Referral Marketing: Radio PR

Welcome to 2009! I hope you're ready ... ready for whatever this year holds in store for you!

Two days ago, I was on the radio here in Pittsburgh talking about the importance of networking and promoting The 29% Solution ... WMNY 1360 Pittsburgh Renaissance Radio, The American Entreprenuerial Show with host Ron Morris. It was a lot of fun to be live on the radio and sitting in the studio together with Ron. I've done many radio interviews promoting the book, but this was the first one done in person. You can find the recording by clicking on the link above!

The really cool thing about this opportunity is that I used my own referral marketing techniques to make it happen. I began speaking to lots of people about wanting to appear on this particular show. I included it in my marketing messages at my BNI chapter meetings. I activated two people who were close to Ron or the show to personally take him an autographed copy of the book. I specifically worked with a referral partner, Deanna Tucci Schmitt, to provide her the tools she needed to promote me to Ron. All of these efforts resulted in a one hour live interview segment on the #1 entreprenuerial radio show in my home town. How cool is that?!

There's no mistake about it ... referral marketing WORKS!! If you engage the right people with the right tools and education, they can bring the opportunities to your doorstep. Are you working your referral marketing system with the right people?

Referral Marketing: Holiday Referrals!

In the next few weeks, I'm going to be attending 8 holiday gatherings ... and that includes 3 with family! Imagine how many people I'll be around in such a short amount of time! There will be referral opportunities upon every turn.

My job as a great networker is to keep my eyes and especially my ears open for referrals for the people I know. You can bet that during these gatherings, people will be talking about lots of things going on in their lives. For example, here are some of the things I'm likely to hear:

"My water heater broke last night!" (a referral for a plumber)
"House training our new puppy is really hard!" (a referral for a carpet cleaner or pet trainer)
"I wish I didn't have so much static in our house at this time of year!" (a referral for HVAC guy)
"Now that the kids are gone, our house is so big!" (a referral for my real estate agent)
"I'm so frustrated with my financial advisor!" (a referral for my financial advisor)

When I hear these opportunities, I have one phrase that works nearly every time to create a referral. I ask, "If I knew someone that could help you with that (or solve that problem) would you like to meet him (or her)?" See what I mean! Referrals ... referrals ... referrals!

How happy will you make the people in your network when you can present them with a holiday referral? Keep you eyes and ears open!! Good luck!