Walking Out

At age 26 I walked out of a good paying job because I thought I could see into the future.

I was one month away from working for this company for four full years. I had two weeks of vacation a year. I commuted an hour each way to work. I was making enough money to pay my bills, travel once in a while, and save money. I hated almost every minute of it and if I stayed I would have been able to retire from the company at age 65.

I looked at 39 more years of this and without any plans on what to do next I gave my two week notice. That afternoon I paid off my car loan and three days later I started a 3 month driving tour across the country. I was searching for something, but I didn't know what it was.

I loved to help people and wanted to have a more satisfying life - so I became a full time entrepreneur. It was a long road from there to the Referral Institute - but that was the beginning.

I am Motivated!

I was at a great networking event a few weeks ago. I met many business owners and one of them asked me what I specifically helped business owners do to work less and play more. We talked about being specific with who their target market is and who good referral sources could be. I told this business owner that I help my clients by teaching them 18 tactics to motivate their referral partners and 15 ways to promote their referral partners.

This sole proprietor said, “I am motivated! I was invited to a networking event and I told everyone I knew about it and I was the only one who appeared! I am motivated! I don’t need any help in being more motivated!”

When I help business owners grow their business by word-of-mouth we go back to the fundamentals of referrals. All referrals come from relationships. All of these relationships are with people. If we would like to have more referrals – we have to start with motivating the source of all referrals – people! When I teach business owners how they can motivate referral partners we talk about personally inviting people events (as well as 17 other tactics).

Each of the tactics is delivered with the purpose of the tactic, the specific benefits, the steps to carry out the tactic effectively, and the applicability and requirements of the tactic. The next time you have the opportunity to invite a referral source (in order to motivate THEM to pass YOU referrals), keep these factors in mind.

Your goal with these tactics is to motivate your referral sources to generate positive word-of-mouth for you. The easiest way for them to do this is to be in front of people you would like to do business with and have them introduce you. They have to be there – so they have to be invited. This also makes it easy for you to promote them – if they are right there in front of people. If you stay home or if they stay home neither of you are expanding the circle of people who hear about you by word-of-mouth.

The best place to invite your source is an event that you are attending. Spending time inviting people to an event that you might not attend or cannot attend is not going to help you work less and play more. The purpose of inviting your referral source is to enhance your relationship with this person. They’ll get to see you in a different light. If it is an event where you are speaking or being recognized, then the event will add to your credibility.

Developing a calendar of events and invitations is easy! First make a list of the events and then a list of referral sources. Then call (email doesn’t work as well) and invite them with enough notice so they can plan to attend. In your call explain why you’d like them to attend and if they can attend pay for the entrance fee to the event if there is one.

As you are making your list with events and sources make sure there is a benefit or interest for your referral source. What are they trying to accomplish? What are their hobbies? Who would the like to meet? Ask yourself when was the last time you did a GAINS exchange and what you learned about the source.

If possible, ask your guests to invite their own guests.

While you may find that invitations often are turned down – continue to do so. Make sure you are matching the right events with the right people and giving them plenty of notice. When you invite them they’ll think a more highly of you for making the personal invitation, they’ll have a better understanding of you and what you are interested in, and they will be more motivated to help you grow your business by word-of-mouth.

The 18 tactics to motivate your referral sources was first written by Ivan Misner and Robert Davis in the book “Business by Referral”. These tactics are included in detail in the Certified Networker course. As a certified instructor of the material I teach these 18 tactics to my clients so they can grow their business by word-of-mouth.

Calculating Needs

While on vacation this week a business professional asked me for a little more information on what the Referral Institute is and how I help business owners. They were interested in me, but I came to find out that they were also considering starting their own consulting business as a marketing copy writer. They had over 15 years experience in marketing writing and were wondering if it would be possible to get enough clients to launch their business.

On every Referral Institute region’s website is a tool called ‘Pipeline’ where business owners can put in six specific pieces of their business acquisition statistics and find out how many referrals they need to grow their business to their goal. My copy writer consultant friend and I were hiking – so we did the math of Pipeline in our heads.

