Referral Marketing: Customer Service

This past weekend, I had a cap put on the back of my pickup. If I must say so myself, it's beautiful. It matches my Tacoma perfectly. I've lasted nearly 3 years without a cap and now ... I feel that my truck is complete ... except for one thing. The cap was ordered with a mistake. I had requested that the window that is facing the truck cab be a slider so that I could have easy access between the cap and the cab. (are you following me?) The cap arrived without that slider window. Of course, no one noticed it while it was being installed. I noticed it right away upon inspecting their work (which was very well done).

Apparently, the man taking the order wrote down that I wanted the sliding window, but since it wasn't where it was supposed to be on the sheet of paper, the man reading the order did not catch it. So, what does this mean to me, the consumer? I'll need to fit them into my schedule again, drive another 40 miles, and take another hour of my time ... not to mention that they will need to completely remove the cap again to replace the window. I can understand human error, however, I'm hoping that the inconvenience is taken into consideration.

I believe this happened because the man reading the order was operating on auto pilot and failed to see beyond the obvious. So, let's think about how this applies to your referral marketing efforts?! Are you operating on auto pilot with your referral partners? in your networking groups? in your office? at networking events? If you are ... you quite possibly could miss a fine detail that could cost you alot of money and/or time to repair. Your relationships could reach a stale mate because of you not giving much to them. Your creativity could wither away. Ultimately, the referrals coming in could significantly slow down because you're not focused on helping the people in your networking group.

Are you willing to have your referral customer service suffer?

Referral Marketing: The Go-Giver

The Go-Giver: A little story about a powerful business idea!

Recently, I got my hands on a copy of the newset book by Bob Burg and John David Mann. I love this book! I wish I had coined the phrase, go-giver ... it's brilliant!

We've all become familiar with the "go-getter" concept. Especially, anyone in sales knows that the best way to be hugely successful is to be a real go-getter! Get out there and get the sale ... no matter what! Work every hour that you can because if you miss an hour, that's the ONE hour that could have closed the deal. Answer your cell phone on the toilet because you've got to be able to help your client whenever and whereever (literally) they need you!

Wrong! Oh so wrong.

This little book is the story of one of those so called go-getters who begins to feel that no matter what he does, the further away his goals seem to be. It's not until this go-getter is taught the true secret of success that his life begins to change. This story brings new life to Dr. Ivan Misner's (my mentor & co-author)phrase, "givers gain".

If you're no where near as successful as you want to be ... pick up a copy of this book. Even though you'll finish it quickly, the message will stay with you forever!

Referral Marketing: 29% Global Success

If you've been following this blog, you would know that I have a new book out that will become available to the public on September 1 in all major book stores. The book is called, The 29% Solution: 52 Weekly Networking Success Strategies. I co-authored this book with the internationally known networking expert, Dr. Ivan Misner, founder of the worlds largest networking organization, BNI.

What's been really cool about this whole experience is to watch how this book is having global success. The other day, there was an article about the book in a paper in Montreal, Canada. Advanced copies of the books are already being purchased by BNI Directors around the world. And, today, I saw a story about a soldier (Lt. Colonel Edward Bean) reading my book in the back of his blackhawk helicopter in Kuwait! WOW!! I'm blown away and the ride is just beginning ... since the book has not yet been officially released.

Here is just one of many reviews already posted on Amazon.com.

How can you lose when you get to chose 52 weeks of Networking Activities!, July 26, 2008
By
Tim R. Green (Flint, MI) -Wow and I thought I was a word-of-mouth marketing expert until I read this book. My hat is off to Dr. Misner & Michelle Donovan! Don't let the title fool you. The 29% Solution should be re-titled The 100% Solution! All you have to do each week is engage yourself in one of the networking activities. Finally a simple way to financial success. Every college should require students working on a business degree to read the 29% Solution.

If you, too, are interested in an advanced copy, visit my website for details.

Referral Marketing: Saw-Whet Owls

The other night, I was awakened by an unusual sound in the darkness outside. I listened intently ... realizing that this was a sound I had never heard before! What was it?! Was it a coyote? A fox? A weird bird or something??

I began investigating by searching through animal and bird sounds online. Process of elimination led me to the Saw-whet owl. I knew it was a resident of the state, but I've never seen or heard one actually call ... until now. The more I read about the Saw-whet, the more I wanted to know.

It's a cute, tiny owl with big eyes. It eats mostly mice. Its defense upon discovery is to sit still and not fly, leading people to perceive them as "tame." They are fairly nomadic, never wanting to stay in one place for too long. They are only about 7 inches high, so you should consider yourself lucky if you've seen one.

One sure fire way to hinder your referability is to act like a Saw-whet and never stay in one place very long ... particularly with respect to a networking group. Your "referability" is specifically relating to your ability to refer to other people and their ability to refer to you. If you're the kind of person who only stays with a networking group for a year and then moves on ... you're just not going to get the kind of referral results that you want from that group. People like to know that they can count on you being there. They like to feel assured that you're going to get to know them and help them with their business. There's a level of trust and confidence that must be built and maintained to ensure and enhance your referability.

Saw-whet owls are great little birds ... but they would make lousy networkers!