Social Networking, Blogs, and Referrals

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Phil Jackson



I just saw a three year old video by internet marketing and PPC (Pay Per Click) guru Perry Blecher where he used a whiteboard to explain how he uses Social Networking, Blogs and Referrals together to grow his business. I can’t even count the times I’ve answered the question, “Why should I blog”? If you watch Perry’s video you’ll see that blogging can be good for business!

Notice, I didn’t say “blogging makes you money”, or that “blogging is a great branding tool”, or that “blogging is a great way to promote your products and services”! No at all, because I really don’t think blogging is a big money maker or even that big a branding tool. And absolutely I don’t use blogs to promote my business, at least not directly. Blogging, however, is a great way to help people get to know, like and trust you! And if you’ve read some of my other posts, the heart of networking is the Know-Like-Trust (KLT) factor!

Perry points out that Social Media is a like a party. You meet people in Twitter, and Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. Then you have a conversation with them and you tell them, “Hey, why don’t you stop by the house sometime and I’ll show you all about me”. Only in this context, the “house” is his online house, his blog. And can’t you just imagine yourself at a party or networking event and you meet someone with whom you seem to resonate, so you ask them to stop by your house one weekend for a cup of coffee and a tour? Sure you can. That’s just exactly what you can do with people you meet in Social Media, only ask them over to your blog!

Think about your house. People are going to see the pictures you’ve hung, the collections you’ve created, your artwork, your hobby interests, your family photos, your pets. You’re going to show you the real you, the whole you; not just the business shell, but the real person! That’s what your blog can do too. A tour of your blog should orient a visitor to the real you, the person with interests, insights, razor instincts, hard-earned experiences, and the depth that many business acquaintances will never see.

Sure the tour is going to mention what you do for a living as well, but it’s not going to try to sell them; your blog isn’t a showroom for your business. If a visitor at your house was interested in your business you’d probably say, “Why don’t you come by one morning next week and I’ll give you a tour of the office and introduce you around”. But you’re not going to sit in your living room or on the deck and hand them a sales pitch! Same with your blog. I can see a statement about your interests in business, your accomplishments and awards and dreams. And if someone wants more, provide them a link to your landing page… the same as an invitation to your office.

While someone is visiting your home you’d want to get their address and contact information if you didn’t have it, wouldn’t you? That way you could follow up with your favorite Margarita recipe or that Texas Jalapeño Cornbread recipe they enjoyed so much! Or you could send them details about the community event you discussed during their visit. So on your blog ask them to sign up for your newsletter so that, even if they don’t need to work with you or buy from you, maybe something you have to say in the future would be interesting to them. After all, you’re a whole person, not a one-dimensional business automaton!

See how social networking and networking can be a great feeder to your blog? While you might not invite a network contact to your house, it’s easy to invite them to your blog and they get a good dose of KLT! That just might turn into business someday, and certainly the next time you see them or meet them online they’ll have a better appreciation of you. But what about referrals?

Referrals are generally given to people you know, like and trust. See a pattern developing here? So as Perry says in the video, if a guy stops by your house and mentions that he’s looking for a new pickup truck, then if you know someone selling a pickup truck you would refer him. Or you could certainly offer to put the word out to your thousands of network contacts on Social Media and a great truck will be parked in his garage next week!

So thanks Perry for a great video on using your blog for business and thanks to my readers for visiting my blog. Say, do you know anyone who’s interested in buying a 35 year old RV?

Thanks, Phil

Posted in Business Building, Business Networking, Referrals | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Referral Super Networker Greg Leffel

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Phil Jackson

What motivates someone to become a referral super networker and build over 40 referral clubs across the country?  What kind of advice would such a person have for you or any other business person to help them build their networking and referrals?  Learn directly from Greg Leffel, publisher of Plan B!

Posted in Business Networking, Referrals | Leave a comment

Networkers and Micro Financing: Spreading Entrepreneurism

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Phil Jackson

Small businesses are the backbone of all major economies and by encouraging entrepreneurs with small business loans business networkers can help third world economies build their small business infrastructure; don’t you just love the idea of third world people helping themselves?  I think it’s awesome to make micro-loans available to entrepreneurs who otherwise would barely survive, but who can totally thrive and create jobs for their villages with a tiny $175 loan to start a restaurant, or $2,500 to buy a tractor.  That’s why I’m Giving Back to loan a small amount of money through Kiva.org.  Kiva has facilitated over $100 million in loans and helped untold thousands of families make a living instead of starve or receive handouts to barely survive.

