(The Referral Guy) Referral Planning Meetings - Steve Sweeney

The Referral Guy
S6 Episode 5
Show Notes
Episode Title – Referral Planning Meetings

Introduction
Referral Planning Meetings are conducted within Strategic Referral Teams. They are specially designed meetings enabling team members to educate other members in how each can assist the others. They may be both 1-2-1 and group meetings.

​Show Objectives
To pass on some valuable information that gives business owners the ability to better understand how Referral Planning Meetings can help generate more and better quality referrals. To achieve this, we must first be on the same page about what is and isn’t a referral. Having this understanding will help you pass better quality referrals and receive better quality referrals.

Additionally, if you’re in any referral generation organisation, you need to understand how to turn leads into referrals or you may end up putting a lot of people offside. After all… they joined to receive referrals, not leads.

What You Need to Know

Segment 1
What is a lead? What is a referral? Why is it important to know the difference?

Well… with referrals, you have a higher conversion rate, waste less time and make more money! It’s that simple. Oh, and when you’re receiving them, you aren’t selling yourself. Your Referral Partner is selling you!

But here’s the take home message, if you’re in a Referral Partner relationship, you better be passing referrals! Or… you won’t be in that relationship for very long. Sorry, it’s the truth. So learn how to turn leads into referrals and keep your own referrals flowing.

Segment 2

• Battery Hen
• Golden Egg
• Goose

Yeah… sounds way off base, right? But in fact, understanding these concepts which delineate the relative value of referrals will significantly affect how you go about attracting them. Each has their place since businesses evolve so none is better than the other. The ones you want to attract are simply a matter of timing, capability, capacity and, well… sometimes bravery!

Segments 3 & 4

Now you’re ready to learn about what goes on in a Referral Planning Meeting.

Members join Strategic Referral Teams (SRTs) because they want to attract more and better quality referrals. This requires organisation and accountability. Accordingly, these meetings are not member recruitment meetings for the parent networking organisation.
So, there are no visitors.

During their formation and under the guidance of their facilitator, members – 

• Develop their own agendas for their SRT
• Decide how frequently to meet and the duration of their meetings
• Create their own goals
• Create the KPIs that enable the goals to be met.

Then during normal meetings, members – 

• Educate each other on the types of referrals they are looking for
  • Battery Hen/Golden Egg/Goose
  • The industry sectors they’d like to work with
  • The nature of any particular businesses within the sectors
  • The position within the business they would prefer to be connected with
• Teach each other how they can assist other members in the week/fortnight/month ahead
• Plan networking events to attend
• Plan networking events to host as a group
• Plan their 1-2-1s for the next week/fortnight/month
• Use Referral Tools to generate referrals for each other
• Further develop their referral generation communication skills through training
• Discuss growth strategies if desired
• Give presentations on how they can help other members
• Present to the group on what they have done to achieve their KPIs
• Discuss member outcomes and work together to ensure all members are receiving sufficient referrals
• May seek guidance from their Facilitator on any issues, improvements, events, problems… you name it, your Facilitator is there for the SRT.

Listen in or download the podcast to learn more.

What You Need to Do
Understanding the different types of referrals will affect your ability to attract them and generate them for others. And remember, if you want to be given them… you absolutely must be able to generate them!

This show has skimmed the surface on this topic. It’s one thing to know how to identify the different types of referrals, quite another thing to become adept at generating them. For referral generation and attraction techniques contact me at info@referralacademy.com.au 

If you’re interested in learning more about Strategic Referral Teams, contact Steve. Once formed, you’ll all be trained to run and profit from your own Referral Planning Meetings.

You may even like to learn about becoming a guest on my show so you can reach a global audience in 176 countries.
Would that change your business?

Previous Show
Season 6 Show 4 – How to Use Networking Functions to Attract Referrals
In this week’s show, I covered 10 tips so you can network with a purpose. Even if you put half of these into practice, you’ll double your outcomes. 

And remember the all important tip – Don’t Sell! Go there to initiate or develop relationships.

Next Show
Season 6 Show 5 – Co-Working Spaces & Referrals 
Co-working spaces can be wonderful breeding grounds for the exchange of referrals. All it takes to make this occur is for management to express the will to create the environment for this to take place. Then watch the opportunities flow.

But what’s in it for the management of a co-working space if their clients are regularly exchanging referrals? Why should they care?
Stable clients who are making money in referral teams create cash flow certainty and a growing business. Want to learn more? Tune in next week.


Your Host and Resource
Hey, I’m Steve Sweeney… The Referral Guy.

Being a Specialist Referral Marketing Trainer provides me with wonderful opportunities to help business owners attract more business by referral. This is one of the most cost-effective methods of marketing as it relies 100% on the quality of relationships you have with people in your network. Once trained, your skills last a lifetime and continue to pay dividends.

The Australian Referral Training Academy (ARTA) exists to teach business owners and sales professionals the art and science of attracting referrals and helps them build their own Strategic Referral Teams (SRT)

Shoot me an email if you’d like to learn more info@referralacademy.com.au

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