Good afternoon,

Happy Thursday to you all! I look forward to seeing each and every one of you tomorrow at the Finley Center.

Do you have a guest coming? I sure hope so as I love to meet other business owners/professionals in the community and I also love seeing our group grow. That can only be done by inviting guests and introducing them to Partner 4 Leads. With our new venue, there is no shortage of space and parking so lets pack the room full!

From Rob’s post meeting follow up I was surprised to see about 7 members that when un-noticed with no representation; our group is generally good at finding and having subs. Another thing to think about, when you as a member, invite a guest and you tell them how great of group we have at X amount of me members, then they show up and there are only 18 members present, it could potentially be a first impression that they aren’t impressed with. We all get one shot at a great first impression so lets continue to try to have someone there to represent us when we can’t make it. Reach out to other members as well for help, that is what we are all here for!

See you tomorrow,
~Lindsey

P.S. NO MEETING next Friday the 24th in observance of Memorial Day!

——————————————-
Lindsey Ehrlicher 707-718-2116
Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate
Lindsey@RealtySonomaCounty.com
——————————————-

Refer Me or Ask Me for a Referral

Plus+1 (Visitors Day) Resource Kit

The group that’s using this letter as an invitation has also implemented an accountability component, which essentially holds all members accountable to using the tool. Not only that, each member is being asked to send the letter to 10 different businesses. No wonder their average visitors day events bring between 15 and 20 guests, and yields them 2 to 3 new members, following each event. Beyond the new members, imagine all the new business that’s generated from the connections that are made.

This is a truly powerful and easy to implement approach that can compliment your group’s existing marketing activities. Kudos to Ryan Kelly, Lindsey Ehrlicher and The M.A.G.E. Group (aka Santa Rosa Leads Group) for putting together such a great marketing tool.

Good evening P4L,

Attached is the letter for our Guest Event on March 8th.  For those of you that missed the meeting today, here is what you missed….

In order to attend our fabulous Guest Event on March 8th at Merrill Lynch, you must turn in your 10 letters by February 22nd.  Two weeks from today.  The letter is already written and formatted for you.  All you have to do is insert the name of the guest, insert your name at the bottom and sign.  Don’t forget to put your business card in each envelope.  These 10 people/business’s don’t have to be people your know.  You can google the categories I sent out, Yelp, Facebook, phone book, business card bulletin boards at coffee shops; there are endless ways to find 10 business’s/people to invite.  If you do know the person/business and want to personalize the letter, you’re welcome to.  Just don’t take away what’s there, add to it.  All letters need to be stuffed, addressed and stamped; handed in to Ryan Kelly on the 22nd, at the meeting.

If you know now you will not be there, turn them in next week the 15th.  If something comes up the week of the 22nd and you can’t make it to the meeting, please arrange to drop them off at my office and we will mail the entire batch out on the 22nd.  This is a group activity and we can’t have a successful Guest Event without each and every one of you participating.  This group thrives on each members accountability, not just in this activity, in everything we do.

For those that haven’t participated in our event; having each member send out 10 letters has been proven to effectively grow referral groups and hold each member accountable.  It’s simple, easy and very effective.  On top of this, Ryan will also be creating a Facebook event and an EventBrite, similar to Evite.

I can’t thank you enough for all you do for the group.  The continued success and participation, will lead us to have the best group in Northern California, that is my goal!

~Lindsey

Subject: Did You Swing the Bat?

I’ve emailed around four people I know about the event. I also stopped at a local coffee shop in Sebastopol and gathered cards, which led to about seven cold calls (all voicemail so far!)

Don’t know if I will have a guest Friday or not, but I’m at the plate swinging the bat every day.

I want to thank those of you who have also put thought and time into helping our group grow by working to line up prospective members/guests. If you haven’t made time to do this yet, it’s not too late. It’s OK if you strike out, but don’t let the opportunity go by without making an attempt. Get out and swing the bat!

See you at 8:00 Friday.

Cheers,
Tim

In an email following their Plus+1 event, Tim advised me of the following.

By the way, we had 20 guests today, and it looks like we will pick up 3-5 new members out of it. The room was so packed we could barely move. We couldn’t even seat everyone. There literally wasn’t room enough for chairs and 7-8 people had to stand. It was great!

Tim Smith is a group lead with the Redwood Empire Leads Group and owner of New Paradigm Marketing. His group consistently maintains a membership roster of about 30 members.

From Ryan Kelly, Group Leader / Consultant

1. Proving to the group that I value my seat enough to send somebody in my place whenever I’m not there. By sending a substitute, it proves that I remember that there’s a group meeting happening and I’m expected to be there.
2. By sending a substitute it allows the membership and group to be exposed to somebody new. It not only expands their circle of influence, but expands the substitutes circle of excellence.
3. All of the substitutes that are coming to my groups, could eventually see the value of joining a group. Therefore expanding our membership.

