Join a Board
Referrals multiply in direct proportion to time spent interacting with clients, contacts and centers of influence, not to mention neighbors, competitors' clients, and retiring professionals. --Gerri Leder
There are no prospects within the walls of your office. You have to get out there! Leave your office. Join a board. Demonstrate your expertise at a community meeting. Attend the business-community social event or the private school's silent auction. Referrals multiply in direct proportion to time spent interacting with clients, contacts and centers of influence, not to mention neighbors, competitors' clients, and retiring professionals.
A banker I know served on a nonprofit board for nine years before a colleague on that board referred a commercial-lending opportunity. It ended up being the largest deal he closed all year. My banker-friend was all but convinced that he was volunteering for the greater good and not for business leads. He now realizes that community service benefits more than just the community. And the best part of all is that he never asked for a referral. He earned it through visibility and consistent work that he demonstrated through his many board activities.
-Gerri Leder is an industry marketing consultant, in The Secret to Referrals
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