Nothing frustrates me more than giving a referral to someone and then they DON’T FOLLOW UP. I’ve asked my colleague if they’d accept this referral to and now I have to explain why there was no follow up. This affects my reputation. That’s why Inquisix allows members to rate the referral in both ways – rating how well one party handled the referral and how well the other party gave the referral.
I had an amazing Blog Talk Radio with Jon Hansen of PI Window on Business last week. We spoke over our allotted time, almost an hour, on the emergence of reputation networks such as Inquisix. With it being so easy to make connections on the web and trade recommendations, how can people who don’t know you really trust what they read about you?
Topics we discussed included:
Value of References
Giving vs Getting
Political Patronage and References
Verifying References
Integrity of Referral/Reference Process
Does Social Media Help or Hurt
Extending Your Reference Base with Integrity
Emergence of Reputation Networks with Social/Business Networking
If BTR podcast doesn’t show above, please go to Jon’s site to listen to it.
On a side note, talking with Jon was one of the easiest and most enjoyable online discussions I’ve had. Jon prepared me for the call by sending me some topics to think about prior to our interview. He was calm when we had a few technical difficulties to iron out before we went on the air. And his engaging demeanor and conversation made the conversation lively, interesting and valuable. I was certainly surprised to learn later that Jon’s only been a BTR host for a short time. Jon has written a book, “Your Show Will Go Live in 5 Seconds” about his experiences as a Blog Talk Radio Host. If you’re thinking of becoming a BTR host or are thinking of your personal branding via Social Media, you owe it to yourself to read this book. An excerpt is available at no charge at Jon’s site. Not surprising, his book reads as breezy and well as listening to him online.
Jon Hansen hosts a Talk Radio Show, “PI Window on Business” that reaches an estimated 300,000 syndicated subscribers worldwide every month. The PI Social Media Network is internationally recognized for its ability to identify, structure and disseminate the ideas and visions that are reshaping the emerging global enterprise.
He’s talking with Michael Kreppein, Chief Sales Officer of Inquisix, to examine more closely the emergence of “reputation networks” and their effects on personal branding in the Web 2.0 world. Reputation networks, like Inquisix, are gaining ground to combat the growing problem within the realms of social networking, where references or testimonials are bartered by an ever-expanding network of interloping relationships between name collectors versus relationship builders.
Did anyone see JigSaw’s recent announcement that they’ve sent up an exchange where you can sell a referral to your contacts? It’s called “JigSaw Connect” and given the number of members they have (850K registered members), this could be the first exchange to make selling a referral by the individual sales rep successful.
Selling a referral to your customer isn’t anything new. Companies have been doing it at the corporate level for years. They call it the affiliate program or the business development partner program or just the reseller program. And this seems to be a well understood and accepted practice by the customers.
Individual sales reps and agents selling a referral to their customer in certain industries isn’t new, either. The introduction of a mortgage broker by the real estate agent that just found your new home probably comes with a kick-back to the agent from the mortgage broker. Maybe the referral fee is not as well understood by the consumer but I don’t think anyone would be surprised.
Now JigSaw is taking this to a new level. It’s at the rep level where an individual rep can earn $200 by referring their customer to any vendor that’s signed up to advertise on JigSaw Connect. And it’s many industries, even ones where traditionally the selling of referrals at the rep level is frowned upon. The only other site I’ve seen that offers this exchange of referrals for cash is SalesConx, a startup based in New York City. But they don’t have the membership scale that JigSaw has.
I’ll be very interested to see how JigSaw Connect fares. JigSaw itself received a lot of negative press early on because people were offended that their business information was sold anonymously. JigSaw will say that they’re just collecting business information differently than a Hoovers or OneSource but aren’t any different in the information they deliver. I’ve used JigSaw for years and Inquisix is a JigSaw data partner so I don’t have an issue with the service.
Still, selling referrals versus giving referrals is an interesting dilemma for some. BNI members give referrals to get them in return, i.e. “Givers Gain“. At Inquisix, we encourage members to give referrals to increase their reputation with their own customer. But no money is exchanged.
