The more generally you describe your business, the more difficult it is for others to know how to refer people to you.  Recently I attending a networking meeting and there were two dentists there.  One said that she worked with anyone with teeth.  The other dentist said that he specialized in seeing patients who have dental anxieties.  Which dentist will you more likely refer friends to? Or suppose you meet two chiropractors.  One says he is a holistic practitioner and can treat anyone from 10 months to 100 years old.  The other says she specializes in treating women with PMS-related […]

Find out who your clients use for other services that could make a good strategic alliance with you.  For example, since I do website design, I ask my clients who they use for computer repair.  Computer repair people find that their clients ask who can build websites.  They could refer those people to me.  When I get the name of their computer repair person, I call that person.  I do not ask for business.  This would appear presumptuous or imply that I am desperate for business.  Anyone appearing too hungry raises the question as to why they don’t have more […]

Your most reliable source of business is your existing client base.  They know better than anyone what you can do.  If you approach them properly, they can become a walking, talking sales force for you.  Here is how you can get them to do that: Make sure that every experience customers have is positive.   If you want referrals, “The customers is always right.” On the average, a satisfied customer will tell three people about his positive experience with you within a month.  An unhappy customer will tell seven people of a bad experience within a week!  So a positive experience with you […]

A common myth about business is that if you do a good job with your product or service, the referrals will come automatically.  Usually a self-sustaining business is a result of focused effort to build referral momentum.   Work at your marketing efforts long enough and hard enough, and the referral business will begin to flow. Even after producing excellent results year after year, you still may get very few referrals unless you are in a high-demand business.  If you concentrate on ways to bring in referrals, you can speed up or even jump-start the referral process.  Once small business owners […]

The creative professional should be able to get 80% or more of his new business from referrals, follow-ups, or add-on business from existing clients. Once you reach this goal, you have a self-sustaining business, which is the goal of all people who start a business.  All of your efforts, whether networking, promotions, advertising, or other efforts, should be focused toward ultimately attaining the goal of becoming self-sustaining. According to a recent survey, many businesses relied heavily on word-of-mouth referrals from business associates in purchasing business services.  44% chose a lawyer by word of mouth.  45% chose an accountant by word of […]

If you need business fast, try this approach: Identify people in a position to know who needs what you offer.  Make face-to-face contact with these people for the purpose of gathering information about who is buying what you’re selling.  Ask permission to use the name of the person you talk with.  Then make contact with the companies or people you learn about. For example, in my business of website design and repair, I talk to business coaches because they know people who need new websites or update their existing website to reach their goals.  I would find out from the […]

You might be surprised — they may be right under your nose!  I bet there are several people you already know that you have overlooked who would make excellent sources of help!  Or maybe you are just too shy or timid to ask them. Think about: Who have you done a good job for at some time? Who has given you encouragement in your business? Who have you helped through a tough time? Who helped you through a tough time? Whom do you know that has done what you want to do? Look at these as a short list of […]

Networking is not just a great way to get new business, it also is a great way to meet people who can help you get business and to grow your business with their expertise and support.  I believe that the more support and assistance you have, the better. A mentor is a trusted counselor or influential supporter who takes a personal interest in your success.  One great source of mentors is SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives).  SCORE is free and you can have one-on-one counseling for your business and build a long term mentor.  I like to think of […]

Even though most successful home-based businesses are built on word-of-mouth marketing, I have found that networking is usually overlooked and sometimes even avoided.  Too often a home-based business will try to compete with larger competition on their level with advertising and direct mail.  Unfortunately, many home-based businesses find that normal advertising techniques do not result in immediate business and require a lot of money, which most small businesses do not have.  Not only that, but a prospective customer has a hard time knowing how such a business could serve them better than all the competition that is also advertising.  And without […]

Now that the networking meeting is over, there are some things you can do to insure your time at the meeting was worthwhile.  If you follow these steps, you will have success, if you don’t follow these steps, you will probably be disappointed at your results. 14. Follow up fast with a phone call.  If you meet someone at the meeting that showed interest in doing business with you, you need to follow-up immediately.  I call the next day to arrange a meeting. You might not be able to make follow-up appointments with everyone you have met, but if there […]