There are leads clubs and there are referral networking groups.  Whats the difference between a lead and a referral?Which is better?You might hear people talking about leads, and referrals.  Is there a difference?  If so, which one is better?A lead involves only 2 people….  The person supplying the information, and the service provider receiving it.  A referral involves the customer in the conversation.  The customer gives permission to be contacted.The referral ‘giver’ has warmed up the customer, and the service provider will have an easier time closing that deal.This is why I’d rather have 1 good referral than 3 leads….  In an upcoming episode I’ll talk about how you can start creating your own small but powerful referral network.  In the meantime, check your local area of chapters of BNI…..the Business Network International.  They are a true referral networking group…….NOT a leads club.With over 8,000 chapters worldwide, you are sure to find one near you.  In Winnipeg for example, we have 7 active chapters, with the BNI Accelerators being the largest and most productive one.Check out businessnetworkingwinnipeg.com for more infoThank you to Rob White of Urban Topcoat.

Grow Your Business

Business Networking 101: Leads vs Referrals - What's the difference?

To subscribe to the 'Grow Your Business' podcast, go here:  Grow Your BusinessYears ago, 60 minutes article, talked about a grocery chain who had done a survey which revealed that the cost of keeping a current customer is a small fraction of the cost of acquiring a new customer.REALTORS have knows this for decades, and in fact many have built their business almost completely on referrals by past clients.Everything I’m going to talk about is based on one basic premise:  That you provide an excellent service or sell an excellent product.  For this to work, you need to start with happy customers.  If you do a shoddy job, I can save you some time right now, nothing I say will help with that.First step is to simply ask for a referral at the right time.  Whats the right time?  When your customer is at their happiest.  You’ve just shown them the fancy features on their new furnace, or gone over the paint job you just did.  They are happy, and at their most agreeable state.  That’s a great time to ask for a referral….   Make sure it’s a referral, not a lead…..  I’ll explain the difference in another episode.Maybe they’ll give you a referral, maybe not.  But they’re happy, so you’re happy, and you leave thinking they’ll send you business down the road.  Right????Not so fast.  There was a study done where they asked home owners this question:  The agent you used to buy or sell your last home, would you use them again?  80% said YES.Follow up question:  What was that agents name?  20% knew the answer.Buying or selling a house is arguably the most important financial step most people will ever make.  Yet only 20% remembered their agent.So if 80% don’t remember them, do you really think they will remember you, just because you painted their house, shingled their roof or sold them a car?  They need to be reminded about you and your excellent service.Entire systems have been creating to make it easier for real estate professionals to keep to a schedule of staying in touch with past clients.  But those systems don’t need to be JUST for real estate agents.A little side note here:  Studies have shown that letters sent in the standard #10 envelopes often receive the same level of attention and love associated with bills and notices.So if you’re going to send out personal touch-points, try using postcard-sized envelopes, which have a much higher opening rate.So, you can develop your own system, but as you add more clients to it, it might become confusing…..especially if you chose to send cards on the anniversary of your interaction with them……  so for example, 1 year AFTER they bought a new car, installed a new furnace, etc etc.Incidentally, you will WANT to send cards outside of the normal dates.  Everyone gets Christmas cards, Easter  etc…..Pick dates when no one else sends them.  Check your own industry to see if they have a nationally recognized day, or send a card on the anniversary of your dealings with them. Their birthday (if you remember to ask), or other holidays which are not the usual days where people send cards.There is a system out there that has many of the answers and solutions for these kind of issues:  SendOutCards canStart with one client and work up to an infinite numberAdd clients throughout the year, as your business growsYou select the number of touch-points per clientTheir cards are sent as postcards, with script style addressing, and faux postage stamps. Lets talk with a friend of mine, who is an affiliate with SendOutCards, Ted Vailas.  I have a few questions for him on how this system works. 

