Referral return on investment

One of the best ways to get a return on your networking investment is to start referring your contacts to others. Your ability to provide quality referrals to others will lead to increased referrals for you. Become a gate keeper: the person whom others come to if they need a referral for anything.

Compose a letter which lists areas in which you know very credible professionals that you’d be happy to put your clients in contact with. Send the letter out to your clients several times a year. You can send out a quick e-mail to your permission-based database, but send out a hard copy at least once a year just to stand out.

By helping other people attain what they want before you start asking them to buy your product or services, you will establish credibility.

This is a strategy that gets people not only to contact you for a referral, but also to open up a dialogue with people about what your business is all about and how you can help them. This, in turn, leads to more business with existing clients and new business with prospects.