Today is THE day!

Finally ... today was the day that I took my Harley for its first ride!!

I had to get up the nerve since it's quite a bike for a first time rider. It's got a lot of power and up until now, I was a bit intimidated. No longer. I took a deep breath, slowly released the clutch, and off I went. For an element of safety, my friend followed me in a car. That gave me a sense of security just in case I had any trouble. It was a great ride and actually alot of fun.

I learned today, that sometimes, you just have to go for it! Sometimes, you have to go on blind faith that you can be successful and accomplish something you didn't feel possible. Do you think that growing your business entirely by word of mouth is possible?

Some people think that word of mouth marketing can't bring you enough business. I know otherwise! I know plenty of people that grow their business entirely by word of mouth. A colleague of mine has a closing ratio of 97% because of a successful word of mouth system. Imagine what that kind of closing ratio can do for your business?

Today is THE day to begin to systematically working your word of mouth marketing plan. Today is THE day to believe that closing ratio can seriously increase with a successful word of mouth marketing plan!

Make it EASY!

This past Saturday, I attended a wonderful presentation hosted by the National Speakers Association, Pittsburgh Chapter. The topic was "Book More Business" by Lois Creamer. Of the many things I took away from that session, one thing deserves a spotlight today ... "make it easy for people to buy your products or services".

Lois told a great story about how her last experience of purchasing a car was really challenging. Imagine that?! The car saleman just wasn't willing to tell her the actual price of the car. He wanted her to "guess what it was". Now, you and I both know this sales strategy ... and so did Lois. So, she walked away, saying "when you find out the price, call me". As the salesman chased after her, she drove away. In no time, the salesman called her with a price ... a price she liked enough to make the purchase.

It didn't need to be that hard. She was in front of him, ready to buy, with cash in hand!!

In order for your referral marketing system to work ... it's your job to make it easy for people to refer you! If it's too cumbersome, too complicated, or requires too much work ... it simply won't happen. Let's face it. No matter the good intentions of your referral source, they have their own business to tend to and if it's not easy, it just won't get done. Or at least not as often as you might like.

So, how referable are you? Do you make it easy? When's the last time you checked with your referral sources to see just how easy you are to refer? How can you simplify it even further?

Become a Better Driver!

What are your driving habits? How many times have you heard someone say this: "I give people referrals all the time and they never give me anything back!"

You can hear the frustration in their voice. You can see that they are probably about to walk away from that relationship. You can also suspect that there is more to the story that just what's on the surface.

If you have found yourself saying this, here's what I would ask you:

1. Have you actually ASKED that person to refer you? Did you consider WHEN you asked or HOW you asked? Or are you sitting back expecting them to "get it" and want to pass you business?

2. Have you actually TAUGHT this person HOW to refer you? Or are you sitting there saying, "well they already know what I do, they should know how!"? Wrong. They're most likely NOT in your industry ... you know what happens when you assume, right?!

3. Have the referrals you've given been GOOD ones ... or not? What else are you giving to the relationship? Are you genuinely interested in helping their business grow or are you participating with the "what's in it for me" mentality? Authenticity is very easy to identify.

One way to guarantee reciprocal referral relationships is for YOU to drive the relationship in that direction. And for you to recognize that it's much bigger than one for you, one for me. It's about authentically wanting to help someone else FIRST.

Become a better driver ... starting today!

False Sense of Credibility

Have you ever been emotionally broad-sided by someone? I mean in the sense that you thought you were "in" solidly with someone when in fact you come to find out, you're not! That's getting emotionally broad-sided! Many of us got experience with this in high school. It hurts.

In referral marketing, it looks something like this:

You feel like you make a good impression. You think people like you. You talk about your business all the time so you're sure people understand what you do. You meet with people. You listen and try to help other people as best you can. Then it comes ... the emotional broad-side! BAM! You find out that someone you felt fairly connected to refers a colleague to someone else. OUCH! It hurts. How could that be? How could they not know that you could have helped that person just as well, if not better?

Sometimes, that referral is going to an already established, well developed relationship that is somewhat out of your control.

However, other times, the answer is ... you have a false sense of credibility with that person. Yes, it might be hard to swallow, but it could be the truth. In reality, your relationship with that person just might not be as developed as you thought it was. The good news is ... it's fixable. You have to work hard at developing credibility. You have to prove yourself over and over again to be known as consistently credible. You need to give ... ALOT ... before you can ever expect it to come to you.

It's called NetWORK for a reason! It takes time to develop the relationships you want. It takes commitment on your part to give to the relationship. And, it takes you being an exceptional educator to help other people truly understand how you help to solve people's problems.

Operating in Resonance!

I have just returned from a Referral Institute conference that was held in Indianopolis. It was a really good conference that produced plenty of good ideas and action items to follow-up on in the weeks ahead.

During the conference, I had the pleasure to be in the company of Dr. Ivan Misner, the founder of BNI and Senior Partner for Referral Institute. Dr. Misner spoke on the topic of resonance as it applies to how a business is run. He said that when a company is operating in resonance, great things can happen. When a company is in resonance, everyone is working towards the same goal and are connected in harmony. The company becomes "solutions focused" and not "problem focused". Solutions -focused companies begin to focus on amplifying the small things that are working very well.

