Referral Marketing: Economic Stimulus

Have you heard of the economic stimulus strategy called "Make A Referral Week"?

Make a referral week runs from March 9-13, 2009. The goal for the week is to generate 1000 referred leads to 1000 deserving small businesses in an effort to highlight the impact of a simple action that could blossom into millions of dollars in new business. Small businesses are the lifeblood of our country and a job-creating engine of the economy. Make a referral week is the small business approach to helping revive the economy.

From my perspective, passing referrals should be a lifetime business strategy. It should remain top of mind every day ... not just for a week. Perhaps developing a catching viral referral strategy will help people to realize what those of us who focus on referrals have known for a long time ... referral business truly is recession proof! During a recession, people not only stay close to home physically, but mentally as well. Generally, people will take less risk during a recession and that includes who they choose to do business with when they have a need. Because of this tendency, it's smart business to begin to spend more time with those people who know you, like you and already trust you ... for those people will have a greater potential of referring you.

So, if you need to focus on passing referrals for a week in order to get that ball rolling for yourself ... then do it! Circle March 9-13 on your calendar and pass as many qualified referrals as you can during that week to help the economy. But from where I sit ... why wait until March 9th to get started? There's a lot of people you can help now ... today ... so why not start NOW?!

If you want more details, have a look at Make A Referral Week

Referral Marketing: Excellence Breeds Excellence!

A few weeks ago, me and my dog Karlie passed out of the "starter class" of her dog training at Misty Pines. The starter class is quite extensive. It involves teaching your dog how to sit, stay, heel, leave it, come and even "watch me" ... to name a few commands. At Misty Pines, they instill the idea that a handler and her dog are a team. So, not only did Karlie need to pass an exam ... but, I did too!!

Last week, we started the "beginner's class" ... which in some places would be advanced. It was so cool going into an environment in which all the dogs and owners were at a higher level of performance. Karlie's level of performance instantly enhanced just by being surrounded by excellence. She could sense the level of expectation and she performed beautifully ... if I must say so myself. In this class, we are expanding on what we already know and WOW ... it's exciting to see the progress in such a short time. Our goal is to get Karlie certified as a therapy dog so that we can visit hospitals and nursing homes.

It's a fairly common concept that if you surround yourself with excellence, you will strive to reach that level yourself ... just like Karlie did when she entered the room of the beginner's class.

The same is true with networking and referral marketing. If you feel that your networking skills are lacking, practice networking with someone you admire who makes it look easy. If your referral marketing efforts are lacking, surround yourself with a group of people who are totally committed to the process. By doing these things, you will feel yourself striving to raise to this new level ... almost by osmosis!

Why not give it a try?