How Kiva Works from Kiva Microfunds on Vimeo.

Business networkers giving back by making a tiny loan through Kiva, just $25 offered by 100 entrepreneurs can buy a tractor.  Watch the video below and see for yourself.  Then visit the Kiva.org site and see the social proof for yourself in the Press section of their website.

Join me in helping spread entrepreneurism, accountability by making a micro finance loan of your own through Kiva.org!  After all, isn’t that why you’re a business networker yourself?

Posted in Business Networking, Giving Back | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Optimism for Networking and the Economy!

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Phil Jackson

I love networking! I love meeting new people! And I think it's absolutely fantastic that a byproduct of that networking is making money! But you know, reading the news these days, looking at the unemployment statistics, and sensing the worry that people are experiencing puts a bit of a wet blanket on my networking. So here's a little video that my friend Matthew Neer blogged about yesterday.

If you need an emotional and optimism pick-me-up for your networking, just watch this fantastic 4 minute video. Unbelievable! I'm ready to get out and network with some folks right now! Gotta go, but please leave your comments and let me know what you think!

And thanks to Hans Roling and the BBC for such an insightful and cool video!

Posted in Business Networking, Leadership | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Heroes Sitting Next To You

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Phil Jackson


I hear a lot about superheroes; more now than ever before. And I like Batman and Superman and Spiderman as much as the next guy, but I think that we need real heroes too. Real heroes are real people who do extraordinary things. They're just like you and me, but they've seen a challenge and they've stood up to it or they've done something about it. But real heroes don't have Hollywood promotion budgets and there aren't any real hero action figures either. Sometimes you don't even know it when a real hero is sitting next to you.

I've been sitting next to a real hero once a week and didn't know it. He didn't wear a cape and the only superpower I ever noticed is that he passed business referrals at our referral club lunch meeting. I liked him and respected him, but until this week I didn't realize that he was a hero.

In my business referral club I try to meet with each member at least once or twice a year so we can each learn more about the other person and more about their business. That way we can give each other better referrals. So on Friday I had a meeting at Starbucks with an insurance salesman in my club.

The thing about these one-to-one meetings is that you get to know people at a deeper level. I knew that he was an avid reader because I had never seen him without his Kindle in hand. We started talking about reading and he told me he wanted to start a non-profit to distribute books.

I was shocked to learn from him that there are school children in my state without library books to read. That means there are communities in our state that are so impoverished they can't give their kids something decent to read. I had no idea.

A couple of years ago he learned about this and did something about it. He found one of those schools and vowed to give the kids books for their library. He went to garage sales and accepted the books they couldn't sell. He went to suburban libraries and picked up free books that were worn and being discarded. And he went to used book stores and got donations.

He got help too. Some of his friends and his insurance clients heard about his work and started collecting books for him as well. Soon he had a whole community of people gathering books for kids to read. He boxed up the books and a little delegation of volunteers drove them to the small rural elementary school where they "literally" filled the little library up! (couldn't help the pun, it was just too sweet).

Here's a man who saw a need and he didn't shrug or shake his head. He knuckled down and did something about it, asking nothing in return for himself. Even now he doesn't speak about it, but quietly plans another book drive and possibly an organization that can give others a chance to help as well.

One man's passion (reading) combined with his vision (kids need library books) and his action (get books for them) translated into an opportunity others to give time and books so some poor elementary school kids can read and expand their minds, possibly finding their passions in the process. To me, that's the definition and the story of a hero.

You just never know if the person sitting next to you is a hero. You've got to speak with them, get to know them, and let them talk about their interests and passions. That's the core of networking. That's the core of being a friend. That's the core of building a business.

Let me ask you something. Is a hero sitting next to you? Take the time to get to know people. Knowing people is its own reward, and you never know who you're sitting next to unless you ask!

Posted in Business Building, Business Networking, Leadership | 1 Comment

“How to Really Connect with People in Business Networking”

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Phil Jackson

How do you connect with people in business networking, I mean really connect with people? When you're out doing your business networking and prospecting for clients, do you ever pause to think that these people you're meeting... these people are just the same as you? Are people at networking events just suits with business cards to you, mere unqualified prospects that you've got to "work"? Or are they really the whole point of the exercise?

