Marc Reindell's Blog

What makes you referable

marcrsbaxter — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:42:41 +0000

Becoming referable is something we are asked about often. We have found that there are three things that go into becoming referable.

First of all, most people think that you must be trustworthy and have a high integrity level, this is definitely a requirement, but not the only factor. You will probably get some referrals based on this criteria alone, but you must tap into the emotional response of your referral source to be memorable and garner more referrals more often. You can achieve this by giving the referral source a real reason to believe, your experience, your expertise and knowledge in your field needs to be delivered.

Delivering a world class consumer experience to the referred client is necessary as well, you want the referred client going back to the referral source and telling them how great the experience was working with you and your company.

Meeting this criteria makes you referable. Try to focus on these three things and you will find that more referrals will come your way.

Building strong business realtionships drives referrals

marcrsbaxter — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:25:51 +0000

OK, you are a business owner and you get some referrals. You think,”I love referrals, they are so easy to do business with.” So the question becomes, how can I get more referrals? There is an art to building relationships with your current clients and business associates, it takes time, but more important, it takes a high level of personal and professional integrity. Referrals are a by-product of strong and trusted relationships. Each time a potential customer is referred to you, what really is being conveyed is that you and your business are well respected and trusted by the referral source.

There is a second part to this and that is the science or business metrics. You cannot manage what you cannot measure. Knowing who is referring your business to potential clients and who those clients are is completely measurable, yet can become burdensome and time consuming.

Referral Strategies,LLC is a company that has found a way to combine the art and science of relationship marketing. Referral Strategies,LLC delivers to its clients a systemized approach to building strong relationships with like-minded business professionals and existing clients to become potential referral sources for their business. Referral Strategies,LLC backs this up with a web based referral management system that measures the quantity and quality of the referrals and the sources of those referrals. Over time, the Referral Strategies,LLC referral management system builds a list of the best referral sources. This enables the user of the system to know definitively who their best sources of business are, thus being able to spend more time (or marketing dollars) on the best advocates for their business.

Referral Strategies,LLC referral management system is multi-tenant, this allows all employees in a business to participate, build and track individual referral channels. The system allows the manager of the account to review company wide results as well as individual results. This enables the company owner (account manager) to manage , measure and mentor all employees to continue or improve their individual relationship building.

Referral Strategies,LLC can help any size business to implement a sustainable and repeatable referral market channel. If you want to find out more about Referral Strategies LLC and how we can help, go to www.referralstrategies.com and contact us. Referrals are easy to work with, we can help you get more than you ever thought possible.

Prospecting for Prospectors

marcrsbaxter — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:38:19 +0000

Building relationships with like-minded business people is the key to generating referrals for your business, at Referral Strategies LLC we refer to this as “prospecting for prospectors”. This method of generating referrals is based on building a strong level of trust and conveying true professionalism to your “prospectors”. The process of developing referral sources takes time and consistent effort on your part on the front end, but once established will grow a referral base that will last over the long term. This is accomplished by identifying what your best customer looks like, who they are working with now and then building relationships with the people who work with your desired client.

If you want to generate a strong referral market channel, you must develop a strong network of “prospectors” for your business. Try setting aside one or two days a week to market yourself and your company and get out and meet business professionals who are currently working with your desired client base. “Prospecting for Prospectors”, when done successfully, will build a network of business professionals that will become your network of referral sources, generating a continuous and repeatable stream of referrals for your business.

For more information , please visit www.referralstrategies.com

Busy week

marcrsbaxter — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 23:02:10 +0000

This week has gone by quick. Started the week doing a Referral Strategies presentation for the Chandler Chamber Women’s Council. The presentation went very well and we got some very positive feedback. Did some training as well with a new alliance/client we have formed. Attended Fast Trac Wed. night and had the privelege to hear another great speaker, Penny Wolfswinkel. Had the opportunity to give a short presentation on Thursday as well for the Ocotillo Chamber group

Had to do some trouble shooting for our web site and revise some content to clarify what it is that we do. As this is a new blog, here is description of what Referral Strategies does.

We are a training and consulting company that specializes in teaching business owners and sales professionals how to build a sustainable and repeatable referral market channel. By developing strong relationships with like–minded business professionals, over time they will become advocates for your business thus providing you with referrals. We also encourage digging into your current book of business and asking for referrals, if you are providing a world class customer experience, you have earned the right to ask. We back this up by providing our relationship management system, Baxter®, which will track, measure and manage your referral sources and the referrals sent by those sources. The Baxter ®system allows you to track how many referrals you were able to do business with and over time will identify who your best referral sources are, thus allowing the business owner to work more efficiently.

The Baxter® system is multi-tenant, which means everyone in your office can have their own account and the ability to develop and track their individual referral sources and referrals. As the account manager you will be able to view all activity that takes place, thus the system allows you to manage and mentor your team to build the strongest possible referral channels. Baxter® will also provide reports so you can measure and monitor your progress, this gives you definitive information on your referral market channel.

Our current users nationwide boast a 75% close rate on referred business, on a more individual basis, the founder, Mark Healy’s Allstate Agency in Queen Creek, AZ boasts an astounding 79% close rate since inception of the program in February of 2007.

Hopefully this will help anyone that wants to know more about our company. Friday is winding down and getting ready to head to Cabo for a few days.

Rookie

marcrsbaxter — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:10:15 +0000

Attended my Fast Trac class in Gilbert, AZ last night, had the pleasure of listening to Joshua Strebel talk about himself and his business ventures. Joshua was able to convey his message about web design, social media and how to maximize their potential to get your business recognized, great insight. If you get the chance to meet him or are able to hear him speak you will most likely be impressed, he loves what he does. I’m learning a lot about these outlets and want to make them useful as well, any comments on how best to utilize them would be helpful.

If you have the opportunity to attend a Fast Trac class I would recommend this, the facilitators are all knowledgeable and want to help you develop and grow your business, so far completed six weeks and have learned quite a bit. They also talk a lot about utilizing some of the many social networks, so I’m jumping in, I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.