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As John Jantsch says in his book, The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself, “Being recognized as a source of good information, including referrals, is a great way to connect with others. Think about how eagerly you responded the last time someone asked you for directions, offering up your favorite shortcut and tips for avoiding traffic. We all do it. Making referrals is a deeply satisfying way to connect with others, and asking for referrals is just the other side of the same phenomenon. I think the growth of many popular social networks can be traced to the fact that people love to connect and form communities around shared ideas.”1
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Stephen Wershing (Stop Asking for Referrals: A Revolutionary New Strategy for Building a Financial Service Business that Sells Itself)
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Okay, so how are you going to ask them for a referral without using the word ‘referral’,” Coach challenged him. Rick paused and took a deep breath, “David, it’s been terrific working with you and DeAnna; do you know anyone looking to buy a home soon?” Rick cringed, waiting for the cockamamie. “Rick, not great, but you would probably get a referral out of that,” Coach said approvingly, “Just a few small changes will increase your odds. Start with ‘who’ not ‘do’ and work ‘is another renter or first time buyer like you’ into your question.” Rick took a second. “David, it’s been great working with you. Who is another renter or first time home buyer like you who is looking to buy a home soon?” That sounded pretty good. “Yes,” Coach said, satisfied. “More specific is
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Michael J. Maher (7L: The Seven Levels of Communication: Go From Relationships to Referrals)
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But smuggling people is a referral business, and you don’t get good references by robbing and killing your charges. You may get away with it once or twice, but then business dries up.
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George Friedman (Flashpoints: The Emerging Crisis in Europe)
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WHY HABITS ARE GOOD FOR BUSINESS If our programmed behaviors are so influential in guiding our everyday actions, surely harnessing the same power of habits can be a boon for industry. Indeed, for those able to shape them in an effective way, habits can be very good for the bottom line. Habit-forming products change user behavior and create unprompted user engagement. The aim is to influence customers to use your product on their own, again and again, without relying on overt calls to action such as ads or promotions. Once a habit is formed, the user is automatically triggered to use the product during routine events such as wanting to kill time while waiting in line. However, the framework and practices explored in this book are not “one size fits all” and do not apply to every business or industry. Entrepreneurs should evaluate how user habits impact their particular business model and goals. While the viability of some products depends on habit-formation to thrive, that is not always the case. For example, companies selling infrequently bought or used products or services do not require habitual users—at least, not in the sense of everyday engagement. Life insurance companies, for instance, leverage salespeople, advertising, and word-of-mouth referrals and recommendations to prompt consumers to buy policies. Once the policy is bought, there is nothing more the customer needs to do. In this book I refer to products in the context of businesses that require ongoing, unprompted user engagement and therefore need to build user habits. I exclude companies that compel customers to take action through
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Nir Eyal (Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products)
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Testimonials are nearly as good as money in the bank, but referrals really are money in the bank.
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Jay Conrad Levinson (Guerrilla Marketing: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your SmallBusiness)
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THE 7 STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL SUCCESS STORY: 1. WHAT WAS THE CLIENT’S NAME AND SITUATION? (BE SPECIFIC ABOUT THE PROBLEM OR CHALLENGE.) FOR EXAMPLE: JOSH AND JILL WERE FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS. 2. WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU WEREN’T INVOLVED? (WHAT IS THE WORST POSSIBLE THING THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED?) JOSH AND JILL COULD HAVE BOUGHT THE FIRST HOME THEY SAW - BACKED TO HIGHWAY. 3. HOW DID YOU HELP THEM SOLVE THE PROBLEM? EDUCATED THEM ON WHAT MAKES A GOOD INVESTMENT. 4. WHAT WAS THE RESULT? BE SPECIFIC. THEY BOUGHT A GREAT HOME THAT IS A GREAT INVESTMENT. ON CUL-DE-SAC, DESIRABLE PLAN, AND NEIGHBORHOOD THAT HAS A GOOD HISTORY
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Michael J. Maher (7L: The Seven Levels of Communication: Go From Relationships to Referrals)
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PayPal’s big challenge was to get new customers. They tried advertising. It was too expensive. They tried BD [business development] deals with big banks. Bureaucratic hilarity ensued. … the PayPal team reached an important conclusion: BD didn’t work. They needed organic, viral growth. They needed to give people money. So that’s what they did. New customers got $10 for signing up, and existing ones got $10 for referrals. Growth went exponential, and PayPal wound up paying $20 for each new customer. It felt like things were working and not working at the same time; 7 to 10 percent daily growth and 100 million users was good. No revenues and an exponentially growing cost structure were not. Things felt a little unstable. PayPal needed buzz so it could raise more capital and continue on. (Ultimately, this worked out. That does not mean it’s the best way to run a company. Indeed, it probably isn’t.)2
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Geoffrey G. Parker (Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy―and How to Make Them Work for You)
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What is Freelancing?
