Attracting Warm Leads Is Easy With An Army....

Do you have a group of referral partners whom you touch base with regularly to help grow your business and vice versa? Do you have a structure around this process to make the partnership work for all involved? Have you been trained by your partner about what to listen out for in a conversation to make a qualified referral?

Please read this article with these questions in mind. I welcome your contribution to this article by answering the question at the end of the article also.

The questions in paragraph 1 are just some of the topics touched on by Michael Griffiths, Referral Marketing Guru, at the last Business League Breakfast.

I share my notes with you today as I found the insights valuable and hope to provide you with food for thought too.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF PARTNERS

1. INFLUENCERS – Who impacts your world directly?
2. NETWORKS - Are you top of mind with people, are you speaking with them?
3. PARTNERSHIPS - Build these eg 30 netball courts filled with school students, your product or service is for families in your local area, speak with the netball association who has access to a lot of families 

Each category is explored further below:

YOUR INFLUENCERS

Filling your network with the right sorts of people means you will attract the right sorts of clients.

Take a moment to consider the 5 people who you are most often in contact with. What conversations do you have with them? Are they positive? Do they help you grow? Do they challenge and inspire you or is it time to rethink your influencers?

THE VALUE OF YOUR NETWORK

When attending a networking event or searching online, expand your thinking to not only look for your ideal clients but also potential partners.

Let’s do some maths to put the value of your networks and the different types into perspective:

A - Say you know 250 people, this is your A network of people you know 1 on 1 and can pick up the phone and speak with

B – This is the network everyone in Group A knows - 250 x 250 is thousands which you still have access to

C – This is the network you can access via A and then B and therefore you are exposed to millions of people.

Consider now who you would like to be introduced to at your next networking event or online?

Focus not just on the end client, focus on the door opener who can help grow your business with their networks and you can do the same for them. At networking events, don't just focus on the sell, be open to people who can be a potential partner. 

It is quite liberating when you approach any of your interactions with an open mind. Ask questions which provide the opportunity to get to know the person behind the job/position they are in. What do they like to do outside of work, where is the common ground? You can build so much trust and connection by doing this.

FLIP THE INTERACTION WITH PEOPLE

Most of the time, people start a conversation with their knowledge – what do you do? They talk about their role which may be completely irrelevant for the other party in the conversation, business cards may be exchanged and the conversation comes to an end. This interaction is unlikely to go any further.

Flip it. Start with building trust and growing the connection and then move to the knowledge. For example, ask what are you, or would you like to be, famous for? What brought you here tonight or simply, tell me more about you?

Once you have built a rapport, organise a phone call and go from there. 

YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO BUSINESS ALONE

Use other people’s networks. You all know other people. Do business with other people. The goal of every conversation surrounds how to create opportunities. 

NETWORKING TIPS

1.      Open with tell me more about you

2.      Find 1 way to help that person – show you care and want to help

3.      Have a good icebreaker question if you need to break into a conversation.

4.      When speaking with people in a group, have an open stance which will attract others to talk with you.

5.      Look for groups with an open stance 

6.      It takes 45 days to be forgotten, don’t be forgotten. Connect on LinkedIn to stay in touch.

MOVING ONTO PARTNERSHIPS

The value of the right partners means you don’t have to do it all alone, there is no more cold calling (there shouldn’t be anyway).

5 Types of Teams

Fill your partner group with approximately 66 people, the breakdown is below and I will expand on the first 2 groups also.

Teams - filled with 66 people

1 PROFITABILITY PARTNER (6 people)

2 SUPER GROUP (8 people)

3 CROSS PROMOTION PARTNERS (12 people)

4 CONTENT DISTRIBUTORS (20 people)

5 AFFILIATES (20 people)

1 Profitability Partners –

Max of 6 people who you speak with for 10 minutes each week with an agenda. 

Consider how your partner can provide you with more referrals, exposure, fill your funnels and open doors.

Set the same day each week to catch up. Have a clear agenda and cut to the chase without the pleasantries as this is business. If nothing else, this person is your accountability partner.