Her personal goal was to work enough to pay all of her bills, spend time with her fiancé, plan their wedding, and spend time with their mixed family of three dogs. Her financial goal was to make seventy thousand dollars in the next year. We conversed our way through her business and here are some of the results. She would like to charge $50 to $75 per hour for her copy writing work. She lives in the Boston, New Hampshire, and Southern Maine market and this looks like a reasonable starting rate. Her average project is about 25 hours. Each project of this size will bring in about $1250. She will need to work with about 60 clients (actually it is only 56 projects) to hit this financial goal. Have you spent time figuring out your financial goal, your average client revenue, and how many clients you need to engage with?

Her experience shows that about fifty percent of her clients will probably hire a copy writer a second time in the first year they work together. If she has forty (40) clients and half of them (20) hire her for more work in the next 12 months, then we’ll get to 60 projects in the next year. To get to 40 clients we have to have referrals. Her estimate is that about two-thirds of referrals she’ll receive will become clients. Most clients I work with have been operating for three or more years – this makes knowing the real close ration a lot more specific. I have clients tell me that in the last 12 months their close rate is 56.1%. I know they are honestly tracking referrals and closed business. Are you tracking your referrals?

My copy writer friend will need 60 referrals in the next year to get 40 clients which will lead to 60 projects. Does she need 60 referrals this week? Nope. Does she need 30 this week? Nope. Does she need 10? Nope, although that would be great! She’d like to work about 48 weeks this year, so she’ll need 1.25 referrals each working week of the year (or about 5 referrals per month).

While that may still seem overwhelming to a new marketing communications copywriter consultant, if she has five solid referral sources (people who share her target market and do not compete with her), then she only needs one referral from each of them each month. She no longer has to rely on her own cold calling or door knocking ability, or a large cash investment in advertising. She can focus on developing the right relationships with the right sources and from there give enough referrals and receive enough referrals to hit her financial goal, her personal living goals for the next year, and her work goals.

I help business owners to work less and play more by calculating their referral needs with a tool called Pipeline. If you are trying to figure out the value of an individual referral or how many you need to grow your business, visit referralinstittueithaca.com and under the Tools menu item select Pipeline. Or call me for a Pipeline Consultation and we’ll talk through the calculation and what it all means to growing your business by word-of-mouth.

If you are in need of a brilliant and fun professional marketing copy writer who is looking to help organizations in the southern Maine, southeast New Hampshire, or Boston areas – I am happy to make the introduction to you. She has a passion for helping high tech (software, web applications, hardware, and biotech) businesses communicate their message to their vendors and clients.

Business Card Collections

If you own a business - and you probably are or want to be if you are reading this article - then you probably have business cards. You have your own of course, but you also have been collecting cards. Business cards are the world's smallest billboard. They are chock full of information and insight into a company and an individual. They also start to take over desks, counter tops, wallets, desk drawers, the center console of your car, and once in a while the washing machine (Oops!).

As I've tried to get more organized I've created an elaborate chain of command for business cards. You don't have to have a long process - probably just a few different boxes or bins. These are the names on my bins.

BNI Members (1st 3 cards) - If you are a member of my BNI chapter I'm carrying three of your business cards in my BNI card wallet. When I talk to someone who expresses an interest in your service or if they have a need that you can fulfill then I pass them a card. I'll let you know that I'm promoting you and if they give consent I'll pass you a written referral in BNI with their phone number.

BNI Members (overflow cards) - Sometimes I end up with extra cards of yours. I keep a small box of overflow cards of active Ithaca Thumbs Up BNI Members.

Top 10 Referral Source - If you and I have developed a relationship and we are both at a high level of credibility with each other - then I put 1 of your cards in my wallet. I usually carry cards for my top 10 sources, 5 of my own, and 5 of Arjan's. I keep 5 of each card for each of my top 10 sources in the center console of my car. All of the rest I keep on a Top 10 Referral Source table in my office. When clients come to visit - the top 10 Referral Sources are displayed.

Certified Networker Students at Credibility - My business is about helping people grow their business by referral. A Referral Institute client doesn't get automatic credibility with me - it takes time. For all of my Certified Networker clients where our relationship is at Credibility - I have a special box for your cards. I bring them to our Certified Networker classes and my Referral Success 101 classes to share with other Referral Institute clients.

Credibility Rolodex - For members of the business community where we have a credibility relationship (and you aren't one of my top 10 sources or an active BNI member) I keep a Credibility Rolodex. I use this to refer non-contact sphere professionals to clients, family, and friends. I try to keep one of your cards in this rolodex and the remainder in a Credibility Box.

