Would you recognize a referral if it were handed to you on a platter?

November 3, 2023 Juliana Dixon

If networking is new for you or you’re trying to improve your networking skills, you might not realize that referrals come in many forms. Learn to recognize them and you’ll see possibilities open up all around you.

A sales lead is an intro to a potential client. It happens when you say to two people you know, "___(Name of person) might help you solve the problem you told me about. Let me introduce you!" Sales leads are what pop into people’s mind when you first think about referrals.

Here’s an example of how this could look: You know of an entrepreneur who struggles with selling and wishes they could hire someone to help them. This would be a person Catherine would like to meet.

2. A Connection is an introduction that expands your network for the future: This type of intro might look like someone saying, "I believe the two of you serve similar clients and can help open doors for each other. I am connecting you so you can speak about how you each serve your clients.” This type of introduction is not necessarily a sales lead but is a meaningful connection. Think of it as B2B2B: The relationship that forms CAN lead to new business– however, you, as the referrer, aren't implying/guaranteeing this introduction will translate to new business.

If you overlook these connections as a path to new business, you are missing out! You will get more B2B2B introductions than warm leads. What’s good about these is that other service providers are “one-to-many” relationships. Another consultant can give multiple referrals to buyers.

Here’s an example of how B2B2B looks: Danny wants to know SaaS company founders and so does a trademark attorney. Danny and the attorney connect over Zoom and agree to listen for sales leads for each other.

In The Good Humans Growth Network™, we value sales leads and connections. When we meet new people, we listen with our whole network in mind. This is one reason we spend so much time getting to know each other socially and sharing what we do. Things come up in regular conversation!

Let's be clear about which of these referral types we are giving every time so everyone involved will know the level of urgency required in following up.