Scott Kirsner moderated both the “Media, Technology and the Consumer” panel as well as the closing chat with Head of Special Initiatives at Google, Chris Sacca, whose resistance to PR protocol was refreshing and sometimes surprising.
Referral Key made enough of an impact with the “Sloanies” to be invited to participate in the prestigious MIT Lab series, so watch for an upcoming speaking engagement featuring our CEO Lewis Weinstein.
For more on the conference, please visit: http://www.mitvcconference.com/.
Turkey Day is here and with it, the end-of-the-year crunch. The old adage that “nothing happens and no decisions will be made until first quarter” may be true, but that doesn’t mean your business networking should stop or that the referral well should be allowed to run dry; quite the opposite, in fact.
From the standard Holiday card to lavish gift baskets and memorable office parties, charity work and business New Year’s resolutions, there’s never a better opportunity than the holidays to increase your visibility and market your services to your existing business network to generate referrals. Holiday reminders of the above kind are a great way to generate new referrals in an otherwise slow time of year, and the holiday season is the ultimate excuse to send festive, friendly “nudges” to your circle of trust.
But all too often, we send standard holiday cards to thank customers, colleagues and
associates for their business, thinking this will strengthen professional relationships. Many of these greetings get lost in the shuffle and possibly tossed in the waste basket because they are impersonal, predictable and insincere. Admit it; you’ve tossed a few into the circular file yourself. So here’s an idea for the referral network that never sleeps: What better way to demonstrate to your professional network that you really value them than by rewarding them for the good services they provide with a hand picked referral from your client list?
Whether you use Referral Key to do this or not, it’s a smart move and relatively easy to pull off. Start by asking your clients now what their needs are likely to be in 2008. Let them know the extent of your professional business network and how it may benefit their future needs. Include their information in a holiday greeting to a trusted associate and you’ve killed several birds with one stone: Your holiday card will surely be remembered, and your relationship as well as the potential for reciprocity is strengthened with that contact. In addition, your client is well served and likely grateful for the resource.
There’s really no better time than the New Year to get off on the right foot with professionals you know and trust to help each other grow your businesses.
Facebook ads are here whether you like it or not. On Nov. 6, 2007 CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the new plan entitled Beacon. “Facebook Ads represent a completely new way of advertising online,” Zuckerberg said (Facebook). It is clear that Facebook is going to turn some heads with this revenue model but what is unclear is how successful it will be – either for advertisers, Facebook, or most importantly, users.
Facebook has always founded its success and differentiated itself from its big brother, MySpace, by maintaining a clean ad-free interface. Facebook has been garnering a notably more mature member base, and presumably with that, more business professionals interested in building an online business referral network – this may be due in part to their lack of ads and clutter. But perhaps business professionals looking to use large social networks like Facebook for business connections will think twice before inadvertently sending a potential customer lead a subtle product endorsement that has nothing to do with their business. According to mashable.com, “Now both MySpace and Facebook are offering ad networks, and frankly, the implementation of MySpace’s may be more effective (Mashable Article).
Now that Facebook is switching gears they can expect advertising revenues but at what price? The ad system is going to work a lot like its already popular wall postings. Currently users write comments on their friend’s walls (profiles) to communicate. With the new ad system, if one of your friends comments about a brand or product, a picture of that friend endorsing the product may show up on your page. Even more notable is that the system will track your visits to third party websites using cookies. Don’t be surprised if your picture ends up next to a Pepsi bottle on all of your friend’s Facebook pages. Of course there are undoubtedly going to be privacy issues. Will we see a drop in average user age as a result? Will LinkedIn remain as the only mature social networking site? Once again we see a reason for niche networks as the answer to building an effective online referral marketing system using existing personal connections.
Privacy advocates and attorneys alike are already in a lather about the controversial new plan. John Gartner explains, “Facebook’s new SocialAds may be illegal according to a New York attorney. The law prohibits use of someone’s image with written consent, which could derail SocialAds” (Marketing Shift). Not exactly the best system for business networking professionals to adopt.