How To Turn Your Happy Customers Into Referral Machines

Establishing an online presenceBlog vs Social MediaThinking of establishing an online presence? Lets start off with a cautionary tale;A few years ago THE Google started its own social network, called GOOGLE PLUSEnticed bloggers to write their blog posts right inside the platform.Holy Grail of online marketing:  be found on googlePeople jumped on this chance.  One online guru even abandoned his own blog and advised people to get on G+.Google did what google has done in the past….when they have a product thats not performing to expectations, they shut it down.G+ now folded, and people had 6 months to remove all their posts.Remember MySpace?  Who is to say if FB will be around forever?Don’t build your home on rented land.Real Estate refers to the LAND,  that’s whats most important.The answer…..   publish a blog on a  platform you own.Medium, Tumbler, Blogger……Wordpress.org... are all owned by someone else, and considered 'rented land'.  They can shut you down, block access or simply go out of business.Example of a better option is a wordpress blog on a server you have access to.  You’ll pay under 10 bucks a month to start.  But have the ability to grow.Control how it looks, add plugins to change how it looks reads, improve user experience etc…What do you write about?  It's an important factor and we will discuss that in another episode.Here are some of the links I promised. Hostgator is a great place to start.Another great option is BlueHost.Subscribe to this podcast on many podcatchers, including spotify.

Establishing Your Online Presence - Don't build on 'Rented Land'

Please allow me to introduce myself: I’m Bo Kauffmann, a residential real estate agent with Remax Performance Realty in Winnipeg.As a realtor, I’m actually a self-employed business man, responsible for generating my own leads, customers, clients and business.In that regard, I’m exactly the same as every small business owner in the world. Whether you’re a florist, running a store front shop, or a plumber, roofer, travel agent or life insurance sales rep.Even commission based car sales reps have a choice to make: spend your time in the showroom waiting for customers to walk in, or use some of the tips I will share in this podcast to promote yourselves and become responsible for your own financial security.So although I am a real estate agent, this podcast is aimed at ANY small business person, and in fact some of the techniques I will share will be even more powerful when employed by someone OTHER than a realtor.Over the past 15 years, I’ve learned that my business depends on several different streams of revenue. Like the proverbial 3-legged stool, my customers come via 3 main sources.In no particular order, there is digital marketing which includes blogging, podcasting, you-tubing and all sorts of social media exposure and marketing.The end goal is to be found online, by potential customers, and get them to take that step to contact you and buy from you.The 2nd stream comes via organized networking. Collaborating with other businesses to help each other grow. To that end, I’ve been a member of a local chapter of BNI (Business Network International). With over 8,000 chapters around the world, there is sure to be one in your city, or nearby. But even if you don’t belong to a BNI chapter, I will share some tips and advice to help you get the most out of organized networking,The third source is referrals from past customers, clients, friends and family. Real estate agents have known for decades that past customers are a great source of future business.I believe every business can benefit from this, and a lot of businesses are not making use of some very simple techniques that I will share.That’s what I meant earlier when I said that some of these techniques are even more powerful when employed by someone other than a realtor.Imagine if you’re a roofer who sends ‘thank you’ cards, or anniversary cards to your past customers. Or a furnace company, a house painter or plumber? Imagine how you will set yourself apart from your competition by doing some very simple things which have been employed by real estate agents for years.Each episode will tackle one of these stream: digital marketing, organized networking or referral marketing.Some episodes will include phone interviews with other marketing experts, while others will be just me, sharing stuff I’ve learned.Why am I investing this time and effort? For one, I simply like to share some of my hard-earned experience and help others grow in their business.And if you’re a WINNIPEG business, Im hoping you’ll return the favor and send some real estate referrals and business my way.That’s it….. thank you for listening, and I hope you enjoy the ‘cast. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, please leave comments wherever you can, or show me some love by subscribing or following me.If you think you can benefit from this podcast, please take a moment to hit the subscribe button so that you’ll be notified of the next episode.Follow me on Youtube,  Listen to my Real Estate Podcast   

Grow Your Business - Whats This Podcast All About? Introductory Episode

Tips for small business owners on how to grow your business with digital marketing, organized networking and referrals.

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Grow Your Business

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