The Fig Tree

When I was growing up, my grandfather had a large fig tree in his yard. Yes, he was Italian and came to this country as a little boy. I anxiously waited each year for those figs to ripen. There's something wonderful about picking a fig right from the tree!

Anyway ... a fig tree in Pittsburgh is not too common a sight. The climate of this region is not great for this tree. They prefer the warmer climates of Sicily for example. However, my grandfather's fig tree was quite large and produced a bumper crop of figs. Why? Because of tender loving care, persistence, and commitment. Each fall, before the winter, he would bury it. That's right. Bury this big tree. I remember him tying a rope to the top and pulling it all the way down to the ground. Then, he would cover it with dirt, leaves, insulation, blankets, etc. all to keep it snug and warm all winter long.

Now, I have my own fig tree (an offspring of my grandfather's tree). And, right now, it too is buried. Very soon, I will uncover that tree to allow it to begin producing its first year of figs!! If I did not give this tree tender loving care, persistence and commitment, there simply would be no tree and consequently, no figs.

The same is true in word of mouth marketing. Referral partners don't hang around if you don't treat them with genuine TLC. It takes commitment and persistence to work a referral system to actually produce referrals. Referrals just don't grow on trees!

E-Magnify!

I've recently had two articles published on the E-Magnify website entitled "Touch Point Networking" ... it's a two part article! This is a co-authored article with Dr. Ivan Misner, founder of BNI.

E-Magnify is a part of Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. The director is Jayne Huston. The main focus of E-Magnify is to support women business owners. It's free to become a member and the newsletter is sent to you directly. As a women business owner, I strongly recommend an affiliation with this organization.

If you know of other electronic newsletters that would welcome a guest article on networking or referral marketing, please contact me via email and reference this blog.

Enjoy the articles.

Good idea at the time!

Have you ever had one of those good ideas that "seemed like a good idea at the time". It's like the time you were out of charcoal fluid and decided to use gasoline instead. Or the time you tied your 90 pound dog to an outdoor restaurant's table leg while you were having dinner, never imaging that he would see a stunning poodle walk by that he absolutely had to go meet. (from "Marley & Me"-GREAT book)

Some things do seem like a good idea at the time until hind-sight helps us see things a little more clearly.

It's like the time you referred someone to help a client of yours. It seemed like a good idea at the time because you were helping two people at the same time and positioning yourself as a center of influence, right? Wrong! This time, you rushed the process! You connected your client with someone you really didn't know that well. Maybe you just met that person at a chamber function and knew your client needed their services. All well and good, except for the fact that you put your great relationship with your client on the line for someone you have no relationship with at all! Why? To pass a referral? Is your relationship with your client worth the RISK? What if something goes terribly wrong?

In hind-sight, referring someone that you don't know is risky business. Get to know the person FIRST by spending time with them ... if they earn the right for your referral ... then, refer them to your client.

The FOOT!

Increasing your referability all starts with the FOOT! It doesn't matter which foot ... it's the foot that gets you in the door.

What's your "foot" to get you in the door? If you want your referral partners to refer you, you've got to make it very easy for them! The easier it is ... the more referrals you'll get. And, if you train your referral partners appropriately, they'll make it even easier for you by pre-qualifying the referral to ensure that it's a good one!

One example of the "foot" is the Dream Book seminar that my friend Becky Hooman, a Certified Financial Planner with Ameriprise Financial, uses to get herself in front of prospects. It's much easier for her referral partners to refer people the seminar than to talk to people about their financial situation.

Another example are the preview sessions that I use for the Certified Networker program. I offer free 90 minute preview sessions that act as a teaser for the course and give people value that they can implement that day. Again, it's easier for referral partners to get someone to a free preview than to convince them to take the program.

So, what's your foot in the door? Do you make it easy for your referral partners?

(Incidentally, you might want to explore the book in the image if you want to network your way to the next job ... I haven't read but it looks interesting).

Reconnecting with the past!

I spent this past weekend in Philadelphia ... technically the Valley Forge area. I have many roots there from a long history of working with the Girl Scout organization. I was there to facilitate a session for the Mid-Atlantic Trainers Conference. My session was focused on using the whole brain when you facilitate an audience of adult learners.

It was somewhat of a scary drive out there through the late winter snow/ice storm. But, the value from being there far outweighed the challenge. It was absolutely wonderful to reconnect with people ... some of whom I haven't seen in nearly 5 years. On Saturday, I had lunch with my old boss, Dale McCreedy from the Franklin Institute. Saturday night was dinner with a group of very special friends (including Marj, Tina, and Beth). For breakfast on Sunday morning, I met with Cathy Malkemes ... a must have reunion every time I'm in Philly! In addition, during the conference, I reconnected with Dixie Glenney from GSUSA and many, many volunteers that I once worked very closely with in Girl Scouts.

I made sure to capitalize on my time in Philly. I made an effort to never eat alone (except for Friday night, which got cancelled because of the storm). It was a built in opportunity for me to network and share the latest news about my business and its development.

Reconnecting with people from your past is a great way to share your successes and in the end, you never know who they might want to connect you with now.