Privacy issues aside, this could be an effective and personal way for companies to make connections with consumers. But how will this affect Facebook’s end user experience? One view is that Facebook is already somewhat cluttered without Beacon and that the full circle marketing is downright absurd. According to Nick Carr of Techcrunch, “It’s a nifty system: First you get your users to entrust their personal data to you, and then you not only sell that data to advertisers but you get the users to be the vector for the ads. And what do the users get in return? An animated Sprite Sips character to interact with” (TechCrunch).
Facebook has done quite well, so I believe they may have a trick or two to make this work. But as it stands I see a serious brand conflict and more importantly there is minimal benefit to their users. Carr points out rightly that “Beacon is essentially a biased market mechanism. That is, advertisers have control - but connected consumers (despite Facebook’s hype) don’t” (TechCrunch). With a plethora of alternatives its hard to believe users – especially business professionals looking to grow their business referral network, will put up with too much clutter before they jump ship for a more relevant niche site.
I worked for many years in entertainment marketing and advertising, and one thing about that industry that never fails to amuse is ubiquitous “buzzword du jour.” A catchphrase or single word which harkens a revolution in the ways of doing business.
For a while in the late 90’s and early 2000’s our word was “synergy.” This is why Time Warner bought Turner Broadcasting and AOL. Hardware, meet software, meet content. Now, everybody work together, despite the crippling layoffs. By 2002 the word was “convergence,” which was really just an updating of the word synergy but with new media and technology applications. There was even a joke at a major movie studio that one executive managed to get promoted by walking around the lot, constantly repeating the word, “convergence!” in all his meetings. Then a few years ago the holy mantra in advertising and marketing of all kinds was “integration,” which later gave way to “360 degree” marketing. Meaning, all the parts work together in a complimentary fashion for the best results. No one element stands alone. The TV commercial drives you to the website, which drives you to the store, which drives you to a contest, etc.
And though it may be a passé buzzword, this is the obligatory approach to your business referral network: Integrate.
As a business service professional, naturally you should be using all your resources to generate new client leads – face to face networking; organized, professional social events; online communities and social and business networks; professional organizations; friendly alumni; current colleagues and clients and of course, friends and family. And naturally, some are more useful than others in your referral marketing strategy.
But how many of us make these elements work in an integrated fashion? Are all your contacts that could potentially be referral sources categorized as such? Is the contact data easily accessible and stored in one place? When you meet a new colleague in a related field, do you immediately invite that person to exchange referrals? How do you track the communication? How many of these individuals can you send qualified leads to? And how will you monitor (again, in one place) of which contacts turn out to be valid referral sources and which just want another friend in an online community or a new career opportunity through your Uncle Ned?
Of course, we think Referral Key provides one stop shopping to all these issues. But even if you’re not a member, use our principles to guide and refine your business networking. Integrate all the pieces so they work together. Make it a goal to be constantly expanding your professional “circle of trust” using every available resource available to you. Classify all contacts, and then let them work for you. And the ones that don’t, well, you can dis-integrate them.
During the Triassic period, simple creatures began to populate the net. Websites grew message boards and forums and the first signs of Social Networking began to appear. These invertebrate sites eventually gave way to the Jurassic period, characterized by large reptiles like “Live Journal” and “Friendster.” Their ability to share images allowed them to rule until the giants of the Cretaceous period emerged - Facebook, the colossal MySpace and the long-necked Linked-In dominated the web, clearing tree tops and eating all the vegetation …
So where are we now? Smaller, intelligent mammals with specialized features and practical applications are beginning to appear. These are the niche sites of the future. Tools like Zolve, Lawlinks and Referral Key don’t offer entertainment tie-ins, trendy applications or an astronomical membership pool but what they do offer is….well… a purpose.
We are at least half a decade into the Social Networking phenomenon. As the market becomes fully saturated and users themselves have amassed large amounts of “friends” and exhausted the initial flare, we are all asking, now what? This is the same question posed in Monica Hesse’s Washington Post article, “An Unmanageable Circle of Friends” (Washington Post “An Unmanageable Circle of Friends).
