Unlikely Allies - Your Strongest Referral Source?

Yikes!
We tend to see cobras as fearsome, tricky killers to be avoided at any cost - not as guardians of cute puppies. If I'd heard this story (click on the pic for more info) without seeing the photo I'd have assumed it an Aesop's Fable. This photo reminded me that unlikely allies can sometimes be the most helpful.

While we don't know why this cobra isn't attacking the puppies, we do know why Polished Pros are inclusive, and welcome the company of their direct competitors. They do it because they understand that inclusiveness is in everyone's long-term best interest.

On Being Inclusive
But first let me deflate any idea you may have that 'inclusiveness is for suckers'. Some formal referral networks allow only one type of vendor or service provider per group. This might seem logical at first, but look deeper and you'll see that it actually limits the productivity of the group.

Here's a few reasons why it's a bad idea to limit membership of a group so that only one of each type is allowed:

• We learn from our competitors. They learn from us. Organizations that are designed for peer-to-peer learning are more likely to thrive.

• This type of exclusivity is rooted in scarcity-thinking. Scarcity can't breed abundance. Scarcity can only breed scarcity.

• The most-qualified referrals come from people who can clearly communicate what we do. Who better to understand and explain what we do than someone who is already doing it?

This is why the most abundant referral networks invite direct competitors to join the same group. What's that you say..? Two small-business CPAs in the same group...? 

 To the Entrepre-nerd this looks like
a recipe for disaster - or a waste of time.  

But having been an active member in both types of referral networks I can say from experience that the inclusive model - when the members operate with integrity - will almost always generate more referrals for everyone in the group. Here's why:

• Members who have direct competitors in the room must differentiate, perhaps by narrowly defining their ideal client. That definition will most likely broaden in outside conversations, but the narrower definition will also come in handy each time this professional meets a new potential referral source (see Trigger).

• The group will have options. No two prospects or vendors are the same, and direct competitors are no exception. Polished Pros like to qualify (or target) the referrals they make by asking the prospect things like, "Would you rather work with a man or a woman? Someone older or someone your own age? A tactician or an ideator?" Qualifying a prospect's needs puts everyone at ease, and help the Pro to refer the best-matched professional.

• Some of the most productive cross-referral relationships are formed between direct competitors. One group I joined had two former prosecutors-turned-transactional-attorneys. At first I was shocked! But Gary and Carl shared so much business between them (i.e., referred opportunities to each other) that they spent many years fully-booked on projects that had come via the other's referral.

Concept into Action
Whether you see your competitors as cobras or puppies (or even as useful Allies) remaining open to the opportunity they represent, and gently cultivating the relationship, can only serve to grow your own business. Plus, the other guy might even teach you a thing or two along the way.

When was the last time you reached out to your competion?

Are you familiar with the business concept of "co-opetition"? 

 

As always, your comments are welcome.

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