Think about it, they all have weaknesses, fears, hopes, desires, loving family and friends; just like you do or just like you can! They're real people that you just haven't yet met. That's all, you haven't smiled at them yet, gripped their hands and shaken yet, and learned a little bit about their humanity, yet.

You and I are a lot alike, at least by my way of thinking. Were you born into a noisy strange world? Did you learn that you had a loving mother or grandmother, dad, brother; someone who cared about you? Were you excited when at long last it came time for your first day of real school? I remember with great detail how I felt waiting for that first school day, I thought it would never arrive! Did you have a first date and a first break-up? Maybe you got married or found a first job or lost a job or perhaps you've even been broke sometime in your life. Yep, me too. SURE me too!

So you and I, we share a certain sameness, and that sameness is our humanity and that's BIG! You and I would get along famously if we met face-to-face; in fact I guarantee it. We're alike, you and I. And those people at that business networking event, or that prospect behind the desk in the office building you'll soon be visiting, they're the same as you too.

So what does it really mean to connect with another person, instead of simply qualifying a prospect? So many of the books on selling tell us we should establish rapport and connect with people, get them to know, like and trust us. But what does it really mean to connect with a person, and why should you even care?

To me, connecting with a person is first sharing your sameness, your humanity, your caring self. It's trusting them enough up-front to let them feel a genuine warmness in your voice so they can feel enough trust to reciprocate in like kind. Don't miss out on the realness and the humanity of the person you are meeting. Don't miss out on the sameness that you share with them. Don't think that the only thing that matters is whether you get to make a sale or gain a customer.

May I take this one step further? The most important thing you can do in any business networking encounter is to connect with a person, any person you meet. Connect and enjoy that person. Share your sameness. Savor the opportunity to connect with another person because that connection and the sharing is one of life's highest rewards, and most definitely the reward that makes business a pleasure. Beyond connecting with people, everything else in business is just meeting needs and processing orders.

And this, my friend, is how you connect in business networking, and how business can be personal, caring, and meaningful to you. I know, because that's how it is for me. And after all, we're the same you and I.

Posted in Business Building, Business Networking | 2 Comments

Sales Failure to Business Building Rock Star: My Secret

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Phil Jackson

Hello it's Phil and as few as 5 years ago I was a complete sales disaster! Contrast that to today, where sales come seemingly effortlessly for me and I even own my own company. Today I'd like to talk about what changed so you can benefit from the same secret I learned.

My Failure As A Salesman

I remember sitting by my phone day after day, just trying to muster the nerve to pick up the receiver and call another prospect on my list and give them my pitch. I was so afraid of rejection, that I can remember hours passing between calls. Hours filled with straightening my desk, sorting files, calling an existing customer; anything but selling something. Imagine how this started eating at my self-esteem, so much that I started feeling unworthy of my paycheck, as if I was some sort of parasite on my employer.

In all my life I can't recall any time when I was more miserable and felt so worthless. The worst thing is that I had no idea what was wrong or how to fix it. How could I have allowed myself to get sidetracked from a successful marketing career into a sales job that I just couldn't make work?

The Secret To My Sales Success

The secret was simple: in order to sell to people, you must first build rapport and then a relationship. Instead of selling something to them you must help them solve a problem or a fill a gap. I learned that I needed to take the initiative to get to know people, to offer them my insights and experiences when I could. This helped them come to like me. And by being consistent and providing that value over time, they learned to trust me. With this in place selling was forever changed for me.

Referral Clubs And The Sales Secret

Now incidentally, the vehicle that brought my attention to this time-tested relationship selling secret was the Gold Star Referral Club. I had never heard of referral clubs until I stumbled onto my local club on MeetUp.com.

I visited, then joined, and then attended every week. I was invited to visit other Gold Star Clubs in my metro area and began building a large list of business contacts and new friends. People I met got to know me. We scheduled one-to-one meetings to learn more. The members got to know me and my business. And I got to know them likewise.

And through this process of meeting new people and building meaningful relationships I began to make sale after sale. And it was almost effortless. I just met people and learned about them and tried my best to help them.

