The lifeblood of many businesses for getting clients is referrals. But you have to find the right places to get referrals, otherwise known as referral sources. The trick is to find people who are in complementary fields. Thus, if you’re a realtor, you need to have a group of house cleaners, painters, handymen, and other trades that you work with. If you are a business coach, you’ll also want to find others such as accountants, attorneys, life coaches, mindset coaches, and more. In the senior long term care industry, your power group will likely include hospice, skilled nursing facilities, long term care insurance providers, and doctors. The only real limit is your creativity.
The idea is that you make referrals to people and they make referrals back to you. Sometimes this relationship is a formal one, such as in a networking group like Business Network International (BNI), where referrals to your fellow BNI members are highly encouraged. Sometimes the referral relationship is fairly informal. Either way, you’ll want to find people who you can make referrals to and who will refer back to you. The goal is to form great business building symbiotic relationships.
As you go along in your business, you’re going to meet competitors and many other providers. Your job is to keep finding other entrepreneurs who you can refer to easily, but who can also refer to you to help you build your business.
By building relationships with a power team, you’ll have business support you need. Plus, you’ll have lots of people who are willing and able to refer to your business and provide you with a pipeline of customers for your business.
Haley Lynn Gray is CEO and founder of Leadership Girl, a graduate of Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, and a serial entrepreneur. In addition to her many business ventures, she is also a mom of four and a Girl Scout Leader. Haley is passionate about helping women achieve their potential, and empowers them to overcome obstacles in leadership positions and entrepreneurial ventures. www.leadershipgirl.com