Some people seem to think the idea of jump-starting a referral network to be difficult.
I think you can break it down very simply. The first thing you need to understand, however, is your territory and your plan. Before you can even start a referral process, you need to understand to things down to the specific accounts:
#1: Who are my Target accounts?
This is both in terms of a profile by geography, size, industry, title, revenue, and any other profile such as install base, pains, business goals. The second is an actual list of the names of companies you target. You need to just have a picture of who those could possibly be and figure out how to start developing a relationship. #2: Who can I trade-in or exchange as an Offer?
Don’t come to the table empty-handed. Think carefully about past prospects, customers, lost deals, etcetera that would be valuable. Names, titles, projects should all come to mind. Then…get out of your bubble and look up who is a good partner. I have lots of other information, particularly in the CD at www.allyforce.com/linkedin but also throughout the site to do that. Who do I want? Who do I offer? Simple.
This is both in terms of a profile by geography, size, industry, title, revenue, and any other profile such as install base, pains, business goals. The second is an actual list of the names of companies you target. You need to just have a picture of who those could possibly be and figure out how to start developing a relationship. #2: Who can I trade-in or exchange as an Offer?
Don’t come to the table empty-handed. Think carefully about past prospects, customers, lost deals, etcetera that would be valuable. Names, titles, projects should all come to mind. Then…get out of your bubble and look up who is a good partner. I have lots of other information, particularly in the CD at www.allyforce.com/linkedin but also throughout the site to do that. Who do I want? Who do I offer? Simple.