The New Year is often a time of setting resolutions and establishing good habits to meet your goals for the coming year. This year, I challenge you to dedicate at least 15 minutes each week to using LinkedIn. LinkedIn is most valuable to those who know how to use it effectively. It is not a sales platform or a place to collect as many connections as possible. The real value in LinkedIn comes for those who are able to establish communication in order to develop and maintain good relationships.

The Challenge: Dedicate 15 minutes each week to your LinkedIn Network

Connect with 10 new people each week. Send them a personal message asking to connect. By doing so, you are communicating with them as an individual and laying the foundation for future contacts. You are starting to build the relationship. Now, get to know them. Ask what she or he does. Ask them who you can connect them to within your network.  Ask how you can help them. By approaching a new connection this way, you are establishing a connection and adding value. Thereby, building trust and a solid relationship that will help to grow your business.

Send 5-7 new messages each week to people you have connections with. This does not have to be lengthy or in-depth. The message can be as simple as, “Hey there, it’s been a while since we last talked, What are you up to?” This is beneficial for 2 reasons:

1) You’re starting communication.

2) You’re front of mind again. By contacting 7 people in your network each day, you quickly get to know everyone in your network so you’re better able to connect people within your network and know who can help when and where. Over time, you will continue to build the relationship with your connections by maintaining regular contact.

Keep it about them! We all know what it’s like to get a new connection, only to be followed by a lengthy sales pitch the following day. LinkedIn is not the appropriate platform for this.  When you are good at what you do, AND you have good relationships with the people in your network, then you won’t have to tell people what you do. They will ask you and they will be happy to help you.

There are some important things you need to do when choosing and growing a strong referral partnership.

Who’s the Right Referral Partner for You?

First, make sure you find the right referral partner. The right person is someone who has the same mindset as you and is in line with your values. Don’t get stuck into thinking that you have to have the same or similar network to be a good fit because you can build relationship with whatever networks your referral partner has.

The Right Communication

There are 2 common reasons whey referral partnerships don’t work. The first reason being due to poor communication.

So perhaps it’s not much of a surprise that the right referral partner is someone who you like and are excited about speaking to. Why? Because you want to be catching up with your referral partners every week and you don’t want this to be a chore because then you won’t enjoy doing it. This will help to keep good communication flowing between you.

The Right Training

Once you’ve identified someone you believe to be the right person, the second common reason referral partnerships don’t work is due to improper and infrequent training of one another. Take the time to train each other properly before jumping into everything. This step isnt’ to be underestimated and is highly worth it in the long run.

Training consists of simple, clear, communication where you teach each other what types of referrals you want. If you’re both clear on this, you’ll each know what to listen for and what to recommend to potential referrals. Your referral partner will be equipped on how to find or identify your ideal referrals and how to speak with them.

The Right Number

Once you know how to address these first points of establishing a strong referral partnership, it’s time to start! Have a look at who your referral partners are right now. Are they right? Could you follow the above criteria with them? If not, you might not be the right fit for eachother. Ask yourself if you’re able to establish a good partnership or if you should find someone else.

If they are the right referral partners for you, great – get started. Begin with one person, take the time for weekly catch-ups and start building the relationship. You’ll want about 6 good referral partners. This will bring in enough referrals on an ongoing basis but also still allow you enough time for weekly catch-ups. Follow the guidelines and agenda and you’ll have a steady flow of referrals in no time. The best part is, you’ll enjoy getting there without spending all your time.

Conversations are the key to getting more referrals right? Wrong, this is the key…

Remember to pop over for some great insights and trainings in our ‘Referral Network’ Facebook group here – www.michaelgriffiths.com.au/facebook

Make sure you subscribe to get great small business marketing tips, video’s and how to’s on referral marketing, using your business networks better and creating partnerships to fill your sales funnels. Great for any coach, consultant or professional service business.

Remember to jump into the ‘ Referral Network’ group on Facebook  and create new opportunities with great business owners. www.facebook.com/groups/michaelgriffiths

Remember to Subscribe to our YouTube Channel right here for more great coaching.