Referral partners need to work in resonance. They need to be in harmony and operating from the same sheet of music, so to speak. Referral partners should always stay focused on solutions and help each other to amplify that which is working very well in order for both parties to be exceptionally successful! If you're not in resonance now, either do the work to get it there or find a new partner!

Here's to operating in resonance and staying "solutions-focused"!

The Shapes of Loyalty

Loyalty ... it comes in all shapes and sizes. It's that person who has chosen to travel through life with you, overlooking your flaws. It's that scruffy faced, wet nosed friend that waits at the door for you. It's that tiny purring friend that snuggles on your lap. It's the customer that keeps coming back. It's the referral partner that keeps on referring you.

Loyalty just doesn't develop over night. Especially when it comes to referrals. Somewhere after the "trust you" phase, loyalty begins to form. It's kind of like the dog that has been rescued from the pound. Initially, the dogs will begin to like you ... in time, it will begin to trust you. If the trust is proven, the dog will become very loyal to you ... no matter what. If the dog can't trust you, the relationship will go no further.

Referral relationships that are built on trust develop intense loyalty. That's the foundation of BNI and in my opinion, one of the best ways to do business. Just this week, two colleagues of mine approached me to organize an advisory board, on my behalf, to brainstorm strategies on how to move my business passed the tipping point. Someone doesn't offer to do that for you unless you have developed loyalty towards each other. I am deeply grateful for these relationships. I'm moved by their willingness to give to me and my business.

What are you giving to create such loyal relationships?

A Passing Grade!

I passed!!

If you've been following this blog you know that I recently purchased a '91 Harley Sportster. However, I didn't know how to ride a motorcycle ... until yesterday when I passed my motorcycle exam ... giving me my rider's license for the state of PA! I'm psyched! Now, I'm street legal. Don't worry ... you shouldn't clear the road just yet, because it will still take me some time to get fully comfortable on my Harley ... since the basic rider's school had me learning on a bike that was much smaller than mine. None the less ... I now know how to ride a motorcycle!!

Why is this significant for me? For as long as I can remember, I had a dream to own a motorcycle and to learn how to ride safely. I've accomplished that goal. I was able to attain that goal because I did a few things to make it happen:

1. I told people about my goal. I talked about it alot. When I spoke the words, it seemed to make it real for me.

2. I wrote it into my personal goals. Writing it down is the step that most people skip with their goals. Writing it down helped me to stay focused on it and again, made it real.

3. I was persistent. Focusing on it helped me to keep it top of mind. Keeping it top of mind had me thinking about it alot.

What are your networking goals? Do you have them written down? I do. I know what I plan to do for networking my business in 2007. I also include how I plan to help my referral partners in my business goals. I share my goals with people who are significant to me.

Isn't it time you write your goals down to make them REAL!?

Learning to RIDE

Learning to ride a motorcycle is a wonderful experience! (NO, that's not me on the bike!) It's filled with emotions ... anxiety, anticipation, fear, joy, great joy, and even sadness when the ride ends. The most challenging part is training the mind and body to think and act differently that it's used to. Imagine all four limbs working together to bring a motorcycle to a complete controlled stop on a dime. Imagine training the right side of your body to function independently of the left side of your body. And, finally, imagine all of this becoming second nature, requiring no thought, just reactions.

It's like learning and new language and a new skill simultaniously!

Ironically, I put people through this same experience of emotions and re-training of the mind and body in each class of Certified Networker. I hear students say all the time, "my brain hurts!" That's a good sign because that's when you know you're learning something new. Like riding a motorcycle, this program stretches your mind and alters the way you have always been doing things.

Re-training the mind and body takes WORK, takes PRACTICE, takes COMMITMENT, and takes DESIRE. Anything less in learning a new system for referral marketing will not produce the results you desire. Anything less for me and my bike will not produce a safe rider. In either case, for me, that's not an option!

An Inconvenient Truth

Last night, I watched the movie by Al Gore, "An Inconvenient Truth". Regardless of your political opinion, this movie is a MUST SEE for any human being currently living on the planet earth! The evidence is astounding as to the desperate state of our planet today due to global warming. And more alarming is how little anyone (especially government officials) are willing to do about it, simply because it is inconvenient to make the changes necessary for global change.

At the current rate, in as little as 50 years, we could see a dramatic, and I mean DRAMATIC impact on our planet! What we all seem to forget is that no matter what your race, color, creed, nationality, orientation or whatever ... we are all connected in the cycle of life on this planet.

Why do I tell you this?

1. Because I believe that it's essential for everyone to see this movie and take action in some way!

2. Because many people view networking as an "inconvenient truth".

It's no secret that one must network to advance their business. The one thing that most people don't accept is that it takes WORK to make it work. It's the truth ... but it's inconvenient. Many people expect to show up and referrals will come to them. Many people think BNI is attending the weekly meeting. There is SO much more to networking than just showing up and attending weekly meetings!

In order for real change to happen to your referral process, you need to NetWORK! In order for real change to happen to this planet, it's going to take WORK as well! The point for both is that it's up to us ... each individual to do our part of the process.