From Terri Miller, Group Lead

1. Gives the group members the opportunity to market themselves and network with someone new!
2. Gives the sub a chance to check out the group if they are in a field that isn’t represented
3. New energy in the room keeps everyone on their game!

From Tim Smith, Group Lead

Tip: Choose someone with a business not currently represented in the group and offer them the “opportunity” to sub as well as meet some folks who could help them grow their business.

1. Your business is always represented even if you’re not there (and you get credit for a guest).
2. Your sub may end up doing business with someone in the group (which gives you credit for a referral!)
3. Your sub may end up joining (which gives you credit for a sponsored member)

From Rob Mokry, Group Lead

1. Most importantly, it will keep you in the forefront of every member’s thoughts.  “Out of sight, out of mind” is a very true statement, and if they aren’t thinking about you…more than likely it will slip their mind when a lead opportunity comes about that could have been passed to you.
2. Although the guest will more then likely not give be as good at representing you as you would (unless your name is Tim Brown). At least any new guests will hear your name, what you do, and hopefully inquire about your services/grab one of your business cards.  You may do something that they may need or know of someone else who could benefit from knowing you.
3. It will help you to keep an untarnished attendance record, and keep that member score up!  (Which means a lot to me personally)  It shows to the group that you actually care enough to have your seat represented EVERY WEEK!!!

From Christina Zegrean, Group Lead and recent Partner4Leads Radio Guest

1. The group member is represented during time of absence.
2. The group member is exposing another potential member to the power of their networking group…and are potentially able to add a member as a result.
3. Sending a sub suggests that you care enough about the group…and aren’t just “blowing” it off.
4. Without representation you are missing out on possible leads/connections.
5. People need to see you (or hear your infomercial) to remember you.

On a closing note, I know of cases where people ask someone to sub for them, successfully get that person to attend their meeting as a sub, but fail to provide their infomercial and reporting activity. Your sub can’t represent you without this information. That’s missing at least half the point!

Delivering a powerful spotlight presentation is arguably the most highly leveraged opportunity to generate more new customer leads in your networking group. After all, you are reaching many people at once with10 dedicated minutes of education about how and why you are worthy of receiving their valuable referrals.

Your objectives for a spotlight presentation should be similar to those for your business introduction:

• Explain who you are, what you do and for whom.
• Differentiate: address why you are better / different than customers’ other alternatives.
• Outline who is a good customer prospect for your business.
• Suggest ways to help other members recognize (or create) opportunities to refer you.

8 Tips for Effective Presentations

The better your presentation, the more leads you’re likely to get. Here are eight tips to remember to deliver a more powerful and memorable spotlight presentation:

1. Content- Consider the main points your audience needs to understand for you to meet your presentation objectives. Prioritize what you want to say and keep it relevant.
2. Organization- Organize your material into an order that gives the “high-level view” first and then drills down to specifics. People learn more when they understand what they’re about to learn and then have a framework to absorb the details.
3. Visual Support- Use slides or handouts to make your content more interesting and/or illustrate key points. Consider how you can use graphic elements, such as photos, clip art, graphs, charts, posters, etc.
4. Slide Presentation Tips- If you plan to use presentation software (e.g. PowerPoint):
   - Type should be readable on the screen from a distance. Avoid type smaller than 20 pt font size.
   - Bulleted points should generally not exceed 5-6 per slide.- A general rule of thumb is one slide for one minute of presentation.
   - Animation is OK, but it should not detract from the content.
   - Summarize main points on the screen, but NEVER read slides word for word. It’s considered unprofessional and annoys audiences!
   - Arrive early to transfer your file with a USB flash drive (or hook up your laptop).
5. Timeline- You have a maximum of 10 minutes, including taking time for questions from your audience. Ideal: gear your delivery for 8 minutes and allow 2 minutes for questions.
6. Audience Engagement- People listen more closely if they feel connected to you. Make eye contact with your audience as you speak, shifting your gaze from person to person. Consider how to have people participate occasionally as long as it doesn’t negatively impact your timeline.
7. Practice Your Delivery- The biggest mistake non-professional presenters make is failure to practice. Unprepared presenters often resort to reading their slides and/or find themselves out of time with major portions of their presentation still undelivered. Go through your presentation at least four times and, if possible, record your delivery.
8. Bring a Handout- Give members material that helps them remember you and what you presented. Remember to include your contact information. You might also consider passing out a flyer with a special offer that they can use or share when making referrals.

–Tim Smith is a senior marketing consultant and website designer, and co-lead of the Partner4Leads Redwood Empire Leads Group. Visit his website at www.NewParadigmMarketing.com.

With online ratings playing a major role in driving leads today, they decided to leverage Facebook and Yelp as ways to increase two key things that result in lead generation:

SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS- If your business has a presence on either of these social media, it clearly increases the chances that people will find you online. This is either because your business will appear on page 1 of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) for a keyword search, or your business category will appear on the first page, and people will find you among the businesses there.

FAVORABLE RATINGS- When people don’t have a direct referral to a business today, their next most reliable source of finding a reliable provider is to look at what others have said. Thus, online reviews / ratings become very important as an indicator.

