Let's Talk Referrals!: Recent Episodes
Steve Black
Making Referrals a Reality!
My passion is to build a community of business professionals inspired to grow their business through developing quality referral relationships.
For many years I have helped thousands of businesses develop systems and strategies to get new customers through referral marketing and now I want to help you get more new customers as well.
Let's make referrals a reality for you!
Hey everyone, my name is Steve Black, Executive Director for BNI West & South-Central Texas and founder of Referality.
My job is to network with other people. Meet new people. Engage in conversation. Prior to the pandemic, that is what I did every single week. The last 18 months, not so much.
They say networking is a contact sport. You need to be there. With the changes in the world and with technology I don’t think that it is as necessary as it used to be, but old habits die hard and the majority ofpeople feel that in-person contact is the only way to do it, or maybe just the best way. I’m not going to argue.
This presentation is about Imposter Syndrome. No, this is not about deliberately pretending to be someone else, though it is very closely related and the reason I wanted to share this with you is because I do and have suffered from Imposter Syndrome to varying degrees throughout my life and I know I’m not the only one.
This past 18 months have given me lots of extra time to work and learn. I wanted to learn more about myself. Not just business, or how to do something. I needed to understand me so I can identify my strengths and weaknesses and develop a plan to either improve my weaknesses or pay someone to do the things I’m not good at.
However, what I did learn is that I really do get in my own way. A lot.
I have a lot of time to do what I need and want to do. Yet I sometimes wait for the last minute to do them. I change my mind on what my plans are because I’m not sure how they’ll be received by others. I second guess myself constantly and writing emails and copy, developing presentations like this can take me hours and days, because I re-read again and again to make sure the words are perfect.
Today, I wanted to talk about Overcoming Imposter Syndrome. And maybe, by sharing this with you, it will help me as well.
Let’s get started.
Accountability essentially means 'being held responsible for the things you do'. It's essentially a form of responsibility that means 'the buck stops with you' and it's actually incredibly important. Here I’m going to talk about what accountability really means in terms of psychology and at why it's so important.
Most businesspeople are at their best in face-to-face meetings with prospects, when they've got notes and sales materials with them and are prepared for the meeting.
But, what about when you don't know who you'll be meeting a the next networking event?
Being knowledgeable about your profession is just one of the keys to creating influence that lasts.
Is there someone in your profession or industry, and in your local community, that people automatically think of when when talking about what you do or what your job is? They're well known at the local chamber of commerce, or everyone seems to know who they are when you attend networking or social events.
Could you name that person?
Do you want to be that person?
On this podcast I'm going to be talking about becoming the known authority and expert in your industry and in your local community.
Today, I’m going to be talking about listening. To be more accurate, I’m going to be talking about actively listening versus just hearing.
It’s easy to confuse listening with hearing, but understanding the differences will help you communicate better. Whether you’re interested in improving personal or professional relationships, active listening is essential.
Can you hear me? Are you listening?
Your ideal customer is also your ideal referral. Do you know how to describe them to your referral sources or BNI Members in your chapter?
At the end you'll get the opportunity to register for my free Masterclass Training, Get the Right Referrals Every Time. You can also register here and not have to listen to the podcast: https://www.referality.com/ideal-referral. I'll be sad you missed the podcast of course.
Each of us belongs to many different societies both online and in the real world and our social and technological changes in recent years have made these skills an absolute necessity, especially in business.
Therefore, brushing up on our social skills is vital to our business success.
This week, I’m going to talk about 9 different ways you can develop social skills to help you be more successful.
Think about all the emails and sales pages you’ve seen just in this last week, touting a new class, product, or service. Very often businesses will highlight the features and benefits of their latest creation but then fall short because they didn’t include a story.
The art of storytelling in business can be crucial to your success. It can mean the difference between having a sales funnel full of referrals or barely getting a client because you’re connecting with the wrong people. People will spend their money with you only when they know, like, and trust you. What better way to build that relationship than with your storytelling skills.
