Maximize Word of Mouth Marketing

Are you maximizing word of mouth and getting referrals on repeat?

Are you using an intentional referral strategy to grow your business, advance your career or simplify your life?

Do you have a working ecosystem of support, an army of amplifiers ready to be activated?

If the answer to the above is 'yes', lovely!

Yet if you have room for improvement, it might be time to review a skill that I think everyone should learn: how to have curiosity-based, collaborative conversations where you communicate like a nurse.

This past week I was reviewing two client projects; one had a pipeline that was over-reliant on the leadership team's personal network with no plans to replace champions once they leave their respective companies (goodbye door openers). The other was a multibillion-dollar company that wanted to see if B2B influencer campaign could create interest around a software release in a short time frame (they tried to break up with unfruitful paid ads).

Here are some of my takeaways so you can take another look at how you are maximizing word of mouth and activating your army of word of mouth amplifiers.??

1. Acknowledge the importance of collaborative conversations, namely, how to communicate like a nurse.

Here is the truth, "opportunities do not float like clouds. They are firmly attached to individuals. If you’re looking for an opportunity, you’re really looking for people." - Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn Co-Founder.?

That means if you wish to improve your life, business, or career, there is likely a set of humans that you need to speak to in a collaborative manner where you are seeking first a win for THEM and secondarily a win for yourself/team.?

2. Maximizing word-of-mouth marketing does not have to be time-consuming.?

It can be hard to find the time to do other things when you're focused on client work. Yet we often find time to do things we enjoy, and I shared a simplified approach here.

In short, when selling to people who make decisions based on what their peers are using, take a moment to think about how you can position yourself as a trusted advisor on an authority platform that already has the attention of your best buyers. In 2022, there is no reason to start building a thought leadership platform from scratch; instead, leverage the "fishing ponds" that your best clients go for advice around the solution you offer so that, at best, prospects come to you when they have a specific need or at worst, they at least recognize your brand when you or your team reaches out on LinkedIn or email.?

3. Address professional relationship building reluctance

In business, there is a common term called "sales call reluctance" it's where you have anxiety before you dial and then let that anxiety impact the number ( and/or quality) of dials you make. Similar feelings can come up when you decide to be more proactive about generating the relationships that will advance your career or business. Here is a framework that has been useful for my clients; it's called S.C.A.L.E shared in this video.

S- scan your personal, team, and tech capacity to receive. If your capacity to receive is low, you will self sabotage relationship-building efforts

C- create boundaries so that you can say an honest ‘Yes’ or a confident ‘No”

A- articulate needs, unique value, and alignment

L- leverage resources (both internal and external)

E- evaluate your support system and what a win, win situation would look like

If you know of a professional ( or team) who would like to have more “first dates” in business and maximize word of mouth by expanding their network, or if you know of a product marketer who needs to create excitement around a complex solution beyond a tweet or social media post, please know that at Solutions by Amelia, we offer both collaboration consulting and relationship development training. Get in touch if you want to know more by sending a connection request and message or reach out directly to amelia(at) solutionsbyamelia.com, or let's have an old-fashioned phone call.