In a digital age, we have the power of every business element at the convenience of our fingertips. This means advertising that may have taken extended time or resources in our past, no longer require such heavy commitments to carry out. The benefits of marketing referrals are definitely on this list. However, the term marketing referrals can strike fear into many small business owners. While most understand their vital importance, they also understand that it can be difficult to carry out.

What Does This Mean for Your Business?

Referrals are an excellent source of garnering new consumers for your business. The hugely successful conversions come from the fact that someone has viewed your business as a reliable, reputable source of a particular product or service. When that person shares and lauds your business to their friends, your business brings in consumers that come with a default level of trust. This default trust should be handled with kid gloves. When it is, those people then go share their customer service experience with others. Soon what you have is a customer base that not only trusts you to handle their business, but is also not afraid to promote you given the chance.

If you plan to make your business a successful one, one of the best ways to ensure that is to actively seek marketing referrals.

Why Are Referrals So Valuable?

Just as described above, marketing referrals bring you consumers who have already extended a level of trust to you. Once you prove their trust right, you have a relatively easy-won customer for life. When your businesses brand reputation brings in marketing referrals, you can always stop there. However, if you want your business to remain profitable, you may want to consider continuing to actively seek these types of referrals. If you are inexperienced, it can be a good plan to attempt one marketing referral practice per week.

When at all possible, make sure your referrers are rewarded. There is no better way to ensure that a business or individual will continue to refer you. If you sweeten the deal enough, they may actively search for marketing referrals on your behalf.

How Do You Encourage Others to Refer Your Business?

There are quite a few ways to encourage other individuals and even other businesses to share your business with their consumers, friends or family. One method as mentioned above is to make sure your referrers are always rewarded, nicely.

Don’t underestimate the power of affordable gifts, either. If a relating business has customers who would also enjoy your products or services, head over to that business and toss in a free keychain, coffee mug, or other similar gift, with your brand logo visible, that they can give away to their customers.

Make your presence know by attending relevant trade shows or events as well. Many people are quite fed up with big corporations and actively seek out smaller “Mom and Pop” businesses to spend their money. Making eye contact, shaking hands and handing out business cards is still a great way to earn those marketing referrals.

Welcome to what is arguably one of the most difficult and challenging and yet most rewarding career choices in the world today. You have decided to embark on an adventure which will test your patience, endurance, and resolve to remain dedicated to reach your goals and define yourself as a leader in the industry. A career choice that will require serious investments in studies and skill building such as leadership, marketing, communications and building relationships and these are only the tip of the iceberg. You will find resistance, declination, and objections at every corner and your decision to remain committed every day will be tried and tested. Are you ready to give up yet?

Welcome to the world of network marketing!

It’s so often that people misunderstand exactly what network marketing is and very often the questions asked are typically answered by those that didn’t go the distance and truly commit to the much needed efforts required by being successful either part or full time. In this article I’ll address a few of the questions that might typically come up during conversation and how I respond. When we are educated on how to answer these objections as to network marketing, we set ourselves up for success. Knowledge after all is power.

“I heard that network marketing is a pyramid scheme!” I hope I can lay this to rest, pyramid schemes are illegal in all fifty states here in the United States. Actually, did you know that in pyramid schemes you are paid a fee to get people into your business? Only the people who were able to get in at the very early inception of a particular pyramid scheme would make any real money. Everyone else, those at the bottom typically never raise above one or two levels and in most cases end up losing money on these illegal investments. In network marketing such as my business, I only get paid by products or memberships sold by people in my particular team as a result of the coaching and relationship building that is achieved through time spent cultivating those relationships. Recruiting efforts are performed to increase the business overall and everyone has an equal opportunity to earn income in any part or full time capacity by building their individual brand and company.

“I just don’t have the time to commit to network marketing.” Well, as with anything, you get back what you put in. You can definitely develop full time income potential by the investment of your time spent coaching and developing not only yourself but others as well. Many people do just as I did when I started out. I dedicated roughly about ten hours per week simply building my own skill set and doing research on what I needed to be successful. Then I found when I talked to others that recognized me as a leader in my home business and actually reached out to me to learn more, I typically would spend an hour or so with each person. Time is definitely a factor, and at first it can be overwhelming. But knowing that much like Rome, your home business in network marketing isn’t intended to be built in a day, learning to have patience and allow yourself time to grow and having the right leadership that will coach and maintain an important business relationship with you is key.

“I heard I have to hit up my friends and family in something called a ‘warm market’”. Sure, you definitely do have that option to hit up friends and family. However if done right, and with the right leadership and business strategy, one in which I discuss and coach on my website, you can learn techniques to establish yourself as an authority in leadership and your home business so that you attract people to you online and within your community. All network marketing businesses will sell a variety of products, services, or memberships to address specific needs. By all means if a friend or family had a specific need and you had a solution, why wouldn’t you talk to them about it? However, as I said before, establishing yourself as a leader and building your brand would be a worthwhile undertaking and prove to be an influential asset in your new network marketing business.

“It will take too long to be able to make money in network marketing”. I agree to some degree that it could take time and patience to reach a point where your returns on investments are showing in the green. Something I remind people is that my definition of ‘too long’ and someone else’s may be entirely different. Surely a recruiter who sets the precedence that someone will ‘earn fortunes in weeks’ or ‘enable you to quit your day job in a matter of months’ is definitely an incorrect one. Not to mention shame on that recruiter for setting these types of expectations. The result from these scenarios are typically the person becomes frustrated that they aren’t seeing the results as promised in the time frame suggested. I think it is very important that people truly comprehend that starting a network marketing opportunity can definitely pay out huge dividends in the long run. It is not a quick business or ‘get fast rich’ venture by any means. Time investments in continued self development, reading books, attending seminars, following training CDs, and building your own infrastructure of how to operate your business with the right leadership will help anyone to become successful. Make sure you start your business slowly and allow your snow ball to build momentum over time as it rolls down hill and grows.

With your choice to talk to people face-to-face through what I like to also term Relationship Marketing, or utilize the power of the Internet, or both to drive your business the possibilities of success for you and the team you build are endless! Good luck on your network marketing adventure!

Darin McCall