Teaming up for fun and profit
Many independents provide a service that just part of the puzzle. In my business, for instance, I create the design. But, I often need to tap into photographers, writers, programmers and others to get the gig finished. Over time, I developed a core group of folks I work with on a regular basis. Odds are, you have a similar network of complementary service providers.
How about tapping into that team for referrals? My group does this all the time. A clients comes to my main photographer needing some images for a new web site. The photographer says, "So, who going to build your site?" The client says, "Dunno yet." Bingo! The photographer says, "Hey, I know this guy ..." This scenario happens pretty often. Since many clients don't know the process, it's not unusual for them to go to a photographer before finding a designer. They figure, get all the elements and then find the designer. The reverse of this is true too. I land a nifty gig and need images, I refer my photographer.
If you do this, everybody in your network ends up with a little sales force who are out there selling each other.
An accountant might consider partnering with an attorney, an investment advisor and maybe an insurance agent. My dad was a carpenter who always work with the same electrician and plumber and they all referred each other. A hair stylist might consider partnering up with a massage therapist.
There are a couple of tricks to this. First, seek out those businesses that complement yours and where you share a common target audience. Next, don't leave things to chance. Get your together and plan you referral tactics. Those might include giving each other a stack of business cards, brochures and other marketing materials. It might also mean sharing prospect lists. Let's say you have a list of 300 and so do the other folks. All of a sudden you've each got over 1000 prospects. Finally, be sure sure to keep in touch with your group. Folks get busy and tend to forget.
This simple, no cost marketing technique, done consistently over time, may be the ticket to kick up your business' growth curve.
How about tapping into that team for referrals? My group does this all the time. A clients comes to my main photographer needing some images for a new web site. The photographer says, "So, who going to build your site?" The client says, "Dunno yet." Bingo! The photographer says, "Hey, I know this guy ..." This scenario happens pretty often. Since many clients don't know the process, it's not unusual for them to go to a photographer before finding a designer. They figure, get all the elements and then find the designer. The reverse of this is true too. I land a nifty gig and need images, I refer my photographer.
If you do this, everybody in your network ends up with a little sales force who are out there selling each other.
An accountant might consider partnering with an attorney, an investment advisor and maybe an insurance agent. My dad was a carpenter who always work with the same electrician and plumber and they all referred each other. A hair stylist might consider partnering up with a massage therapist.
There are a couple of tricks to this. First, seek out those businesses that complement yours and where you share a common target audience. Next, don't leave things to chance. Get your together and plan you referral tactics. Those might include giving each other a stack of business cards, brochures and other marketing materials. It might also mean sharing prospect lists. Let's say you have a list of 300 and so do the other folks. All of a sudden you've each got over 1000 prospects. Finally, be sure sure to keep in touch with your group. Folks get busy and tend to forget.
This simple, no cost marketing technique, done consistently over time, may be the ticket to kick up your business' growth curve.
1 Comments:
I agree that this can be an extremely lucrative form of networking. When I first set up on my own there were several projects that I had to turn down because I wasn't able to provide all the services that the client required. Now I work with a small group of fellow independent professionals who complement what I do (Web design). This means that if a large project comes along, I can put together a team that can handle it. I do the design work and partner with copywriters, photographers, database programmers and Flash specialists.
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