There is no place where it is more important to show gratitude than in your referral marketing activities. Letting people know that you appreciate what they have done for you makes it easier for that person to refer you again.

I find that women are so much better at thanking others for helping them than men are. Why is that? A hand written note or a small token of appreciation, hands down women are most effective at showing appreciation.

So, the rest of this article is for the men. Say thank you to the people who refer you, thank those who connect you to the people you want to be connected to. Systems like Sendoutcards make it easy for you say thanks. You can create a card, add a little gift if you want and send it out, all online. It takes all of 10 minutes, but the return is 10 fold. If you don’t want to use Sendoutcards come up with a system of your own, make it a habit.

People want to be thanked, people want to be appreciated, when you take the time to let people know how much you appreciate them, you will win over and over again.

Hazel M Walker, owns three award winning franchise’s. She is a 10 year owner of two BNI Franchises where she teaches members how to leverage their time and network to build each others businesses. She is also a Referral Institute franchise owner and teaches Business Owners how to harness the Science of Referrals to develop Referrals for Life. Hazel is a published author in New York Times best sellers Masters of Networking and Masters of Sales. As a member of the National Speakers Association she travels the world speaking to businesses and women’s organizations on the topics of networking to create a life you love.

Jim Rohn, self-made millionaire and successful author, said “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”. Brian Tracy once said that: “you cannot scratch with the turkeys and fly with eagles”; you cannot relate with mediocre, uninspired and unfocused people and expect yourself to be different from them.

You need to surround yourself with people who empower you, compliment your areas of expertise, and fill in the gaps you are missing. Those who can help you step outside your comfort zone to accomplish the goals you set out, and can keep you accountable for actually doing what you say you are going to do.

You will be inspired by them and receive resources from them. Joining or creating accountability, mastermind, or a coaching group is a great way to surround yourself with like-minded, driven, successful people that will propel you to higher level of success.

Who is holding you accountable? Who helps you be more creative? Who inspires you? With all of the bad news about the economy, downsizing, market crashing and so on it is more important than ever that you take steps to learn something new, find an accountability program that you can implement, and surround yourself with successful people who are on the same path as you.

The next time you are looking to learn something new, find a program that has accountability tied to it.  Not just a one day seminar that inspires you, I run a program for Referral Institute based on the book The 29% Solution.  It is a weekly tele-program and every week I am responsible for holding my callers and participants accountable for doing the work, not just reading the book.  In the process, it holds me to a higher level of accountability and we all win.

So think about it, what programs are you in or who have you surrounded yourself with that creates accountability for you this year.

Hazel  owns and operates a franchisee of Referral Institute, a worldwide referral marketing training organization. As a Master Trainer, Hazel provides business-expansion expertise to entrepreneurs and corporations by teaching business professionals comprehensive referral marketing stratagem. In 2006, her franchise earned both the Top-Grossing Franchise award and the honor of hosting the Referral Institute International Conference.

My son is very interested in playing golf.  He plays regularly, even in the winter when others are setting at home in the warmth.  He has a great game, plays daily, and spends time practicing.  He loves the game and has a keen interest in becoming better.

On the other hand, there is Tiger Woods.  Tiger is committed to playing golf.  He spends money and time to improve his game every single day.  He strives to learn something new to improve his game.  He knows that he is one of the best in the world and he knows that he can always learn more.  He has coaches that hold him accountable while he spends time and money improving his game.  That is commitment.

So are you interested in growing your business by referral, or are you committed?  

Common traits of those committed to a business by referral:

• They regularly take the time to learn more about referrals

• They practice what they learn

• They have accountability coaches or partners

• They implement systems in their business

• They never make the assumption that they already know

• They seek others who are working to do the same

Experts are committed to what they are doing, while amateurs are merely interested. Which are you? 

Hazel  owns and operates a franchisee of Referral Institute, a worldwide referral marketing training organization. As a Master Trainer, Hazel provides business-expansion expertise to entrepreneurs and corporations by teaching business professionals comprehensive referral marketing stratagem. In 2006, her franchise earned both the Top-Grossing Franchise award and the honor of hosting the Referral Institute International Conference.

Training is one of the most important things that business people should do for themselves.  Here is a mathmatical formula to show you how much you should be spending on your training and education

Annual Income $,___________x 10% = Investment in your self improvement

I personally have invested ore than $100,000 in my expert ice as a Referral Expert with the Referral Institute.  How much have you spent on your self improvement?  This is not the place to cut your budget!

If you are going to be the expert in your field, you must keep your saw sharp or someone else will clear cut your forest!

Hazel  owns and operates a franchisee of Referral Institute, a worldwide referral marketing training organization. As a Master Trainer, Hazel provides business-expansion expertise to entrepreneurs and corporations by teaching business professionals comprehensive referral marketing stratagem. In 2006, her franchise earned both the Top-Grossing Franchise award and the honor of hosting the Referral Institute International Conference.

People have to hear things and see things 7 times before they take action, so advertising is important and PR are very important to your business.   but I agree that word of mouth is a powerful way to build your business. It is ALWAYS WORKING, it may not be in your favor, but it is always working. 

Here are a few things to remember about word of mouth.

1. In order for WOM to work well for your company or you as a person, you MUST have a clear, concise message that others can carry easily and repeat to people they know. For instance, I have a friend who reviews property taxes for commercial buildings, if you are over paying then she will file an appeal and get you a refund of the over payments. That message is too long…here is the message that everyone carries for her….. Denise takes the pain out of property taxes, you should call her.  Simple, easy for others to remember.  Most business people have a muddled message.

2. WOM is the most dangerous form of marketing, in that you cannot control people. They may carry the wrong message or a negative message.

3. Word of Mouth is always working, it just may not be working in your favor. Negative WOM travels faster than positive WOM.  Dr. Misner discusses this topic in the book, Truth or Delusion.

I remind BNI members and Referral Institute graduates regularly that WOM is always working. It is important for them to keep the message simple, consistent, and positive. A great message backed up by poor service or a poor image is going to create Negative WOM.

Hazel  owns and operates a franchisee of Referral Institute, a worldwide referral marketing training organization. As a Master Trainer, Hazel provides business-expansion expertise to entrepreneurs and corporations by teaching business professionals comprehensive referral marketing stratagem. In 2006, her franchise earned both the Top-Grossing Franchise award and the honor of hosting the Referral Institute International Conference.