http://www.jongordon.com/newsletter-011810-5waystomotivate.html

Here's great information on how to motivate your 'team'.

http://www.jongordon.com/newsletter-011810-5waystomotivate.html

Summary of Article in Business First Regarding Referrals

After I posted the link to the article regarding the core principles or giving and receiving referrals I realized that people who do not subscribe to Business First will not be able to read the article in its entirety unless they have a subscription. So I'll summarize:

The Author, Greta Schulz, writes that a lot of people struggle in the fact that more of their clients do not provide referrals back to them. It's not as simple as asking clients, 'who do you know that can use my products/services?'

You have to do 3 things well:

• Paint a picture: teach others to listen specifically for certain statements when they're with others. She used an example of an accountant. If someone says 'I had a really large tax bill last year' you should remember to bring up the name of your accountant friend. Don't just ask others if they need a good accountant. Listen for specific circumstances.

• When others come first, so do you: Give without hesitation. The more referrals you give, the more you will get in return. I'll add my own spin on this here. Don't ever expect it to be a 1-to-1 ratio. That thinking will get you in trouble every time.

• Make swiss cheese out of paper: Every time you see something in the paper or other magazines that makes you think of someone in your network. Cut it out and send to them. They'll appreciate it and you'll stay on top of mind. Handwritten notes, not cards with pre-printed messages on them that look handwritten.

The bottom line is to always look out for the best interest of others and you'll benefit in the long run.

Giving, receiving core principles in finding referrals - Business First of Columbus:

Here is a great article appearing is the current issue of Business First regarding business referrals.

Giving, receiving core principles in finding referrals - Business First of Columbus:

Be Proactive

Be proactive, don't wait for another member to be assigned as your 'lunch buddy'. Get to know all the members in your chapter as much as you possibly can on a one-to-one basis. Learn their business, learn what you must ask others to uncover referrals for that person. What statements should you be listening for that would lead to a referral for another person?

Once you have great rapport with your own chapter, now go find other members in other chapters and do the same thing.

Giving to others first and not focusing on what you want and need will come back to pay off for you...be patient and it will happen.

Reasons Why You Don't Get More Referrals...

Often times I will hear members say, "I just don't get many referrals. I don't know if this networking 'stuff' works for me." Yes, we all joined AmSpirit Business Connections for the same reasons. We want more referrals for our businesses. The question is, "How do we get more referrals?"

It's better to illustrate what 'not to do' in order to have a better appreciation of networking, I think. Too many people sabotage their efforts and you probably for witnessed firsthand some of the bad networking behaviors. Here's a partial list of what 'not to do':

1. Don't follow up with the referrals you are given. Misplace the referral slip given to you and then do not bother asking the person who gave you the referral to provide the information again.

2. Better yet, do not ever give feedback to the person who provided the referral. That way they'll never know if you made a connection or not.

3. Always talk about your business, focusing on what you need. You don't have time to learn about what others need in their businesses, you've got a quota to hit.

4. Go to networking events and pass out as many business cards as possible. Don't take the time to talk to anyone at length. It'll cut down on how many cards you can pass out.

5. Don't give referrals to anyone unless they give one to you first. Let them know you keep score and if they're not going to give something to you, you won't help them either. Also be sure to tell other members in your chapter that you don't get referrals from anyone.

6. Don't get to know anyone from other chapters, it takes too much time. It's hard enough just going to your own chapter meetings every week.

7. If you have a chance to meet a paying client, schedule them over your weekly chapter meeting. It's much better to try to close that one sale than to go meet with your networking group. You probably wouldn't have gotten any referrals that day anyway.

8. Miss meetings for any reason, most likely they won't even know you're not there. Time management is important to you and you can get more done if you don't elect to attend your networking meetings regularly.

9. Don't meet one-on-one with other chapter members. You'll see them at weekly chapter meetings (at least the ones you attend). So why should you take another hour out of your week to meet them individually? It seems like a waste of time.

10. Don't go to any of your chapter or area wide socials. You've put in a full day already, why extend the workday any longer? It's better go get home and unwind watching TV instead. You'll be better rested for the next workday.

So, how many people do you recognize in any of the above statements? You may have even chuckled at the recollection of seeing some of these behaviors in action. If you ever find yourself asking 'Why don't I get more referrals?' do a quick analysis of yourself to be sure you aren't exhibiting any of these behaviors.

Find Good in Everyone...

We all have people in our lives that for whatever reason, we just do not see 'eye to eye'. That's ok, though. If everyone agreed on everything, we'd be bored to tears. Right? Come on, agree with me!

Diversity is what makes life interesting. If there's someone in your network that you perceive as mean, unapproachable, distant, or any other negative qualities do this when evaluating them. Find something GOOD about them. Maybe they're a great parent, or very knowledgeable in their business, or you find that you share a common interest. Something, anything, that might help soften your negative outlook about that person can make a world of difference.

Your future interactions with that person may be much more productive and enjoyable as opposed to you avoiding contact at all cost.

Helping Others First

It never ceases to amaze me how some people in the world view networking. One of the best things you can do for yourself to ensure that YOU are successful is to help others first and to also constantly evaluate yourself on how others perceive you. Self-evaluation is a powerful exercise.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who are so focused on their own needs that they either do not take the time or do not care what others think. They're too busy hitting THEIR goals.

Here are two recent examples from my own experiences. The first is a person who started a new company. He's out there working his tail off to get new contacts and new business: FOR HIMSELF. He's accepting new business for anything and everything, rather than focusing on a specific niche in his new industry. Basically he's willing to 'step on toes' of former referral partners because he needs the money. Had he specialized in a given niche he would have found that those referral partners would have been happy to help him by giving him referrals with the hopes he would return the favor. Greed won out instead.

In the second example, a member of a referral group asked everyone in his chapter to provide him with 2 referrals in the next month so he could reach HIS monthly sales goals. Yet he had generated 6 referrals to the rest of the group over eight months. If he had been a consistent contributor helping everyone throughout the year in his group he probably would have already met his sales goal without specifically making this plea.

The lessons to be learned in these two examples are that you should not make requests for others to help you when you've offered little help to them. You should also be considerate of your referral network and not compete against them for the same business. Your short term sales will result in a long term failure. If you're perceived as selfish, any potential referrals will dry up for you.