Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to close a deal, convince one person to make a decision, or become overwhelmed in the day-to-day chaos of "fire-fighting", that we forget the lessons of Steven Covey to focus on the quandrant of spending time on important, but non-urgent matters.
For most personal service providers, recruiters like my self, Chairs, coaches, consultants, your network is your most important business asset where you should be investing time. Once you move past the low hanging fruit of getting referrals from your existing members, the next step is to generate referrals from your network. As I indicated in a previous post, most Chairs are highly frustrated by the lack of referrals they get from their network. The good news is that you're not the exception. Most high level personal service providers, CEOs, and sales executives are also extremely frustrated by their lack of referrals.
Unfortunately, generating referrals from the best connectors/influencers requires a high investment of time and energy. Do you treat this small group of individuals in your network as a golden goose? Do you treat them as your most important business asset? When you look at the amount of time invested with them, I'll bet you're surprised how little time you devote to nurturing those relationships and building trust?
Let's say for purposes of our discussion, you've got over 500 local senior executives, TAs, and referral sources in your network. However, only 25 are truly exceptional influencers/connectors who can generate continuous referrals. What do you do every month to ensure you're going to have a steady stream of referrals from this very small group of individuals?
- When was the last time you spoke to each of the 25 on the phone - just to check in with them and chat?
- When was the last time you bought them breakfast or lunch?
- What have you done for them lately - by the way, when was the last time you asked them what you could do for them?
- When did you last invite them to your home?
- Did you take them to a sporting event they enjoy?
- Do you know everything about this small group - the name of their kids, spouse, and dog, their hobbies, their kids sports, their business history, and so on? How do you track this information?
- When was the last time for this small group of influencers/connectors, you sent them an article or link you came across in your daily digest of reading that you thought they might appreciate?
I'm going to go way out on a limb here and suggest that you should be touching every one of these unique and prized individuals within your network in some manner every single month. The first step is to figure out who these people are and if you have enough of them in "inner circle". Do you know who the most powerful influencers/connectors are in your network? Do you have a precise plan to add to this group and to improve your relationships with those already in it?
Nurturing and developing trust requires an organized, structured, methodical, rigorous, intensive, and proactive approach. The primary reason you don't get enough referrals is that you treat your network as inconsequential (or very small) element of your business, investing perhaps a few minutes here and there when you have free time. If you want to create a powerful referral machine and an abundance of great referrals, you've got to make your network (especially the influencers/connectors) your most important business asset.
Barry Deutsch
