Women are growing businesses all over the world. As you can see from this chart, taken from BOLT Insurance Site,  the total impact globally is significant. When we did our global survey of 12,000 men and women, we learned a lot about how the sexes go about connecting and doing business differently. If men want to be able to do business with, connect, get and give referrals with women, they are going to have to learn some new techniques. It is important on both sides of the fence that we learn to “adapt” to one another’s style.

Three key area’s stood out from our survey that certainly impact our ability to network, connect and refer:

1. How men and women go about building relationships and doing business
2. How we go about learning to network
3. What is important to her when referring and what is important to him

The biggest issue is this, when ask “How do you learn your networking skills?” men only scored higher in one category, “On My Own”. It was clear that women were seeking education while men felt they already new it all.

Based on the statistics above, this could be a major issue for men who have not learned to adapt their networking strategy. Women are dominating the business world and they are making many of the financial decisions in businesses and at home. I am ever amazed at how many men tell me, “They don’t read books” and our survey showed they don’t take classes, so how are men going to learn to connect and do business with women the way that women want to do business? What will it cost men and women to not learn?

Flip side of the coin is this; Men still dominate the business world, ladies how are you learning to adapt your networking strategy?

I love to help people be more successful with their networking activities.  Most of us are networking because we are looking for more referrals for our business.  Unfortunately over time people come to realize that it takes more than meeting, greeting, and exchanging cards.

Here is a list of common issues that business people have around generating referrals for their business.  This is not a complete list, but does cover many of the issues.

• I spend more time networking than following up on referrals.
• I find that I give a lot of referrals to people but get very little in return.
• I don’t know the right place to networker.
• I don’t know the right time to ask a person for a referral.
• I get a lot of low level leads that do not amount to business.
• I often don’t have time to follow up on the referrals I am given.
• I tell a lot of people what I do, the they just don’t seem to understand.
• I don’t attend networking events because I really don’t know what to do when I am there.
• I feel like I have a lot of visibility but it is not leading to referrals.
• I don’t know the value of an appointment.
• I try to build a power team but no one follows through.
• Following up after a networking event often falls through the crack.
• I cannot figure out why some people will not refer business to me.
• I don’t know exactly who is in my contact sphere.
• I don’t know who I want my next customer to be.
• My database is unorganized and not sortable.
• I would rather just make friends and hope they buy from me.
• My referral partners do not participate at the same level I do.
• I don’t know how to qualify a referral for others in my network.
• When I have a one to one it becomes too social.
• When I get a referral, it often does not convert to business.
• I cannot get my fellow network members to educate me how to refer them.
• I am not sure how to educate my network.
• I am spending too much of my time with low value prospects.
• I cannot get clarity around my target market.
• My referrals are unpredictable.
• When I get a referral, I am often disappointed in the quality of it.
• I spend too much time working on my network versus in my network.
• I don’t understand the six steps of the referral process or if I am missing any of them.
• I don’t understand how to move a person into a  proactive referral relationship.
• I get some referrals from my clients but that is about it.
• I know I need more business by referral and I just don’t know where to start.
• I am confused about the role that Social Media plays in my network.
• My company has offered reward for referrals, yet get few of any quality.

Building your business by referral is Simple, but it is Not Easy.

I am always interested in learning how people generate referrals for their business.  So, when I am networking I will ask the people I meet the following questions;  How much of your business is  by referral and the response is often 50% or more.  That always leads me to my next question, do you have a tracking system or is that a good guess?  It is usually just a guess.

For most networkers, referrals are completely random and go something like this:

If someone calls me up and ask me if I know someone who can help them, and if I can remember if I know someone who can help them and if I can find the number of that person and give it to the person who just called me, and if they will pick up the phone and call the person I recommended, then they got a referral!  The average networker is very excited because they believe that their network is working.  But it is completely random and reactive.

Do you have a system for generating referrals?  If referrals are important to your business, shouldn’t you have a system that you can count on?

Shouldn’t you know who you best referral sources are?

Shouldn’t you know how and when your referrals will show up?

Shouldn’t you have a system to track your networking activities?

Shouldn’t you have a system in place for thanking your referral sources?

Really, why are your referral random?

Organizations like the Referral Institute have created programs and software to help business professionals get out of the “If” referrals to developing a system that generates referrals consistently.

If referrals are important to you then why are they so random?  With organizations like the Referral Institute and books like The 29% Solution they do not have to be.

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

I personally have invested more than $100,000 in my expertise as a Referral Expert with the Referral Institute.  How much have you spent on your personal and professional 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!