Consider This

Learning to build relationships with people instead of jumping in front of them and trying to sell to them is a magical process. I truly believe that referral clubs are a major asset to small businesses who want to grow, and my small business is a prime example of the success of these clubs.

What do you think about referral clubs? Have you investigated any in your local area? If there are not any referral clubs near you, contact me and I can help you organize one. I do that now for Gold Star as a way of giving back for the success I've enjoyed.

Posted in Business Building, Business Networking, Referrals | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

“How to Grow Your Business Through Business Network Referrals”

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Phil Jackson

Hello it's Phil and did you know that the majority of small businesses in America cite business network referrals as their chief source of new business?  Referrals are the lifeblood of a small business, whether your business is a local mom and pop, a professional practice, a growing corporation or a network marketing distributorship.  It doesn't really matter what you do, the fact is that you need to add new customers if you are going to grow your business.  In my opinion referrals are the easiest way to do that. What are you doing to grow referrals to your business?

5 Ways To Grow Through Business Network Referrals

Here is my list of the five things you need to do to help your company grow through referrals.

1.  Encourage referrals

You need to encourage referrals from your customers, your employees, your strategic business partners and suppliers.  I would add one important category to this, you should encourage referrals from other business owners as well.  The first thing you need to do is let them know that you really value their referrals and hope that they will recommend your business to their friends and contacts.  If you don't tell them, then they're not going to be as likely to refer to you.

2.  Thank people who refer to you

Thank the person who made the referral and follow up with them.  You've got to reward the behaviors you want, remember Pavlov's dog?  You want to quickly respond back to the person who referred a customer to you, whether that referral resulted in a sale or not.

3.  Treat them specially

If a customer is referred to you, make them feel special as a result.  Tell them that referrals are your favorite kind of customer.  Ask them how they know the person who referred them.  If what you offer doesn't turn out to be the right thing for them, recommend someplace they can go and get what they need.  Plant these seeds and you will grow your referral business and your business at the same time.

4.  Create a referral plan

Think about your referral business as a precious asset.  Nurture referrals by planning for them.  Plan ways to encourage others to refer to you.  Plan how you are going to treat new referred customers - perhaps there should be special website where referred customers can be welcomed.  Plan how you want your employees to treat referred customers and how you want to encourage and reward employees for referring business to you.

5.  Make referrals yourself

One of the best ways to get more referrals is to make referrals to other businesses.  People are naturally inclined to respond in like manner.  After a few referrals to one of your suppliers, don't be surprised if you start receiving referrals from them as well.  One of the ways I encourage my clients to grow their referrals is to start a business network referrals group; I belong to the Gold Star Business Referral Clubs and receive the majority of my business through their referrals.

So if you are a small business owner you definitely want to encourage more business network referrals to your business.  Be grateful for every referral and let other know you appreciate their referrals.  Finally get active yourself by joining a business network referral club and really turning up the power on your referral process!

Posted in Business Building, Referrals | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Business Networking and Building Rapport

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Phil Jackson

Hello it’s Phil with some thoughts on building rapport while networking for business.  Today I was visiting a local business referral club and they shared one of my favorite networking tips, so I thought I’d write about it.  Now if you don’t know, business referral clubs are a very effective way to grow your business.  Today’s group meets weekly to pass referrals.  I’ll write more about business referral groups, but back to today’s business tip.

The Business Networking Event

Think about a business networking event you’ve been to, or if you’re into social media, think about a person you’ve met.  We all know to introduce ourselves, that’s polite, right?  Sure it is, and that’s always the first thing you’ll do when you meet someone.  Now we don’t go to business networking events for the fun of it, although they are tons of fun if you like meeting people.  We go hoping to meet people who will become our customers or help us grow our business in some way, yes?  Absolutely yes.  But that’s our ultimate objective, not our task objective.  And herein lies the trap that many networkers fall into.  Whether you are a business owner, a CEO, a sales representative or a network marketing distributor/associate, your task objective should NOT be to sell!  Ah, that’s worthy of repeating.  You should not sell to people you’ve just met.  Well, generally, but the exceptions are for another post.