Of course, your storytelling skills are wasted unless you identify your ideal clients and where to find them. Think too broadly and you’ll attract freebie seekers or others who will request a price reduction. Or you’ll find those who can afford your price point but who don’t want to do the work. Or worse yet, every referral you get you can’t help. Narrow your sights on your ideal client and create a storyboard with their demographics. Where do they live? Are they married? Do they have a family? How old are they? What are their pain points? How can you help them?
By stating these specifics, you will paint a clear picture of who you want to help, who you want to attract into your referral or sales funnels, and where you can find them to start interacting. Focus on building relationships instead of selling products...
Everyone needs a tribe of raving fans, right?
The more digital we become, the more customers expect to have even more interaction with the businesses they love. Think about your two-way communication as an opportunity to expand by understanding what your customers want and what you have that helps them. This communication builds lasting relationships and a loyal customer base. People need to feel that they are an active part of the companies they follow.
You have great products. You provide great customer service. So, how do you turn your audience into a vibrant, engaged community that talks about you with everyone they know.
Nothing beats a good first impression, except for a good follow up but that’s for another day...
Making a great first impression isn’t always easy, but it can make a huge difference to how quickly you can build a relationship with other businesses that will benefit both you and them. Today I wanted to share a few ideas on what would impress, or not impress me the first time we meet, either virtually or in person.
While I think this is not only great advice on making a good first impression, I think these are the things that will have the biggest impact – whether you get them right or wrong and I will be talking about virtual first impressions as well as real life.
How on earth do you expect people to give you great referrals if you don't know who they are?
Every business markets their products or services either through paid or free advertising sources, or both. Paid advertising includes things like print, TV, Radio or Billboards. Free advertising sources could be social media (though you can choose to pay to play on those platforms as well). If you have done any form of advertising or marketing, you probably knew where to market your products and services and how to market them to get the best results. We know where our ideal customers hang out, right? TV might not be a good fit for you, radio might not, but print ads is where you get the best bang for your buck it just depends on your business or profession.
In referral marketing, or relationship marketing, to be successful, you also have to know who you want to get as a new customer before even setting out to ask for referrals or create referral campaigns to attract them.
Asking for anyone or everyone and your message is going to get lost or ignored completely. Or worse you could end up choosing a market that means you get bad referrals instead of good or great referrals that you want. When you’re asking for anyone or everyone, you won’t get a great response. Everyone is not an ideal target market nor an ideal customer.
According to the book The 29% Solution, written by Dr. Ivan Misner and Michelle R Donovan,
“Networking is the process of developing contacts and relationships to increase your business, enhance your knowledge, expand your sphere of influence, or serve the community.”
Which means, the things we do that we would normally call networking, such as attending networking events, helping other people, giving referrals are actually the tools and systems we use in networking. What most of us lack, me included for the first 40 years of my life, was the process, system or strategy for networking to get those benefits.
Give thanks. Pay it Forward.
We all need to be in a good place and giving thanks for what we have and giving thanks to other people can make a difference in our lives as well as theirs.
Happy Thanksgiving!
While there’s no one pathway for discovering your life’s purpose, there are many ways you can gain deeper insight into yourself, a larger perspective on what it is you have to offer to the world.
The word “inspire” comes from Latin, meaning “to breathe life into.” This makes sense because when you’re working toward things that inspire you and that you feel passionately about, it makes you feel alive.
So, what topics and subjects can you talk about for hours? What makes you feel a fire in your belly? What’s going to launch you higher up the food chain into something bigger than what you are now?
This doesn’t mean that you have to declare today that you’ll be the next Steve Jobs or the next Oprah Winfrey; this means that it’s your job to start connecting to a cause that’s bigger than you but still congruent with what you care about.
“He who has a why can endure any how.” - Frederick Nietzsche
This week I decided to talk about your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Every business should have a USP, no matter how small and even if you are an individual or independent contractor. The USP needs to be about how you are different/better than your competitors. Your message, if done correctly, will resonate with your target market and help you get more of the right customers and referrals.
Today I wanted to introduce myself and why I do what I do and then start talking about the first steps to being referable, your brand. Without a brand that targets your ideal customers and identifies who you are and what you stand for, any referral asking or messaging you do my just end up going to the wrong people or even worse, get you the wrong referrals.