Building a referral strategy is an investment in time and is not fast nor is it easy!
“In this economy, developing a strong referral strategy is a fast, easy cheap way to build a strong business,” Palzewicz said. “Referrals are more important than ever because people are more careful where they buy and the words of satisfied customers, especially customers that are their friends, can be very powerful and more impactful than any other type of advertising.”
As is my habit, I read blogs, press releases, and other material about business networking when I ran across the above quote in a press release. I become very frustrated when I read incorrect or misleading information. This may not be intentionally misleading, but it may be written by someone who does not understand what the business referral process is.
“In this economy, developing a strong referral strategy is a fast, easy, cheap way to build a strong business.” Nothing could be further from the truth. While networking sometimes seems fast, easy, and cheap, building a business network that generates quality referrals takes an investment of time. On top of the time it takes to build the network you also have to develop a reliable referral strategy to use within your network. That is a skill that must be learned and requires a budget of time and money. When a client comes to me and wants to develop a referral strategy, they must have a proper network to implement an adequately developed system.
Fast, Easy, and Cheap can be related hamburgers but not to a referral strategy with your network!
Fast – Successful referral systems are based on relationships that you build on trust. Trust takes time, and you have to be willing to take the time needed to build trust. People will not refer business to someone they do not trust to make them look good. How long it takes someone to trust you is dependent upon how much time you invest and how long it takes individuals to trust others.
Easy – Once you have your network built and systems in place, it begins to feel easy. Getting those systems in place and maintaining them is not easy; it takes commitment and work. If building a reliable business referral process were easy, there would be a lot more very successful small businesses generating high-quality referrals. I know this is not the case by the number of businesses owner that I speak to daily who seek help at getting more referrals.
Cheap – Another myth. If you are going to develop a referral system, you must set a budget of both time and money. It is not cheap to belong to multiple organizations, attend their events, have one-to-one meetings over coffee, lunch, and even dinner. Set up and implement a reward system for your referral partners, and pay for travel to events and conferences. Is it cheaper than running a TV ad over and over? Yes, but is it cheap, no!
Anytime you go at something with the idea that it is fast, easy, and cheap, you are bound to be disappointed with your outcome. Developing your network and your referral system takes time, money, and effort, but when it starts paying off, it pays in a big way. My mother always said, if it is worth doing, then it is worth doing right!
For more information watch my Walker This Way Video about business networking and referrals!
Hazel
There are few women better at building a global network than Hazel Walker. Renowned for her straight talk and no-holds-barred approach, Hazel is a globally sought after speaker.
