Hunter or Farmer?

Tomorrow is the first day of antlered deer season in Pennsylvania. Thousands of hunters will be tramping through the forests in search of their trophy bucks and venison for the winter. Many of them will go through the entire day without ever even seeing a buck at all. Many will go through the entire season without ever seeing an elusive buck! Without luck in their corner, the season will end with no success.

In business, you have a choice. You can be a hunter or a farmer. Hunters search and search the fields of people always hunting for someone to buy their products. They hunt ... they hunt ... and they hunt. Many times, they do this alone, just like the hunters in the woods. Many times, without any success.

In my opionion, the better choice is to become a farmer! Farmers plant the seeds first and harvest a bountiful crop later. Farmers nurture their crop, knowing that if they do, it will provide for a long winters feast. Business owners who become farmers nurture their network. They help people in need, planting their seeds, knowing that in return, they will help them as well. This strategy will always provide for a bountiful crop of business opportunities and future referrals. The farmer does not need to rely on luck at all ... but instead relys on his/her ability to plant the right seeds and nurture the crop.

If you're a "farmer", how do you nurture your network?

I Want That Too!

It's the day after Thanksgiving ... BLACK FRIDAY! Millions of people will be in the shopping mood today and flocked to the best sales in town. Millions of people wait in urnest to see what goes on sale and what time the stores open. People will be waiting in line for the doors to open and cramming into the stores.

What does this have to do with referral marketing? Imagine what woud happen to your business if you had people lined up at the door, filling your pipeline to the point of overflow! Imagine if ALL of these people came to you because of people they spoke to who were shouting your praises as loudly as Paul Revere! That's referral marketing working at its best.

Just the other day, I had an educational preview for Certified Networker and there were nearly 20 people there ... all people who had heard about Certified Networker from someone else (mostly my Paul Revere-like graduates). I had never met most of these people before that day. Now, all of them in one day, entered into my pipeline. My word of mouth marketing team is working on my behalf!

Who do you have on your word of mouth (WOM) team? Are they bringing people to your door like it's Black Friday?

A Time of THANKS!

Thanksgiving is almost here. I can practically smell the turkey and homemade pumpkin pie ... I mean really homemade ... starting with the actual pumpkin from the field ... not a can.

I'm sure that in your life, as in mine, you can find many, many things to be thankful for this year. But, for now, let's focus on your business life. Who really deserves to be thanked in a special way for helping you with your business? How do you plan to show your appreciation to your customers and clients for putting their faith and trust in you? How will you recognize those who have sent you referrals this year?

I personally like to take the creative approach. Here are five things that worked for me:

1. Host a Dream Book seminar for your clients (if you want to know more, click on Dream Book)
2. Connect with a chiropractor to give free back massages to your best client
3. Offer a free service for your referral partners
4. Host a networking party to thank your referral partners and make specific introductions
5. Send your clients a gift certificate to one of your most significant referral partners

What's your most creative idea for thanking clients or referral partners?

A Lesson from Forrest Gump!

When's the last time you struck up conversation with someone on a park bench, in an elevator or in a waiting room? Now that you're an adult, it's okay to talk to strangers. Forest did all the time. When you stop to think about it, everyone you know were strangers at some point. Right? Even your significant other was a stranger at one point. You just never know who might be sitting next to you and where they might take you if you say hello.

Imagine if you KNEW that the person sitting next to you was about to become your best client. Imagine if you KNEW that the person sitting next to you could lead you to a mult-million dollar deal? Imagine if you KNEW that the person sitting next to you could be helped immensely by someone that you know.

Would you act? Would you say hello? Would you engage them in conversation like Forest Gump did every time someone sat next to him on the park bench? I hope you said "yes" to all. As you begin to encounter even more people throughout the hustling of the season, stop long enough to engage in a conversation with a stranger. You never know who's sitting or standing right next to you!!

What's your best story about saying "hello" to someone you didn't know?

An Easy Way to Keep In Touch!

Do you like to get a card in the mail? I remember even as a kid how excited I would get when there was a card in the mail for me. Even today, I love to get cards!

This past week, at the BNI International Conference in Long Beach, I became more aware of a wonderful company called SendOutCards.com. SendOutCards have created a great system that can help all of us as busy people to send out more cards to those that mean the most to us. Imagine never forgetting a birthday again. Imagine not needing to run around the house trying to find a stamp ... thereby sending your cards out five days late. SendOutCards solves those problems and more. And ... talk about emotional based marketing theme ... the owner has a lump in your troat story of WHY he started the business!

When it comes to referral marketing, showing appreciation to your referral sources is key ... a card of thanks is one thing that is easy to do and it has a high ROI.

So, check it out ... SendOutCards.com and see if it could calm some of the craziness in your life too. And, don't forget to tell 'em where you heard about it first!

It's All Your Fault!

When's the last time someone said to you, "it's all your fault!"

Well, this time, they're right! Especially when it comes to referral marketing. In referral marketing, if you're not getting the referrals you would like, guess what? It's all your fault!
There's a hard lesson to be learned here. However, you don't always need to view that phrase from the negative side of it.

Consider this ... if you're getting all the referrals that you could possibly want, most likely, it's because you're doing something right. Hopefully, you know what that is so you can continue to do it and get the results that you have come to expect. If you don't, you can rest assured that when your train reaches the station, the ride will end.