Would you anonymously sell the business cards you’ve collected to a data broker, i.e. JigSaw?
Would you sell a referral to a business contact you have?
There’s a big jump in effort, responsibility, and reputation between the 2 questions. Let’s see how this pans out.
How do you treat long-time customers when the economy is this challenging? Are you tightening the rules to manage costs or are you more liberal in your policies?
I went to a business that I had purchased from for many years but not over the last year. They greeted me warmly as if I had just talked with them yesterday, with no hint of criticism or complaint in their voice.
Later that day, I went to another business that I also frequent often. They know me well enough to recommend new products they think I’d like. And they know I’ve referred other customers to them. I was 90 minutes late in returning an item I had rented and they wanted to charge me another full day. It’s their policy and it’s posted. When I asked for leniency, the owner’s reply was, “It’s our policy and you need to pay.”
The next day I received a rather large bill. I had made a mistake in understanding the rules so the bill was correct if unwelcome. When I asked the Accounts Payable person for some flexibility, I was flatly turned down. When I asked to speak to the owner, I was told that he refused to discuss these issues with anyone. “Even customers who’ve purchased from him for 20 years?” I asked. The answer was, “Yes.”
The economy is going to get better. I will spend more money. I will continue to make referrals to my vendors. Which vendor mentioned above will continue getting my business and my referrals?
What’s really interesting is discussed in Paul’s 3rd pillar. He says, “Your referred prospect will view YOU the same way they view your Client– Good, Bad, or Indifferent” I absolutely agree. Inquisix’s data on the quality of a reputation given shows that the better the relationship between the the person giving the referral and their referred colleague, the better the referral experience. The first hint of a bad referral is how the referral is handled, which is Paul’s 4th Pillar.
So the primary reputation factor in a good referral is not between the person asking and the person giving the referral. Rather, it’s between the person giving the referral and their referred colleague.
Pillars 3 and 4 are why Inquisix allows members to rate each side of the referral via reputation points. If you give a referral, that member will rate you on the quality of the referral given. If you get a referral, that member will rate you on how well you treated their trusted colleague. Your Inquisix reputation rating of giving and getting referrals then becomes the badge that all other members can use to validate your credentials.
Whether you’re a front-line sales rep hunting for new business, a consultant delivering solutions, or small business owner communicating with customers, board members and employees, it’s all about selling: selling to win new business or selling to retain customers in an increasingly competitive marketplace. So what’s the deal with the buzz around emerging Sales 2.0 solutions? Which approaches are best able to fill the pipeline? How can you integrate informal networking with the latest technologies?
This White Paper by Michael Kreppein, Inquisix’s Chief Sales Officer, explores the value of referral networking by using Inquisix to combine your in-person with your online networking.
Please download the White Paper in pdf format by clicking the link below.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all. As the end of 2008 rapidly approaches, the Inquisix team hopes you are all enjoying the holidays with your family and friends. If you’re thinking of prepping early for 2009, here’s some of our most popular articles from 2008.
Why would anyone take a salesperson seriously when their first communication – first! – offers a freebie of four hours of work? Let’s see, I don’t yet know what you do. That means I have to take my time to go to your website and figure it out. Then decide if I want four hours free.
If your fear of the economy is showing, maybe you need to take a step or two or nine back. If your product or service had value before the economy tanked, it still does. If you don’t believe that, you can bet that your prospects won’t. Good sales and marketing people know how to position their offering to meet the current needs of their audience. If you can’t figure out how to sell whatever the heck you offer in light of the current economic conditions, the last thing you want to do is give it away. If it ain’t worth anything to you, it’s worth less to me. And I don’t buy the little disclaimer at the end – if you try us out now, you may buy us later. If I don’t need you now, I won’t remember you later.
Instead of doing the email equivalent of cold-calling with a drop-your-shorts offer, how about asking clients who DO see your value and ask them for referrals?
