Networking and Referrals
A great deal of our business comes from partnerships and referrals. For example, a designer we work with recommends us to a general contractor; we do a job for that contractor and he decides to use our services on future projects. He also recommends us to a friend who needs electrical repairs on her home and she in turn recommends us to another friend, and so on. Over the past couple of years we have endeavored to create and nurture professional partnerships with individuals and companies who provide the best services and products in our industry. Invariably these partnerships have led to additional connections, which in turn have led to even more professional relationships. Over time the process becomes exponential.
Through this networking and referral approach to marketing we have achieved a slow but steady growth in business over the past several years of economic turmoil. I believe we are likely to see a continued growth over the next few years even if the economy remains sluggish. And if we see a major economic recovery – all the better. The point is that we are seeking and finding ways to strengthen and grow our business that are not dependent on a quick economic recovery. I think this approach could be beneficial to many other small businesses who want to survive and even prosper in these challenging times.
The key to success with this marketing approach is to create real relationships with real people. If you join a business network thinking only about what you’re going to get out of it – you’re not likely to get far. But if you build relationships with people that you truly enjoy working with and if you genuinely have their interests in mind as much as your own – those relationships are bound to be fruitful over time. We need to create networks of like minded business professionals – people who are striving to be the best in their fields; then we must endeavor to support the growth of each business in that network. Each relationship must be beneficial to all parties involved.
This brings us to the most important factor of all. If we are not offering the best products and services possible; our customers are not going to recommend us to anyone, nor are we going to attract the professional partnerships we need. Why not strive to be the best we can be? It makes life more meaningful and it makes our work more exciting. By pursuing a path of excellence and by cultivating a genuine desire to be of service to our clients and associates we create a magnetism that will attract our industry’s brightest men and women into our professional networks.
“When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.”
– Hellen Keller
Joel Holliman, owner of Archetype Electrical Services at the LeTip International power event in Everett Washington. LeTip is an organization of business professionals whose purpose is the exchange of business referrals.