Are you ready for our profitability call? - no pleasantries - agenda clear with these questions. If nothing else, accountability partner

Agenda Questions:

1.      What's your goal for this week?

2.      Who would you like to be connected to?

3.      What 3 things can I do for you this week?

If you don't have the ability to find the person they need, reach out to your network (B Network mentioned above) to find someone whom you can connect them with.

Your relationship is based on making each other successful.

This conversation and relationship will only work though if you are very specific and clear about the ways your partner can help you.

For example, if I asked you what 3 things would you like me to do for you this week? You would be able to clearly articulate those items.

Some examples:

1.      Invite me into that network

2.      Share my LinkedIn Article, Blog, YouTube video etc

3.      Introduce me to an Accountant

4.      Help me find other partners to work with

If the only conversation you have with your Profitability Partner is, “this is the referral I need” the relationship will die out pretty quickly so look at 3 things they can help you with - referrals, exposure, fill funnels, open doors etc.

YOU DONT HAVE TO DO BUSINESS ALONE. It's not fun to do it alone

2 Super Group (can have multiple super groups) - 8 people in a group call.

It's just 1 Group (don't include profitability partner in there otherwise less partners to work with) Speak monthly for 45 minutes with your Super Group. For example, find a smaller group within a larger networking group. Run these via a Zoom chat.

What industries should be part of your Super Group to help you find the clients without having to find them yourself? Work with industries that also work with your clients but not in direct competition.

Put yourself in the middle and think about who else sells to your clients - all come together and share.

AGENDA FOR SUPER GROUP

1.      Accountability

2.      Goals

3.      Connection

4.      1 thing I can do for you

The agenda needs to be clear each time and meet at the same time all the time, otherwise people forget what you do, relationship tires and this doesn’t work.

We need to train our partners of what expect

REFERRAL PROCESS

1 Trust

2 Knowledge

3 Train

4 Referrals - train partners how to find referrals - give tools and resources to do this

5 Evaluate - each opportunity needs to be evaluated quite quickly before the referrals are made. Train the right referral to pass on.

6 Thanks - base the thanks on your partner's hobbies that comes from first question tell me more about you - what he likes. Trust grows heaps. A magazine subscription per month for example - gift keeps giving.

Create A Referral Training Manual

The manual will focus on how to be a good referral partner - train each other about how to do this. Provide your partner with 3, one-line statements your ideal client can listen out for to then refer. For example, I can’t find leads (pending on the business is the referral eg B to B LinkedIn) hate paying tax (Accountant), cash is tight (Lender) or my website sux (Web Design/Online Marketing)

A FINAL WORD ON NETWORKING

Your actions are impacted by how you think about your network. Most people believe the only time you want to speak with them is when you want something, change that.

Consider everyone around you as part of your network - on social media, at networking events, at work. If you offer fantastic value to every person you meet, you open doors to other networks.

Your thinking around networking has to show your network you care and then opportunities will grow for you.

Be visible and don't be forgotten. Stay front of mind (FOM) and create a personal engagement plan (PEP) to stay at the forefront of your networks mind.

Have you created any formal partnerships like those described above? Have they been beneficial? Why isn’t it as easy as it seems to partner up and grow?

LinkedIn provides so many avenues to stay front of mind and add value by creating a personal engagement plan. If you would like to learn more about how to add value, engage and find partners on LinkedIn, please message me for the link to join me on my next online LinkedIn Profile Makeover session.

Christie McCabe is a LinkedIn expert and story-teller who specialises in creating strategies that promote your brand, enhance your reputation and generate big money leads for your business.

Founder of Connection Kernel, a premium, personalised LinkedIn Marketing Consultancy offering a range of training and do-it-for-you LinkedIn services for individuals and companies. Together, we boost your Profile and build a smart and strategic marketing plan using the powerful social sales tool, LinkedIn. #LinkedIn Coaching #LinkedIn Strategy #LinkedIn Profile Writing #LinkedIn Marketing #LinkedIn Video #Social Selling