We are constantly bombarded with stories about social networking; tales of staggering membership and rumors of buy-outs and payouts are relentless. As bloggers beat buzzwords into the ground, I wonder if perhaps we have over looked the most basic element of networking… the purpose.
According to Hesse’s article, “Columbia University Sociologist Duncan J. Watts says sites like (Facebook) are failing us because they do not do the thing that social networks are designed to do, namely: network.”
“What is our purpose?” and “What value do we offer?” are difficult questions these sites must now answer. Sites like Linked-In will be quick to defend their positions as professional networking sites, but as of late Facebook and MySpace seem to be heading in a similar direction, with users’ average age steadily climbing (Mashable Article).
As the giants tussle, many professionals are looking for clarity. Naturally, the most driven of us are figuring out ways to utilize networking to evolve their professional goals and see some tangible returns.
Zolve is a tool which exclusively focuses on the real estate industry; it maintains a clearly defined goal of connecting real estate professionals to one another for the purpose of exchanging business. LawLinks is a place for attorneys to pass on referrals. Lawlinks maintains a strict screening which ensures the effectiveness of the site. With a stripped down interface, Referral Key facilitates referral exchange and management between many connected industries, allowing complimentary businesses to benefit from one referral network.
What is so interesting about these tools is that they all share a purpose beyond socializing or job hunting. They are attempting to validate our investment be it time or money with a real business return - ultimately, revenue. Will these niche sites become the social networking sites of tomorrow?
“The focus is shifting to niche community networking sites,” says Sam Sethi of TechCrunch UK. Many users who have claimed territory on the large networking sites may be critical of a move toward niche sites. It is natural to want to defend your network of 5,000 “friends”. They may see the smaller “circle of trust” as negligible and may find the more rigorous process of building a smaller, more precise network more challenging than clicking “add friend.”
But what many of these loyalists may not know is that the decision makers of the larger sites, particularly Facebook, MySpace, and Linked-In, don’t see the future of networking being tied into large sites - the long term shift is going to be toward the niche site. Check out the coverage in PC Magazine (The Future of Social Networking).
The question is, “Are professionals going to work to find the niche sites that work for them, or are they going to wait around for the larger sites to adapt to their business needs?”
Welcome to the Referral Key blog. We’re just launching, and we welcome comments from users and all professionals interested in business networking and referral marketing, particularly for small business.
We’re watching all things involving social networking and business, particularly generating quality leads through a business referral network. We’d love to hear from you.
For anyone who hasn’t seen it, J. Nicholas Hoover has a great cover story about social networking and the business world in the current issue of Information Week (“Social Experiment” 9/24/07). What I found interesting is that while many companies feel compelled to restrict workers’ access to social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace,(yes, the IT police are watching you watch that Britney Spears’ news clip your friend forwarded to your MySpace page), others are forming groups on these sites or creating their own internal social networks for business purposes.
Hoover points out that while 48% of companies responding to a survey use social networks for viral marketing, recruting, peer networking and emergency communications, there’s still the persistent notion that many employers use sites like LinkedIn for job searches. I must admit, when I joined LinkedIn last year, that’s what I had in mind. (Disclosure: I no longer work for that company).
According to the article, Matt Beveridge of Motorola calls LinkedIn the “next-generation Monster.com.” Whoa.
Now, hang on, before you flame me for bashing LinkedIn, (or “closed” networks like Visible Path or SelectMinds) let me just pose the question: do you find social/business networking sites useful to your sales teams? What does your company and your employees use them for? Are the business relationships you maintain on these sites generating leads for your company or other kinds of valuable connections?
These are the kinds of questions we are asking ourselves in order to build the best tool possible for pure referrals on our site - a different kind of business network that’s less social and more sales. We hope, anyway. Time will tell.
We look forward to exploring this exciting new world with you. Now stop cruising business networking blogs and get back to work.
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.
When big business marketing executives describe the success of their efforts, they often speak of “reach” and “frequency”. 
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.