To be successful in referral marketing it is important to work with the right people. The World is full of famous double acts, Ant & Dec, Morecambe & Wise, Laurel & Hardy, Starsky & Hutch, Samson & Delilah the list is endless and stretches back through time. Why are they so successful? Why do we like a good double act?
Having just one person on your team can really help your chances of referral success. If we take a look at some the double acts mentioned would Ant have been successful without Dec, or Stan without Ollie? Their talent may have taken them so far individually but their talents when fused together create a fantastically successful and talented duo.
This same principle applies when we look for success with our referral marketing plans. If we can identify someone who we like, and we can get on with, we can really turbo charge our success. Identifying key referral partners is key to referral success. Let’s take a look at the six criteria that must be in place for our referral partners.
You like each other and have the desire or could be inspired to help each other. A key ingredient for any partnership is that personal connection. If that is not in place, then any success will be harder work than it needs to be.
They have the time, or are willing to make the time, to help you. For a referral partner to be truly effective they must be willing to make the time to see what is happening in our business, so they can stay up to date with what we are looking for and any changes we may need to update them with. This obviously works the other way too, we need to be able to give them our time to learn and understand the same for them.
They are coachable. They have the ability and temperament to be trained by you to do the things you want them to do. This could be how they approach your key target clients and what you’d like them to say when looking to promote what you do.
They have the resources necessary to help you. This is a key element in success. As well as being able to make time to promote what you do and be coachable in identifying opportunities, do they know businesses that are connected to the type of clients you are looking for?
They have access to and credible relationships in your target market. This is really important. As well as having the same target market clients as you, do they have access to the right people within that target market. Do they deal with the people you want to be connected to?
They make good referrals for people you know. Do the products and services they provide match the needs of the people you know so you can refer them confidently?
These six criteria are key in forming a great referral double act. Work hard on identifying people who meet them, and your referral success is guaranteed.
To Your Success