BROADCASTS.com

Business and Marketing Podcast\nWelcome to episode 7 of the Select Business Team podcast.\xa0 We are mixing up the format today and instead of interviewing one of our members, we are going to talk about creating a referral marketing plan focused on generating referrals from strategic partners. You can create a referral marketing plan that is focused on your clients or just the general public, but I think focusing on strategic partners will expand your opportunities for generating business.\n\nAt Select Business Team, part of what we focus on with our clients is creating business opportunities and this is usually done through other members on the team, which could be considered strategic partners.\xa0 We frequently discuss strategies to make this happen and as you\u2019ll discover in some of our other podcasts, the more you help your strategic partners, which we refer to as your \u2018Team,\u201d the more they will help you.\xa0 If you just put your hand out and ask for something, you won\u2019t reap the rewards of this type of program.\n\nFirst I want to lay the foundation and suggest you create a plan. I\u2019ve always believed that when you have a plan, you have a guide\u2026.it's like having a road map. Having a plan is also a tool that allows you to measure your results. When it comes to creating business opportunities from referrals, having a plan is no different. Without the plan, it\u2019s easy to digress, get lost or even not do anything at all.\n\nSome people think that a plan takes a lot of work. In some ways, it does, but the type of plan I am referring to isn\u2019t one that needs to be pages long or researched to death; A simple excel spreadsheet can work. It can be as detailed or simplistic as you want. Ultimately, it needs to be one that works for you. One that you feel excited about and one that you will keep working. Remember, fail to plan\u2026.plan to fail!\n\nOne thing to keep in mind as you are creating your referral marketing plan is that the plan doesn\u2019t have to be etched in stone. You can modify as you go along. Keep track of your efforts and focus on what is working. Don't over complicate things.\n\nBefore you get started, identify what you want to accomplish. Build the plan with the end goal in mind. Initially, I would recommend that you keep things realistic\u2026maybe even stretch your goals a bit, but don\u2019t go overboard right away because it is easy to get overwhelmed when you do and then, you might abandon the project altogether or nothing might happen.\n\nYour overall referral marketing plan should include identifying your strategic partners, then building out the plan by mapping out how will you approach them, how will you educate them on what you do, who you are looking for and how will you stay in touch with them.\n\nIf you are in a service type of industry, one of the best areas to focus when creating your referral marketing plan is building a network of strategic partners. These are people that are in non-competing industries but who go after the same customer base as you. Here are two examples:\n\n \tPerhaps you are a business attorney. Your strategic partners might be accountants, financial advisors that implement 401k plans, business bankers, business insurance agents, consultants and web designers. Each of these professions deals with business owners which is the same profession that the business attorney would be working with.\xa0 \n \tWhat if you were an electrical contractor that focused on residential homes. Strategic partners for you might be plumbing, flooring, painting, carpentry, landscaping and drywall contractors.\xa0 They are non-competing professions but their customer base is the same as yours, homeowners.\n\nMake a list of strategic partners for your industry. Then think about how many people you know in each of those professions. Look at:\n\n \tYour LinkedIn connections, \n \tYour social media connections and \n \tThe current clients you or your company already has\n \tFriends and family\n \tPast clients of your company