Believe it or not, it IS possible to create a referral system in order for you to be able to predict where and when your referrals will come to you. That's a good thing ... and it's all your fault for implementing a referral marketing system that works! Tracking this system will help to ensure that your train ride will continue on to lands of prosperity.

How are your referrals (or lack thereof) "all your fault"?

POP!

Anyone that knows me well knows that reading books is not one of my all time favorite things to do. Typically, my favorite books are those that add immediate value to my life. I've mentioned a few different books recently and now I want to spotlight one more.

"POP! Stand Out in Any Crowd" by Sam Horn was recommended to me by Debby Peters in Ohio. And, I can't thank her enough. This book has lit a creativity fire in my brain that I haven't experienced in some time. As it says on it's cover, "this book will revolutionize how you use words" to descibe your business. It gives you exercises to stimulate your verbage so that you stand out in the crowd instead of blending in with your competition. This one book is helping me to do for myself what I teach other people to do for their business. I have begun to promote this book to my students as a way to expand on what they are learning in Certified Networker.

If you want to read more comments on this book, check out Debby's blogsite www.cnpofohio.blogspot.com as she plans to spotlight it as well.

Statistics on "IT"

I read these statistics from an article in the September 2006 Agent's Sales Journal entitled, "No More Cold Calls, How to Generate More Referrals" by Joanne Black. You can understand why someone forwarded me this publication.

63% of salespeople say IT is what they most dislike about their jobs ...
91% of consumers never respond to IT ...
71% of consumers find IT annoying ...
88% of buyers will have nothing to do with IT ...
(sorry, I don't know the source of these statistics)

What is "IT"? A COLD CALL.

I just don't understand why people still insist on annoying 71% of their potential buyers!
I suspect the very same people who are asking their sales people to make cold calls most likely fall into the statistics mentioned above.

If you haven't heard ... generating business by referrals is a better way of doing business that shortens the sales cycle, increases your credibility, builds stronger business relationships, and increases your profitability. If you still doubt the possibilities, check out the programs offered by Referral Institute!

Why would anyone waste their time doing anything else?

Miniature Billboards

I'm an executive member of Costco. It’s one of those wholesale food distributors. In the recent edition of The Costco Connection, I noticed an article that focused on the huge impact of a business card.

Melissa Crowe, VP of Marketing Services for VistaPrint gave the following few tips for effective business cards:


1. Don’t waste space … use the back of the card too!
2. Use good quality paper
3. Include a clear, concise positioning statement
4. Choose a color that fits your business or appeals to your audience
5. Include your photo to make a lasting impression

Crowe said, “A properly designed business card can be the difference between gaining or losing the interest of a potential customer.” Not only does the card itself generate an impact, but so does the person behind the card and the intention with which the card is passed. I see so many people passing business cards just to pass them out. What's the point? In my opinion, if you pass your card to someone who has not asked for it, it is only one small step behind a cold call ... the difference is that you're in their face! Stop it!

I am also a very safistied VistaPrint customer and I get a lot of compliments on my business card. If you want to know even more about effective business cards, check out the book, “It’s in the Cards!” by Dr. Ivan Misner, Candace Bailly and Dan Georgevich. I've got alot more to say on this subject, but I'll save that for another grey day in Pittsburgh ... which will probably be tomorrow!

Ciao.

The Human Law of Reciprocity

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." - Norman MacEwan

The human law of reciprocity ... if I give to you, you will want to give to me.

The foundation of a reciprocal referral partnership rests on the premise of givers gain. Notice that in this phrase, "give" comes BEFORE "gain". Not the other way around. When you give of yourself to someone else, it is noticed. Giving builds trust, credibility, affection, and loyalty. It demonstrates that you care and have interest in helping that person succeed. The process of giving opens up opportunities for both people involved. Giving creates a life.

I hear alot of people complaining that they don't get enough referrals. My first question is always, "What have you given to your referral network lately?" I'm talking about much more than just in the form of referrals! What are you doing to build the relationship? In business, the law of reciprocity goes much deeper than the referral. Often times, the referral is the end result of time spent giving to that person.

Think about what you do for your referral network. Do you give your time, interest and support whole-heartedly?

How have you given to others in your referral network?

FOCUS!

This afternoon, I attended a networking luncheon hosted by the Pittsburgh chapter of PICPA (Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants). The topic was "Breakthrough Thinking: How to Get Out of a Rut" by Maureen Murray of Maureen Murray Associates. One of the things Maureen spoke about was optimism as a "universal truth". She said, "what you focus on, you get more of!"

That seems to be the theme of my week. Yesterday, a friend gave me a book entitled, "Think and Grow Rich" that really encompasses the same premise.

FOCUS ... some might say it's easier said than done in our crazy, hectic, task oriented worlds. Regardless of how difficult it is ... it's true ... what you focus on, you indeed get more of. When it comes to referral marketing, it's very true.

If you focus on a target market ... you get more of the right kind of referral.
If you focus on specific referral partners ... referrals increase on both sides.
If you focus on where you spend your time ... you get more time back into your schedule.
If you focus on your referral goals ... you meet them.
If you focus on helping other people first ... they will in turn help you ten fold.

Focus ... if you start today, it will all become clear.

What have you focused on and gotten more of in the process?