Visibility Drawer - If we've met, but we aren't yet at Credibility, then your card goes in the visibility drawer. It isn't a dungeon - its just a holding place. I can't refer people to you (because I really don't know you yet or I'm not sure if we can trust each other yet). Ask me if you are in my visibility drawer - if I say yes - maybe we should spend some time together moving our relationship from Visibility to Credibility. I try to sort this drawer alphabetically - just in case I want to find your card to hand to someone. This hand off is not a referral - it is probably given with a little warning that I can't really vouch for your service or product.

Invisibility Drawer - I'm not sure who you are and I'm pretty sure you really don't know who I am. How did I get your card? Maybe I picked it up because I thought you had a business that I might need to use (possible vendor) or because one of my referral partners or clients was looking to meet someone in your profession or because your card looks really nice.

It only took me about 7 years in business to realize that I needed to do something proactive to control the flow of business cards coming into my life. When I'm ready to refer someone I know just where to look. My goal is to revisit these bins, boxes, and drawers at least 3 times a year to move cards into their proper location. Ideally all relationships would go from Invisibility to Visibility to Credibility, but they may go in the other direction too!

What do you do with the business cards you receive? How much more powerful would your referral activity be if you could pass the card of your referral partner to the prospect or potential client? What is someone was able to do that for you?

Upcoming Events

1. Dunk Dave
Tomorrow I’ll be in the dunking booth at Dryden Dairy Day (Parade at 9am on Main Street in Dryden Village, Dairy Day Festivities in Montgomery Park in Dryden Village starting at 10am). My turn in the dunking booth starts at noon (or earlier if it is really hot out). Come and take your best shot. The booth is run by the Dryden Boy Scouts as a fundraiser.

2. Networking @ Noon (for Chamber Members and FLEF members)
On Thursday, June 17th I’ll be speaking at the Chamber of Commerce’s Networking @ Noon and Finger Lakes Entrepreneurs Forum (FLEF) luncheon. The lunch is at the Large Pavilion at Stewart Park and I’ll be speaking for about 20 minutes on “Visibility, Credibility, and the Entrepreneur”. The cost is $25 and registration is required. Call 273-7080 or tompkinschamber.org to register.

3. Women TIES Greater Ithaca June Luncheon
Also on Thursday, June 17th (at noon!): My friend Lee Ann Capogrossi is a marketing specialist will share her expertise on how to build a successful marketing plan for a business, why it is important and the key components required to make it effective. More importantly, she’ll talk about the tools, tactics, and timing that turn marketing dollars into revenue dollars and show you ways you can market your business without even spending any money! The event is sponsored by Rasa Spa (and will be held at Rasa Spa in Ithaca). The cost is $28 and includes lunch, some networking time, and Lee Ann’s program. Reserve your seat by June 14th at http://www.womenties.com or 315-471-1987.

4. WISE Launch Hour: What is a “Mastermind” Group with Pamela Moss
ALSO on Thursday, June 17th (at noon!!): My friend Pamela Moss of Inner Vision Portraits will be speaking at the South Side Innovation Center (2610 S. Salina St. Syracuse) from Noon to 1pm. There is no charge. Pamela’s presentation will cover: What is a "Mastermind" group? How can it give women entrepreneurs the support and clarity we need? The 6 Secrets that Supercharge Your Success. Contact Alicia Millington to register at (315) 443-8634 or ACMillin@syr.edu

5. Turning Your Dreams into Reality, a "Grow Your Dreams" Vision Board Retreat
Pamela is conducting a retreat on June 24th in Skaneateles, contact Pamela at pamela@innervisionportraits.com for registration details.
At the Retreat's lovely lakeside setting, you will: literally see your big vision for your business and your life; create a vision board to stay inspired and motivated; learn the 6 Secrets That Supercharge Your Success -- and how to apply them; enjoy an inspiring, fun, and mind-opening morning with some amazing women entrepreneurs!
When: Thursday June 24 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Where: Stella Maris Retreat and Renewal Center, Skaneateles NY www.stellamarisretreat.org
$89 includes lunch, tea, coffee, and all materials, inspirational raffle items, and $20 tax-deductible donation to Stella Maris
Limited to 25 women only!! (Currently have 14 places left.)


