How many times have you heard that you need to make a name for yourself? That’s something I’ve heard in many different contexts over the years. Get noticed, get referrals and networking – these are all powerful strategies that all business people should utilize.
Jill Lublin writes in an easy to understand manner that walks you through the process of getting noticed and getting referrals. This book focuses on getting noticed and networking in the real world, not on the internet. (But, I hear that her next book will deal with online promotion.)
Are you one of the entrepreneurs who feels that networking and generating referrals is something you could never do? Let’s think about that for a minute. What is a referral? Last time you saw a great movie or discovered a new restaurant, did you tell your friends about it? That is a referral. Have you ever had a friend recommend a doctor or a show? That is a referral. Getting and giving referrals can be just that easy. When people know you and understand what you do, it is easy for them to give you referrals.
Why do you want referrals? That’s easy, referrals are a great way to find new clients for your business. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Sorry, I do that when I talk about referrals and networking because I’ve seen the “magic” in action and it is wonderful for your business.
First you need to get noticed. That is the first thing that Jill Lublin helps you understand in her book. Take a few minutes and think about your business. How many times have you gotten what you need through a recommendation from someone else? It could be a location, a supplier, an advertiser or clients – any of these things can be recommended by another person. These are referrals.
We have to put forth the effort to “get out there”. This means that you have to get noticed through meeting people and interacting with them. Jill gives some great pointers on how to do this. One of my favorite points was “to be completely there”. This simply means that you need to focus on the person you meet and really get to know them. Don’t scan the room for “someone better”. You never know which person could be a key to your future, so focus on each person individually and get to know them. These are the first steps in beginning to build new business relationships.
Throughout the book, Jill Lublin gives us Action Plans. These are at the end of each chapter and they help the reader implement the information they have read. What good is the information if you can’t figure out how to use it in your business? She also provides a wonderful Client Worksheet to give us an idea of what matters we should discuss with a new client. This is only a sample, but could be used to develop a checklist that is appropriate for each of us. The checklist is only a part of the information in Chapter Two about how to deal with clients effectively.
One of the chapters I included was about myths and misconceptions. There are so many myths in business and she chose fourteen common misconceptions and explains why they are not true. It’s a short chapter, but it can be an eye opener.
Where can you go to get noticed and to start this process? Chapter Six gives plenty of examples of where to go and she even suggests that you can start your own group. Once you get “out there”, you need to make a good first impression. Before you go to those networking meetings or the chamber of commerce mixer, read chapter seven. Jill Lublin takes you step by step through the process of making a great first impression and getting started on the road to referrals.
Some advanced networking information includes:
Chapter 8 – Goals, Intentions and Strategies
Chapter 9 – Cultivate the Media
Chapter 11 – Focus, Focus, Focus
Chapter 12 – Always Keep It Real
Chapter 15 – Be Flexible and Keep Your Options Open
The book contains a wide variety of information to help you get noticed and get referrals, but one of my favorite chapters is number fourteen – Service Makes a Difference. I don’t know about you, but I feel outstanding customer service is a thing of the past in many businesses today. Its sad, but how often have you gone into a business, emailed a business or called a business and been ignored or put on hold for an extended period of time?
Getting Noticed and getting referrals is a great start, but once you have the customer, you must knock their socks off with great customer service. Jill Lublin gives us the ten commandments of business, she tells us to be pleasant, respond to customers, encourage people to come back and to use heart centered marketing. Those are the subheadings in chapter fourteen, but I’ll let you discover the hidden treasures about how to give outstanding customer service.
I recommend this book for any business person who needs to learn how to get noticed. Even if you are getting noticed, are you getting referrals from others? If you aren’t getting referrals and your aren’t networking – you’re missing a big piece of the entrepreneurial puzzle. Jill Lublin’s new book can give you the networking pieces of the puzzle that you’re missing. You can learn much more about Jill Lublin and Get Noticed… Get Referrals at www.jilllublin.com and http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/06/jill-lublin-author-of-get-noticed-get.html.
Get Noticed… Get Referrals by Jill Lublin - To learn more about this author, visit Nikki Leigh's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 |
Related Articles |
|
 Get Noticed… Get Referrals by Jill Lublin
|
| |
The full title of this book is Get Noticed... Get Referrals Build Your Client Base and Your Business by Making a Name for Yourself. Is it really that easy? Is that all you need to do in order to build your business?...
|
|
Book Review: Networking Magic
|
| |
When I started networking, I did it the way most people do: I showed up and hoped to meet people and convince them that they should use my services. It became quickly evident that this doesn't work (at least not for...
|
|
Getting Referrals
|
| |
This list is in my ‘How to Get Referrals’ file, and I have no idea of its source. I must have saved it because it’s a good reminder of things we should be doing all the time to keep referrals flowing to us.
|
|
Did You Get Any Referrals Today?
|
| |
Do you ask this question a hundred times a week? Should you? Most business owners and sales managers know in their hearts that this is the easiest kind of lead to close.
|
|
Are Business Networking Referrals Critical Business Strategies Within Your Strategic Plan?
|
| |
Business networking referrals are big business. Yet many fail to leverage this critical business strategy within their strategic plans. Learn the value of business referrals through 6 simple questions.
|
|
|
Nikki Leigh
(Visit Nikki's Website)
Nikki Leigh is the pen name used by an
award winning fiction and non fiction
author. Her first love is writing fiction,
but she brings 20 years of business
management and 16 years of promotional
experience to her work and her writing.
This background has contributed to her
promotional books and the business books
she released under the name Shri Henkel.
She owns S & C Consulting and Promo 101
Virtual Blog Tours which provide a wide
range of promotional and consulting
services for authors and business owners.
The virtual tour blog includes promotional
articles and free promotional
opportunities for authors, business owners
and managers and blog owners. The tour
site is
www.virtualblogtour.blogspot.com. Shri
is also active on the forums at www
.evancarmichael.com/Forums/ under the
user name “litekepr”.
|
|
|
|
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
