Referral Marketing: Space Cake!

Last night, we celebrated two birthdays in my family. One of those people is intolerant to gluten, so I made a gluten free spice cake. It turned out to be fairly good and many people sampled it. At one point in the evening, someone asked, "So how did you make the space cake, I mean spice cake?" Everyone thought that was kinda funny ... guess you really had to be there.

It did, however, make me think immediately of this blog entry ... calling it space cake. Why? It made me think of what can happen in your business if someone mis-interprets what you do. Or if someone on your word of mouth marketing team shares a wrong message for you. Or if someone has the opportunity to refer you and totally blows it by saying something they really shouldn't have ... but they didn't know any better.

These kinds of mishaps ARE avoidable. They can be limited or even totally eliminated when you take the time to educate your referral sources on how to refer you properly. If you want a certain kind of referral, you need to teach people. If you want to be introduced a certain way, you need to teach people how to do it for you. It's not rocket science, but for whatever reason, most people forget this part of the referral process.

So, if you don't want your business to sound like "space cake" ... start teaching people today!

Referral Marketing: Earth Day!

What will you do today to show your appreciation for the planet?

What habits will you begin to change?

Will you begin to recycle?

Will you consider carpooling?

Will you switch your light bulbs to florescent?

Will you take a shorter shower?

Will you plant a tree?

Will you teach your kids to respect ALL living things (even ants & worms)?

Will you take a walk at lunch time?

What will you do today to show your appreciation for the people who refer you?

Will you send them a Send Out Card of thanks?

Will you carry their business cards with you?

Will you invite them to an event with you as your guest?

Will you promote their business in your newsletter?

Will you take them out to lunch?

Don't take the planet for granted ... it won't always be here like this if we don't appreciate it.

Don't take your referral sources for granted ... they won't always be there for you if you don't appreciate them as well!

Referral Marketing: Clinton vs Obama

Clinton vs. Obama ... Pennsylvania's electorial decision is a hot topic these days! Some like Clinton, some like Obama. Some actually like the other guy ... who's he again? Oh yes, McCain.

He seems to have been lost in all the buzz around the democratic opponents. Especially in Pennsylvania ... we really haven't heard much about him at all.

From what I see and hear, many people are totally torn between Clinton or Obama. They both possess some great leadership qualities and both have their weaknesses. They both have plans to do good things for the country. So what is it exactly that will help people to make their decision? Is it a trust factor, a credibility factor, or an experience factor? Maybe it's the gender factor or the race factor? Then again, maybe their plans for the future come into play? The decision that many people have to make very soon will be a tough one for some ... and a very important one for the country. After all ... whoever wins will be working in your best interest.

The decisions you make on selecting your referral partners might not impact the country directly, but it certainly impacts your business directly! The decision should be taken very seriously and you should be quite choosey. Think of it this way ... this person is going to be working for you as your word of mouth sales person. What qualities are you looking for in that sales person? What expectations will you have? What are your minimum requirements?

Make it count since they will also be working with your best interest in mind!

Oh yes ... my vote today is for Hillary (for so many reasons)! I have great respect for Obama and truly believe his time will come.

Referral Marketing: Raviolis!

Tonight I had raviolis for dinner! I love raviolis ... and not just any raviolis. The best of the best are my mom's homemade, from scratch, raviolis! My mother has a special way of making raviolis that if I told you ... well, you know what I would need to do to you ... so, I'm not telling that part of the story. Many Italians have their own special recipe for their raviolis ... mostly for what goes INSIDE the raviolis. Perhaps you've begun to see many restaurants adding their own spin to the guts of the raviolis. I've seen fried raviolis, sweet potato raviolis, spinach raviolis, pesto raviolis, pumpkin raviolis, meat raviolis, and even lobster raviolis. There's alot of fuss being made about what goes into raviolis. In fact, I actually saw a sign in a catalog that read ... "Life is like raviolis, it's only as good as what we put into it!"

I believe that to be true! I also believe that to be true of networking. Networking is like raviolis ... it's only as good as what we put into it! Think of this way ... if you paid for a membership to a networking group, like a Chamber of Commerce, and only showed up once in a blue moon, you can't honestly expect to get much out of it. If you belong to a BNI chapter and only decide to do one 1to1 meeting per month with another member of your chapter, you really are not going to get many referrals out of that group! If you meet with your referral partners once every seven months, you're not doing what it takes to nuture that relationship. So again, you can't expect to get much out of it! See what I mean?

So ... what do you like in your raviolis? If you're not getting what you want from your networking efforts ... perhaps you're not putting much "meat" into it! Just some food for thought.

Referral Marketing: The Need for Speed!

My new puppy is adjusting just fine. She's truly enjoying her new life. Most puppies are full of energy and she is surely no exception. Karlie is one of the most calm puppies I've ever met, however, the need for speed is still there! In the evening, she can really get wound up tighter than a cork when it comes to chasing a ball. I'm hoping in the near future to be able to take her to the dog park in order for her to release the need for speed in a healthy, safe manner.

Have you ever met people networking who have the need for speed? They're typically chasing people around like Karlie chases her ball ... with that crazed gaze in their eyes! They're collecting business cards from eveyone. These same people want everything yesterday and can't understand why people don't refer them. Their need for speed inhibits them from realizing that relationships don't form quickly. And since relationships are the foundation for referrals, it's no wonder people don't refer them. These people fail to take the time to develop the relationships to that point ... and too often, they give up on the relationship before it has had the time to become profitable.

Some people just don't get it. They want it all ... now ... but fail to realize their part in making it all happen! So ... if you think you're one of these people ... slow down and develop your relationships! Otherwise, find youself a people park and run off your need for speed in a healthy way.