Referral Marketing - The Most Powerful Form of Advertising

Practice these referral marketing techniques and your business will explode with new customers
By John Jantsch


Business owners tell me everyday that the way they generate the most new business is through referral marketing. Yet they don't seem to grasp the power of this statement. Few if any businesses harness the true power of referrals by making the receiving of systematic referrals a cornerstone of their marketing efforts.

First let me tell you why you need to do this.

1. Referrals are credible right from the start. When a trusted friend tells you about a business you transfer that trust to this company...even if you've never heard of them before.

2. People who are referred to a business tend to spend more money. Research has proven this beyond the shadow of a doubt and it is likely because people tend to refer other who are highly qualified and not just tire kickers or price shoppers.

3. Referrals are very cost-effective. In some cases free or a fraction of what you might pay in advertising costs.

In some industries, like consulting and professional services most companies are chosen solely on the recommendation of a friend.

Are you getting your referrals...if not consider these little ideas.

1. Expect to get referrals but don't assume you will. Talk about them early and often and build them into your sales and marketing efforts...don't wait for people to offer them.

2. Create a system. It can be as simple as advertising $20 for every referral.

3. Follow-up by phone or mail asking for referrals

4. Give every client 3 business cards. Look in your drawer you've got hundreds. Give them out to clients and they may just pass them along.

Referrals are essential to your business so don't overlook them chasing the newest trend in marketing in your industry.

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John Jantsch is the owner of Jantsch Communications, a marketing consulting firm located in Kansas City, Mo. He is the creator of Duct Tape Marketing, a fully-customizable turn-key marketing system. You can reach him at 816-561-3931 or john@ducttapemarketing.com

Meeting Jerry Yang: CEO and Chief Yahoo!

Meeting CEO Jerry Yang

my son Brandon, Me, Jerry Yang, my husband, and my daughter Caitlin

I had the privilege of meeting the CEO and Founder of Yahoo! Inc., Jerry Yang, yesterday at Camp Yahoo! 2008 (the company's annual summer picnic). Yahoo! is the reason that we transplanted out here to Silicon Valley in January. My husband accepted an offered position with the company last year. It has been a big adjustment for us, leaving friends behind in the Chicago area, but the Bay Area is wonderful! And Yahoo! is taking good care of us while I'm pursuing my entrepreneurial dreams as well!

Business Card Swap

I've decided to host a business card swap. (If I can get enough people interested in participating) Please leave a comment here with your email address and I'll send you a message to let you know where to ship your cards to.

All you'll do is send me around 150 business cards + $4 (for return shipping back to you), I'll sort them all and send you back an assortment of all the participants business cards. The distribution is up to you! Be creative! When you ship out an order, you include a handful of everyone's business cards, or pass them around at networking meetings, post them on bulletin boards, the possibilities are endless... It's an easy way to promote each others businesses and to gain new customers that we would never meet otherwise! Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts and/or suggestions on making this work! I can't wait to network with you all!

Dream, Share, & Lead!

To become a successful builder, you must be able to do 3 things consistently. That is to be able to Dream, Share, and Lead... Doing these 3 things will dramatically improve the quality of your life!

Dreaming is where it starts! You must exercise your dream muscles daily and realize that the dreams we have, create the framework for everything we desire. It's also important to understand that it doesn't really matter if we believe our dreams to be true or not. The mind doesn't know the difference between what's real and what's not. So write down your dreams! The bigger the better!

The next step is Sharing! As you share your dreams with others, your dreams will grow in intensity, building momentum! The movement and direction of your dreams will have much more intensity when you share them with others. This applies to any business and any dream!

Last but not least, Lead! As leaders we take responsibility for our teams. If you don't see yourself as a leader, this may be the reason that you haven't achieved what you want in your life! You must see yourself as a Leader first! Whether you lead your family, business or team, declaring yourself as a leader is essential to building your success. Leaders take responsibility for where they are and where they're going. Leaders dream and shape their own destiny! Leaders are creative and resourceful! Leaders share their vision!

So in conclusion... Dream, Share, and Lead!

- Credit goes to Jordan Adler for sharing this info.

Tony Robbins On Motivation In A Slump

TODAY’s Matt Lauer talks to motivational coach Tony Robbins about ways to change your outlook if you are depressed by the troubled economy. Check out this TV Interview with Tony Robbins. Its a short video. You'll love it!

Finally, Your Easy-to-Manage Prosperous Blog

If you’re like me, you created a blog because you heard it was a great way to promote your business. The trouble is, without a system in place it can be tough to keep up with your blog and to expertly use your blog as a sales tool that doesn’t alienate your interested readers. Boy, do I know all about that trouble.

The good news is that there IS a way to stay active with your blog, develop a tight relationship with your readers AND have your readers turn into buyers – without losing your mind in the process.

In fact, Alice Seba & Lynette Chandler (two of my favorite blogging for business authorities) have put together an intensive 4-week bootcamp to help you clear all the hurdles in having a prosperous blog.

The bootcamp includes one-on-one customized help as you complete the weekly lessons and is a MUST for anyone looking for better results from their blogging.

I hope you’ll join me in connecting with your own audience!

Enroll by Clicking HERE now!

A Safe, Green & Clean Home Business Opportunity

photo credit: Women's Voices for the Earth

Did you know that the levels of pollutants in our indoor air is 5 times more than the level you’ll find outside? It's also a fact that women who work at home have a 54% higher death rate from cancer than women who work outside the home. (This can be specifically attributed to the contact they have with household cleaning products).
There are 73 million homes with children under the age of 18. Poison Control reports that 121,197 children under the age of six were poisoned by household cleaners just last year. The other issue with household cleaners today is that asthma rates are also escalating far beyond what any scientists can explain. Scientist believe that asthmatic reactions can be exacerbated by the kinds of cleaning products that people have in their homes.
So, there are all kinds of health issues and problems that involve our little ones that are crawling around on our floors and breathing in the fumes from the products we are using. I believe it's our responsibility to really share this information with other moms out there, because most consumers have no idea that the things they're using in their homes can actually cause them harm. People assume that most products that they buy should be totally fine for them to use in their homes, and that's simply not the case.
I would love to share a safe, "green" cleaning alternative with you... Changing the products you use can really change your life as well as being safer for our planet. Please take a moment to visit my safe, "green" cleaning site.
I say "green" because, just one of our household cleaning Starter Kits does the equivalent of these 3 things:

• eliminating 108 pounds of packaging waste
• eliminating 248 pounds of greenhouse gas
• ...and the equivalent to planting 10 trees

You can also listen to a 3 minute recorded message that gives you an overview on our products. Just dial 1-925-924-3000
Won't you consider joining my team, or at least just buying a product that is safer for you, your home and our planet! Contact me for more info!