The group’s social media campaign targets “Likes” on its members’ Facebook Pages and reminds members that they may want to be active onon Yelp. Post reviews if you had a positive experience. Monitor your own Yelp Page. If you don’t have one, consider claiming your business and establishing a Yelp presence for your business.

THE GROUP YELP STRATEGY AND UPDATE
Goal: Increase the number of favorable Yelp reviews members enjoy

Strategy:

1. Prepare a Quick Guide to Using Yelp- addresses how to sign up, how to post reviews, and create public awareness of your businesses Yelp page, etc.
2. Distribute a Yelp Survey / Action Plan- They distributed a member survey to establish a baseline measurement. It also included steps members could take to improve their business’ Yelp presence, and that of other group members.
3. Support Members in Taking Action- In addition to distributing the information and survey / action plan, members could request help in implementing their Yelp actions and goals.
4. Measure and Report Progress- The group plans to issue another survey to gauge the success of their efforts.

WHERE THE GROUP STARTED FROM
The Sept. Survey / Action Plan shows the following (with 20 out of 34 members reporting):

Members who have “claimed” their business page: 12

It’s no wonder this group has over 30 members!

One point of discussion from the email exchange I had with the aforementioned group lead, was on opening up categories for members who aren’t participating. The ensuing discussion was and is globally applicable to referral groups.

As soon as a member’s attendance drops below 80% and/or they’re not participating in the activities of referring others, meeting one-on-one with others and bringing guests, it’s time to have a conversation. When having such a conversation, it’s important to remind the member(s) in question that her presence and participation are both important to and valued by the group. This is also a great time to refer to your group’s rules on participation, attendance and member replacement. These rules are part of the commitment that Partner4Leads referral group members make to one another when joining a group. You can see the standard and typical group rules at the end of this post. Your conversation with said member should go something like this.

“Hi Member,

Your absence as of late hasn’t gone unnoticed. We would normally expect to hear from you when you can’t make it to a meeting, and expect that you’d send a sub to fill in for you. Alas, we’ve not heard from you lately and frankly, we miss you. Understanding that life and business happens, we’d like to give you a chance to make good on your commitment to the group. Shoot me an email or give me a call to let me know if we can expect to see you at the next meeting. If I don’t hear from you within the next couple of days, I’ll assume that your priorities have shifted and that we should open your category up to another candidate. You may wish to visit our group rules page, as a reminder to the commitment we made to one another when we joined the group.

[Group Rules Link]

I look forward to hearing back to you soon.”

Where can I find Rules for my group?

Open and supportive communication that emphasizes your groups rules for participation is the easiest way to pull absent members back into the mix, or to clear the path for a new candidate. Successful referral groups are all about participation, commitment and accountability. Your engagement with absent and non-participating members support that commitment and accountability.

Typical Group Rules:

Time introductions: If you have 12 in attendance and everyone gets a 60-second introduction, introductions will use about 7.5 minutes of  meeting time. Introductions can be as short as 30 seconds, so just do what makes sense as your membership and guest attendance grows. Designate an official time keeper. Find a good smartphone timer apps with fun options for buzzer sounds, or be old-school and tap a glass with a utensil.

Have your members sound-off during group reporting: In round-robin fashion, members should let the group and guests know if they did any of the following since your last meeting:

1. Gave or received a lead
2. Brought a guest to the meeting
3. Had a 1-on-1 with a member (or guest)
4. Sponsored a new member
5. Have a testimonial for another member

Always be the trainers: The most highly effective group leads are always reminding and training members to stick to the program. Introductions are for just that (introductions), testimonials should be given during group reporting and marketing for upcoming events should be discussed during your open discussions. Most members (and guests) need gentle reminders that the meeting has a structure and runs best when sticking to the schedule and program.

Do these things, and your meetings will run smoothly, be more productive, and will impress your guests.

Hey Everyone,

Great meeting on Friday. Hope you all enjoyed the long weekend! That also means that we have a short work week, so lets keep plugging away and find some referrals to pass to someone in the group. Thank you to Julia Sutton, Becca Ross, and Ryan Kelly for the guests that you invited to our meeting. Also, great presentations from Rose McCoy and Becca Ross!

On a personal note, I would like to say, “thank you” to all of you who put forth such a great effort into making our group as strong as it can be. This Thank you goes out to those of you who have a member score of 50 or above. Anyone who is under the 50% mark (excluding new members less than 60 days) please don’t be afraid to ask one of the leaders what you could do to pass more referrals and raise that member score. Remember that it is a requirement to pass at least 1 lead a month, so if you haven’t passed a lead in the last 30 days PLEASE do your best to find one. Our team is only as good as the members that are in it……and our team is AWESOME!!!!!!! ( At least that’s my opinion.)

Hope you all have a great week and I look forward to seeing you all this Friday…same bat time, same bat channel!

All the best,
Rob Mokry

Learn more about Rob Mokry.