People Power

In theory, you can you build a business or make a career change all by yourself. Practically speaking, however, taking on either task can be an isolating experience that can lead to burnout, lack of work/life balance, and results that fall short of your expectations.

If you are a business owner, especially a solo-preneur, marketing to the general public can exhaust your energy and resources quickly. You can spend more time selling than doing billable work. If you are a career changer, you can search Internet job sites for 24 hours a day without anything to show for it.

A much better strategy is to find supportive colleagues and create a win/win relationship with them. Focus on helping them reach their goals, and they will be motivated to help you achieve your aspirations. This approach gets real results and lightens the load for everyone involved. That's the power of referral relationships.

Build Your Team

One key to beneficial relationships is finding the right set of people for your network. Business owners can start by locating other professionals who offer complementary services that do not overlap. For example, a chiropractor and massage therapist can refer people to each other and, essentially, double their pool of potential clients.

Entrepreneurs can also build relationships with professionals in unrelated fields who share their target market. For example, if your best clients are wealthy seniors, you can refer business to a reliable group of CPAs, estate attorneys, travel agents, even jewelers and day spa owners. These grateful entrepreneurs will then be more likely to recommend you to their clients. "Warm" leads such as these are more likely to close because they have heard about your business from someone they already know and trust.

This strategy works for career changers, too. Talking with people who work in your desired industry provides much more helpful information than searching want ads. You may learn about an unannounced job opening or get a leg up on the competition with a personal introduction from your contact. You may not be able to reciprocate right away, but staying in touch and letting your contact know you're available to help in the future goes a long way towards building good will.

You don't need a lot of people in your network. Choose as many colleagues as you are able to offer your focused, generous attention. (Read Q&A Your Way To Success for a step-by-step guide to building referral relationships.)

Solidify your Network

Once you've identified the colleagues you'd like in your referral relationship network, meet regularly with them. Entrepreneurs who spend time learning about each other's services and products can confidently refer business to their partners, and vice versa. Become a business or information resource for the people in your network. Remember, the more you give, the more your referral partners will reach out on your behalf.

As a career changer, you can harness the power of referral relationships by asking your current contacts if they know anyone in a particular industry or company. These people can lead you to others who are closer, and then closer still, to your desired job.

Online tools such as LinkedIn can help you identify common contacts that you may not have realized you had. Reach out to these people to hold a personal conversation. Thank each person for their time, and ask what information or assistance you can offer them in return.

Start looking today for your network partners and focus on helping them meet their goals. Building deep referral relationships will give you and your network partners an incredible boost.

About Merideth Mehlberg and Fresh Perspective Coaching

Merideth Mehlberg, founder of Fresh Perspective Coaching, helps her clients move towards new direction and meaning in their work, their businesses and their lives. She encourages her clients to dream big, and then she provides the compassion, insight, structure and support they need to transform their vision into reality.

If you could use assistance in taking your career or business to the next level, contact Merideth at 510.864.0249 or mer@freshperspectivecoaching.com to schedule a complimentary consultation and sample coaching session.

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