Business Networking Rapport Disaster

Of course this begs the question, “What the heck, Phil.  If I’m going to a meeting to build my business, how am I going to do it if I can’t sell?”  And I see it all the time, and if you’re a people watcher, you have too.  A business person comes into a networking event or onto Facebook or Twitter, and politely introduces themselves telling their name and company and, maybe, a little detail about themselves for rapport-building purposes.  Voila, good first move.  Then it falls apart from there.  The other person responds with their name and company and a little about themselves.  And maybe there are a couple more polite exchanges back and forth, then the our valiant business person ruins it.  “I’ve got a great widget that would really help you out.  You need to look at it.”  Or some other sales come-on.

You can literally feel the rapport drain out the soles of the other person’s shoes as this happens.  Not drip, but gush out.  They immediately go on the defensive.  Why?  It’s not like Sir Sells-a-lot has bad breath or isn’t a nice guy.  The problem is that he violated their trust by pitching their widget before there was a relationship.  And you say, “Phil, you just said they introduced themselves.  And if rapport was gushing out, that means that there was some rapport.”  Yep, I did say that.  But only the initial underpinnings of rapport were there.  So much more is needed before you can pitch something to a near-stranger!  Nine out of ten times they’ll run for the hills when you do that!

Business Networking Rapport Builder

Okay, enough, what should have happened in our little scenario?  What should the task objective have been?  Get to know them.  Get to know them as a person first.  Ask questions, don’t pitch.  Not just any questions, and certainly not interrogative yes/no questions.  Ask open end questions that get them to talk about themselves.  In fact this is easy, just remember who, what, when, where, why, and how!  Ask any polite question using one of those adjectives.  Who invited you today?  What do you think about the meeting so far?  When did you move to this city?  Where do you like to vacation?  Why did you join us here today?  How did you learn about today’s meeting?  Just get them talking.  Nothing heavy at first, but building toward more detail as you go.

Hopefully along the way they will reciprocate and ask you questions.  And if you’re good, you’ll listen actively to what they say.  Pick up on interesting details and comment about those and ask more questions.  This is the way to build rapport.

Now, what do you want to achieve?  Well you’re evaluating in the back of your mind whether this is a person who would be a good candidate for your product or service.  If so, when the rapport and discussion is full-flowing, it’s time to move on, but not without asking for an opportunity to continue the conversation and learn a bit more about their job or company or products.  Set an appointment for coffee, in a neutral environment if it feels better.  There, now you have it.  The task goal of business networking is to get to know someone and build enough trust to get them to agree to meet you again and continue the conversation in more detail!  Not to sell them something.

And just a word about selling them something; you’ll know when they are ready to hear about what you have to sell, because if you’ve built enough trust through active listening and open end questioning.  They’ll feel like friends quickly enough and they’ll ask you about your company or product or service!  Remember, people like to do business with people they know.  In business networking while building rapport, don’t be in a hurry to qualify them and pitch them.  Get to know the person first and the rest will follow.

Posted in Business Building, Business Networking | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

“Do You Have a Networking Passion?”

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Phil Jackson

Do you have networking passion?  I find that connecting with people and building relationships is one of the most interesting things that I do.  Through the relationships we build we can exercise our innate interest in helping others. And it is through helping others that we are happy.  If you can't get passionate about that, then what?

I was inspired by a person I just just met through Ning community.  In response to my friend request he asked a fantastic question!  He asked me, "What is your passion?"  I've had that question before, but at this point in our new conversation I wasn't expecting it.  But what a powerful and revealing question!  It gets right to the heart of what makes a person tick, even their their self-defined purpose, doesn't it?  By learning someone's passion, we gain a true insight into a person we are getting to know.

I just received a call from a fellow networking enthusiast who wanted to know where the Friday Gold Star Referral Club meets.  Apparently the location has changed and the website hasn't updated yet.  I didn't know, but because I'm passionate about networking, I know somebody who does know!  Not a very revealing interaction, but one that helped another person.  And isn't that worth the effort?  So armed with the name and phone number of one of my contacts, off he went to find the Friday meeting.  And now I know two people who can get me to the Friday meeting!

So why not be passionate with your business networking?  Whether you're networking face-to-face, on Twitter or Facebook or other social media, be inspired by the interaction and the opportunity to meet new people, connect with them and build relationships.  Will all of them give you the opportunity to help others and be a happier person?  No.  But isn't it worth the investment to see?  Adopt a networking passion!

Posted in Business Networking | Tagged , | 9 Comments