Saturday, April 04, 2009

Referral Marketing: The Amazing Race!

The popular TV show, The Amazing Race, triggers the adventurous spirit in many of its viewers. I think that's part of the attraction to the show. Watching all the wonderful places that the participants get to visit as a part of the trek. Of course the other part that draws people in is the DRAMA! And ... from watching the show in the past ... people sure can become dramatic when they're under stress and in a competition against the clock.

Something I find fascinating about the show is that typically, the contestants are pairs of people who know each other very well. It makes sense, right? Why would you put yourself into this situation with a stranger and trust your potential future fortune on someone you can't trust?!
The fascinating part to me is that no matter how long the couple has known each other, the experience of The Amazing Race often teaches them things about each other that they never knew before. Spending this much "quality" time together brings out a person's true character. Many, many times, the experience brings the couple even closer together.

When it comes to referral marketing, no matter how long you have known your referral partner, you still need to spend time together ... learning more and more about that person, their business, and their character. You can't ever begin to think that you know all there is to know ... because anyone on The Amazing Race will be sure to prove you otherwise. If you begin to think you know it all ... you become complacent. Complacency is the kiss of death to referral marketing.

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