Are You Referral Ready?

It’s not who you know or who knows you that makes the real difference. It’s how well you know the people in your network. This means it is important to have a mechanism for advancing and adding depth to your most important relationships.

Relationships take time to develop. What you do with that time is the difference between activity and results, between visibility and profitability, between a network of acquaintances and a team of referral sources. Left to chance, this process is called ‘net-hoping.’ Hope is not an effective business strategy.

Schedule time to meet one-on-one this week with two people whose relationships you particularly value. Make it a point to learn something new about that person, and take interest in their goals, accomplishments, skills, and networking activities.

Find a way to help that person tackle a tough business issue. Discuss ways in which you can both proactively refer business to one another.

Meeting one-on-one is a great tool to keep in mind for advancing relationships. Without adding anyone new to your network this week, you can increase your referral readiness by taking the time to learn more about the people you already know.

The return on your time investment in other people can only be as strong as the depth you are willing to achieve.