Remember to grab your copy of the Referral Game Plan at www.referralmarketingguru.com.au/gameplan

Who is Michael Griffiths? Michael is the founder of Referral Marketing Guru & the #1 authority on referral marketing training around the globe. He speaks some 60+ times just on referral marketing and partnerships and runs the leading referral marketing training program to help you build your own Million Dollar Referral System. He encourages active networking in BNI, Chamber Of Commerce and Referral Groups to build your own referral teams.

Wondering whether you should start a joint venture? A joint venture is a step further than a referral partner or strategic partnership and there’s no straight answer to this question. The decision involves addressing various elements. Consider copying the following questions on a word processing document, so that you can constantly address and answer those important elements before and as you move forward.

Here you’ll find 10 important questions to consider:

1. Do I need to develop a know-how, which has already been developed by a company or by an individual?
2. Is there a logical business partner that could help me develop a vertical or horizontal market penetration?
3. Do I have all the human resources I need in marketing, R&D, production, or operations? Is there a company I know which would have resources complementary to mine?
4. How do I feel about combining resources? Do I like to lead by myself and act as a solitary business hero, or am I fine with sharing the pie?
5. Do I have access to the right legal resources to structure the joint venture and insure all aspects are duly covered?
6. Are there local legal regulations I can bypass by partnering with a local business?
7. Am I prepared to take the time to write a full-fledged joint business plan?
8. Am I aware that in the vast majority of cases, merging activities, even when not necessarily identical, will result in an inevitable workforce reduction? How do I feel about letting go of some of my most faithful employees?
9. Do I already know of a person or a company that I see has a real interest in partnering? Have I discussed this possibility with this person or with the person in charge of the targeted company? If yes, what is the general feeling? If no, then it is time to start a high-level discussion to gauge the level of interest.
10. What are my strengths and weaknesses? What are the threats and opportunities in my target market?

 Source: Happy About Joint Venturing by Valerie Orsoni-Vauthey. http://www.happyabout.com/jointventuring.php

Do you have a process in place that makes opportunities happen? What are you doing with your referral partners? Are you making the most out of your time together? Let’s have a look at what you’re doing and how you can improve and get the most from your partnerships.

The Purpose of your Weekly Catch-up

To keep the partnership strong and valuable, you’ll need to have a quick 10-15 minute catch up every week or two (max). Doing so keeps you front of mind with each other and allows you to be continually strategising and getting each other more referrals.

Always remember the purpose of the catch-up call. The reason for the catch-up is to stay front of mind, to strategise on how to get more connections for one another, talk about how to open doors, to get more exposure to a new and wider audience, how to share networks you both already have, and how to find the right types of people. This may seem like a lot but it doesn’t have to be long; the process is short and simple.

Your Referral Partner Agenda

1.    Goal Setting – Each of you discuss your goal for the week.

2.    Connections – Who do you want to be connected to that week?

3.    Helping – Each of you ask, ‘What are 3 things I can do for you?’

The next meeting, Do an accountability check and simply follow up on those 3 agenda items  Then, cover the same 3 things again for the next week. Just keep it going. It’s that simple.

There’s no point in the relationship if you’re not helping each other. So ask yourself whether you’re taking the right steps and having the right type of contact and communication with your referral partners.

If not, set a goal this week to work on it. Start with 1 referral partner and then work your way up. Your goal should be to have around 6 strong referral partners who you have a good, ongoing relationship with.

Day 3 and how to get client referrals. It is the 3rd accelerator and project we work in within our million dollar referral system.

Remember leave your questions or thoughts below

Make sure you subscribe to get great small business marketing tips, video’s and how to’s on referral marketing, using your business networks better and creating partnerships to fill your sales funnels. Great for any coach, consultant or professional service business.

Remember to jump into the ‘ Referral Network’ group on Facebook  and create new opportunities with great business owners. www.facebook.com/groups/michaelgriffiths

Remember to Subscribe to our YouTube Channel right here for more great coaching.

Remember to grab your copy of the Referral Game Plan at www.referralmarketingguru.com.au/gameplan

Who is Michael Griffiths? Michael is the founder of Referral Marketing Guru & the #1 authority on referral marketing training around the globe. He speaks some 60+ times just on referral marketing and partnerships and runs the leading referral marketing training program to help you build your own Million Dollar Referral System. He encourages active networking in BNI, Chamber Of Commerce and Referral Groups to build your own referral teams.