The Spring Thaw

The spring thaw has begun to hit the Pittsburgh area. The ground is mushy, the streams are raging, and the mudslides have begun down the slopes of our hilly terrain.

A familiar casualty of the spring thaw is often a fallen tree. Typically, it's a tree that has lost its footing. The roots have become shallow from years of mother nature's abuse and are now fully exposed as the tree is laying on its side. The main support system of the tree (the root structure) has been compromised by the elements.

In referral marketing, we too need a strong support structure in order to thrive. Our support structure provides us with knowledge, insight, guidance, advice, friendship, emotional support, and of course, referrals. Imagine what your business would look like without this support structure? Like the tree, your business would most likely lose its footing.

What are you doing to ensure that your support structure remains in tact?
How are you securing the foundation of your referral business?

Who are the roots to your referral marketing system?

As you look out your window and watch the spring thaw change the landscape, take some time to consider your roots and how you can protect them from the elements.

Golden Goose!

The other day, I hosted a Certified Networker Graduate Luncheon for the graduates in my region. There were about 11 people there with the topic being "Who is your golden goose and how can we help you find them?"

We began by defining "golden goose" ... which in my mind comes to mean this ... those people who can lead you to multiple referral partners! Since this was a group of Certified Networker graduates, they all knew how to define referral partner. But for the purposes of this forum ... a referral partner is someone who is in front of your same target market for a different reason than you. They have the potential to send you referral business all day, every day!

We started by going around the room with each person listing who they would like to have as a referral partner. Then the group began to brainstorm a list of potential golden geese for each person.

WOW! What a result! Each person began not quite knowing the meaning of golden geese and left with a list of who to look for as potential golden geese. Even my dear friend Linda, the doubting Thomas of this session, left with a huge smile on her face and nearly a plan of action ... as only Linda would create!

For myself ... within two days, I was introduced to a radio show host that I mentioned I wanted to meet and put into contact with a huge potential golden goose ... thanks, Larry & David!

It's true ... the golden goose does lay a golden egg ... especially if your golden egg is a perfect referral partner!

Too Much of a Good Thing!

Do you believe in the old adage that you could have "too much of a good thing"? I do.

Excess can sometimes lead to abuse. Let's consider a few examples:

1. Signage

There's a definate need for signage. They give us direction, information and sometimes prevent us from harm. While we know and appreciate the need for signs, too many signs can contribute to "sign pollution". Neighborhoods can become unsightly, they can obstruct our views of nature, and they can even cause harm by impeding our visibility at intersections.

2. Business Cards

Again, there's a definate need for business cards. Business cards are the smallest marketing billboard for our business. They provide others with important information on how to stay in contact with us. However, "collecting" business cards at networking events is too much of a good thing!

When someone has collected too much of a good thing (business cards), they end up in the trash, in a drawer, or even worse ... the unsuspecting person on the card ends up on someone's distribution list! If you're that unsuspecting person, before you know it, you begin getting SPAM and junk mail from card collectors at networking events.

Think about it ... collecting business cards at a networking event gives you too much of a good thing. Without a relationship attached to that card ... all it is, is a piece of paper with ink on it!

Collaboration!

One of the easiest way to increase your referability is to clearly identify your unique selling position. Some people also call it "unique selling proposition". Whatever the term, it basically means that which your competitors cannot say about themselves.

When people know your unique selling position, it helps them to be able to explain to prospects what makes you so special and why they should be working with you instead of your competition.

Imagine if this unique selling position could open up an opportunity for you to literally collaborate with a competitor! Do you think it's possible? Absolutely!

Consider this example:
Someone helped me recently to create an opportunity to collaborate with the Butler County Community College. BCCC currently offers CPE credit courses for CPAs. So do I. Some might consider us competitors. However, BCCC was looking for more creative CPE courses for CPAs and that lead me to an opportunity for collaboration. BCCC and I have begun discussions on how we can collaborate to better serve CPAs in our region.

Do you have competitors that could provide opportunities for collaboration?

Safety & Protection

Yesterday I bought my new Scorpion EXO 700 safety helmet to ride with my motorcycle. This is the exact helmet ... cool, huh! And, I successfully registered for the Basic Riders Safety course in order to learn how to correctly ride my new motorcycle! The class begins at the end of March ... I've never been so excited to learn something new!

Safety & protection. I've been studying alot about safety and protection lately. How does this apply to referral marketing and networking? How do you protect the relationships that you're developing with referral partners? Are you taking for granted that they will always be there for you? What if your best referral partner moves across the country? It happened to me several years ago ... and I wasn't ready for it! Are you assuming that your relationship is so strong that you don't really need to protect it from anything? What safety mechanisms are you putting into place to protect your word of mouth marketing efforts?

Some motorcycle riders take the risk of riding without a helmet. They like the feeling of the wind in their hair, the sense of freedom, the thought that they are good riders and will never crash! It's a huge risk ... one that I will never take! Equally so, I will never again take the risk of losing my best referral partners, without having a game plan.

For me, plan B involves continually building strong relationships with referral sources who when the time comes, may move up the relationship scale to become a full-fledged referral partner. Don't get caught off guard ... be sure to include safety and protection in your word of mouth marketing plan!