One of the most common networking questions I get asked is, “How do I generate referrals for other people?”  Well, this same question is exactly what I was asking myself in the early ’80s when I was just starting my consulting business. I came up with a technique that had a huge impact on my ability to provide quality referrals to others–which, of course, led to me getting referrals. I realized that I needed to be the person whom people came to if they needed a referral for anything–the...

I just read a great book called Do you matter? How great design will make people love your company.  Co-written by my good friend, bestselling author and corporate consultant Stewart Emery along with former Apple industrial design director Robert Brunner, the book begins by asking if you, in fact, matter to your customers. Think about it . . . this is a really important question.  Has your product, service or brand established an emotional connection with your customers to the extent that they’re invested in...

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the Speakers-Authors Networking Group (SANG) in Las Vegas and got to spend some time talking with my good friend Marci Shimoff.  Marci is one of the teachers in the movie The Secret and I met her some years ago at a meeting of Jack Canfield’s Transformational Leadership Council, of which we are both members.  While in Vegas, Marci shared with me some ideas from her new book, Happy for for No Reason. I found her ideas about finding happiness amid a recession to be particularly...

My  good friend and partner in the Referral Institute, Mike Macedonio (pictured here), is my guest blogger today.  He recently wrote a great article about referrals that takes an interesting look at the two investments involved in referral marketing–time and money.  If you want to learn how to avoid falling into the trap of being penny wise and time foolish, I recommend that you read this material–it’s great content. Penny Wise and Time Foolish By Mike Macedonio Is it just me or is anyone else sh...

I’d like to take this opportunity to personally invite all of my blog readers to join me in Las Vegas, Nev., less than two weeks from now for the iLearningGlobal Launch Conference and Mastermind Event. I will be speaking at the conference on Friday, March 2o, and I would love the opportunity to meet you face-to-face.  John McLelland, CEO of iLearningGlobal, has generously provided me with a link to share with my network that offers a 10 percent discount on registration fees.  In addition, if you use this link...

My long-time friend Annie Armen, better known as “The Hurricane” on Annie Armen LIVE Talk Radio, has just come out with a great new CD called “Legends in Excellence–The Series,” which features 20 of the world’s top authorities on success.                                                                                                              Annie took hundreds of hours ...

As I’ve said time and time again, I firmly believe that the way to survive and thrive in an economic downturn is to ignore the doom-and-gloom headlines and focus instead on what you can do to grow your business despite fluctuations in the economy. That’s why I’m hoping all of you will join me in participating in Make a Referral Week, which is a campaign inviting everyone around the globe to make 1,000 referrals during the week of March 9-13.  It’s an entrepreneurial approach to stimulat...

I’ve often talked about how blogging is a great way to get yourself known and establish a lot of credibility with your readership.  The thing is, however, that to really make the most of your blog, you need to be posting at least once or twice a week. If you don’t post enough, people will lose the incentive to come back time and time again. People who are just starting out will often struggle to come up with enough ideas to allow them to blog this frequently. If you face this problem, check out my new ...

I’ve always believed that it’s critical for businesspeople to participate in a range of networks, from fairly informal networks like chambers of commerce to dedicated networks like BNI, where people meet to pass referrals.  More recently, online business networks such as Linkedin and Ecademy have emerged, and these should now also be part of your networking activity. The important thing to learn and remember when you’re first getting involved in online networks is that the same principles apply to ...