How to Think Differently and Have a Successful Mindset Towards Your Referral System

Perfection is the enemy of progress.

When it comes to making and maintaining connections and staying front of mind to your network, many people get caught up in having to write the perfect post or send the perfect message/email to keep their networks alive. They think their referral system has to be set up perfectly before they start implementing.

However, perfection is often what stalls progress. The time you spend trying to hammer down those last few details is likely going to end up as time wasted. Instead, start doing, make some progress and improve as you go. If you’re finding you’re network isn’t made up of the right types of people or the right partnerships, you can work on changing that, but you’ll never know if you get hung up on perfections and you don’t get moving!

Big things are made from small components.

Whether you’re working on building your referral teams, expanding your reach with cross-promotional partners or expanding your network, you’ll be more successful if you learn to break down massive projects, problems and campaigns into smaller, more manageable pieces.

One of the best ways to do this is with plans and blocks. Set plans and goals for yourself regarding the areas of your business you want to focus on. Then break them into smaller activities and set time blocks throughout your week to focus on them. For example, take 10 minutes to check in with referral partners, spend 30 minutes another day on your social media engagement. It doesn’t have to be perfect or feel like a massive task. These small blocks will add up to your big picture and lead to noticeable results.

Discipline is a prerequisite.

To most people, discipline is something extra. It takes extra thought and effort to exercise, wake up on time or do anything other than spend leisure time. To be successful, make discipline your ‘normal,’ (if it isn’t already). This means knowing what you want and being prepared to do whatever it takes to get it. Activities like setting up time blocks, building referral plans or staying front of mind with your network all require deliberate discipline.

There is no magic.

You can’t make sales and grow your business by expecting there to be a miracle, or some kind of instant, magical rise to the top because your idea was revolutionary. Even the best ideas in the world require patience, skill and endless effort to earn that level of success. Those who are good at what they do realise this. Waiting for your idea to do the work on its own, or waiting for some unseen element to carry you to success can only result in disappointment.

You also have to be focusing your time on the right sorts of activities – this means that around 70% of your time should be spent on revenue-generating activities such as sales or marketing. You need the power of your network, your referral partners and cross-promotional partners to expand your reach even further and take you through.