Have a great weekend! Hopefully I’ll see you in Dryden’s Montgomery Park tomorrow.

Clients in 10 States

When I ran 544 Productions Website Design I had clients in 10 different states. All of these clients were from word-of-mouth. As I’ve been working with clients of the Referral Institute I’ve found that businesses with nationwide clients feel that word-of-mouth can’t work for them. Here is what I’ve found that really works.

Growing your business to have clients in ten states follows the same methods that a business owner would follow if they wanted 10 clients in their neighborhood. The first step is to run a good business – provide a great product and superior customer service. The second step is to follow the same rules that apply for growing your business locally. Here are the rules I followed:

1. Use word-of-mouth at home to grow your business. I lived in Ithaca and I had a few clients in Ithaca. I wanted more clients in and out of Ithaca – as my goal was to bring in business for Ithaca based graphic designers, writers, and programmers. I joined BNI and started to grow my business locally.
2. Identify people that you already know that might make good referral sources. I choose BNI members that had the same target market as my web business (My Target Market was Business Owners).
3. I also identified clients that were in professions that had nationwide counterparts (Educational Consultants, Massage Therapists).
4. I developed strong relationships with these BNI members and these clients. I worked to educate them on what I liked to do for work, who I liked to work with, and that clients could be from anywhere in the United States.
5. I worked to motivate these sources (from the 15 ways to motivate from Certified Networker) and they started to generate referrals for me.
6. I worked with these referrals and turned the referrals I received into clients.

Are you trying to grow your business from the neighborhood to nationwide? I can help you develop a structured plan to help the right referral sources, often people you already know, to achieve tremendous results with word-of-mouth.

A $20K Marketing Budget for $200

Could your business use a $20,000 marketing budget? What if you could spend just $200 to get that $20,000 marketing budget? Would you say you might be interested?

Last Tuesday at my BNI chapter I (as the chapter's education coordinator) spoke about a few things you can do when you do a dance-card or 1-to-1 with a referral source or BNI member. The first time you meet - you could do a GAINS exchange (Goals, Accomplishments, Interests, Networks, and Skills). This could be completely structured or could be very free flow. I recommend keeping watch on time - so the first 1-to-1 doesn't last forever. Perhaps 1 hour.

If you both felt that the first meeting went well - that you both decided you'd like to continue to grow your relationship based on goals, interests, and accomplishments - then plan a second time to get together.

I recommend talking about the answers to the Six Magic Questions and working out the details of "How Can I Help You (achieve the success you'd like to see in your business and life)?". These details could easily take 30 minutes per person. Try to set a timer or watch the clock, so your time doesn't stretch too far beyond an hour.

Did the second meeting feel good to you? Are you in a position to actively support this member of your BNI chapter or in your contact sphere? Do you see the types of clients that this person would like to see? Do you know the people in the professions of referral sources that this contact would like to meet?

If you said 'yes' to these four questions - then I recommend setting a third 1-to-1 to have a conversation about your life, your family, your biography, and your history. This is a great time to go deeper to get to know the likes and dislikes of your referral partner. Here is where you might be able to find out how they got into their job - not the why, but the how of the path to this dream job of theirs.

So - for the right BNI and contact sphere relationships - you should plan to spend around 3 hours together. This time will help move your relationship from invisibility to visibility to credibility. It may even lead to profitability - but this will never effectively happen until you've passed through the other phases.

Now, about that $20,000 marketing budget. A member of my chapter calculated that with 30 members and 3 hours of meeting time per member and an hourly rate of $225 per hour that it would 'cost' him $20,000 for these meetings.

If he did feel a strong connection through the first two meetings with all 30 members and he had 90 meetings over the course of a year - the actual cost would be about $2 in coffee per meeting or $180.00. How effective would his 30 referral partners be if they spent an honest 30 minutes learning his GAINS profile, 30 minutes learning how they could help him, and 30 minutes learning about his background and biography?

The value (and referrals) would more than pay for the $20,000 in 'billable' time. These 30 people would be prepared to truly help this member and the benefits of this $180 in coffee would be worth far more than the time.

You might not have $20,000 to spend - but with the right few referral sources (at the Referral Institute we recommend 4-8 sources) - you can spend your marketing and networking time wisely to Create Referrals for Life.