Freelancing is a work arrangement where individuals offer their services to clients on a project basis, often remotely and without being tied to a single employer. In this model, freelancers are self-employed and take on various assignments from different clients, rather than having a traditional full-time job.
A Freelancer can provide various types of services in a wide range. Such as Article writing, Graphic design, Web development, Digital marketing, Consulting, SEO, and more. They have the flexibility to choose the projects they work on, set their own rates, and determine their work schedules.
Some Features of Freelancing are Discussed Below:
1. Flexibility: Freelancers usually work on projects of their choice and set their own working hours. Because they have that freedom, which allows them to balance work with personal life.
2. Independence: Freelancers are essentially their own bosses. They manage their work, clients, and business operations independently.
3. Diversity: Freelancers can work on different projects for different clients, gaining exposure to different industries and challenges.
4. Remote Work: Most freelancers work remotely, enabling them to collaborate with clients from around the world without the need for a physical office.
5. Project-Based: Freelancers are hired for specific projects or tasks, with defined start and end dates, rather than being employed on a long-term basis.
6. Skill-Based: Freelancers offer specialized skills that clients might not have in-house, making them valuable for tasks requiring expertise.
7. Income Variation: Freelancers' income can vary based on the number and type of projects they take on, making financial planning important.
8. Client Relationships: Building strong client relationships is crucial for repeat business and referrals.
9. Self-Promotion: Freelancers often need to market themselves to attract clients and stand out in a competitive market.
Basically, you can do freelancing with the work you want to do or the work you are good at. The most interesting thing is that in this field you are everything and your decision is final.
Please Visit Our Blogging Website to read more Articles related to Freelancing and Outsourcing, Thank You.
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Bhairab IT Zone
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What is Freelancing?
Freelancing is a work arrangement where individuals offer their services to clients on a project basis, often remotely and without being tied to a single employer. In this model, freelancers are self-employed and take on various assignments from different clients, rather than having a traditional full-time job.
A Freelancer can provide various types of services in a wide range. Such as Article writing, Graphic design, Web development, Digital marketing, Consulting, SEO, and more. They have the flexibility to choose the projects they work on, set their own rates, and determine their work schedules.
Some features of freelancing are discussed below:
Flexibility: Freelancers usually work on projects of their choice and set their own working hours. Because they have that freedom, which allows them to balance work with personal life.
Independence: Freelancers are essentially their own bosses. They manage their work, clients, and business operations independently.
Diversity: Freelancers can work on different projects for different clients, gaining exposure to different industries and challenges.
Remote Work: Most freelancers work remotely, enabling them to collaborate with clients from around the world without the need for a physical office.
Project-Based: Freelancers are hired for specific projects or tasks, with defined start and end dates, rather than being employed on a long-term basis.
Skill-Based: Freelancers offer specialized skills that clients might not have in-house, making them valuable for tasks requiring expertise.
Income Variation: Freelancers' income can vary based on the number and type of projects they take on, making financial planning important.
Client Relationships: Building strong client relationships is crucial for repeat business and referrals.
Self-Promotion: Freelancers often need to market themselves to attract clients and stand out in a competitive market.
Basically, you can do freelancing with the work you want to do or the work you are good at. The most interesting thing is that in this field you are everything and your decision is final.
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Bhairab IT Zone
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PayPal’s big challenge was to get new customers. They tried advertising. It was too expensive. They tried BD [business development] deals with big banks. Bureaucratic hilarity ensued. … the PayPal team reached an important conclusion: BD didn’t work. They needed organic, viral growth. They needed to give people money. So that’s what they did. New customers got $10 for signing up, and existing ones got $10 for referrals. Growth went exponential, and PayPal wound up paying $20 for each new customer. It felt like things were working and not working at the same time; 7 to 10 percent daily growth and 100 million users was good. No revenues and an exponentially growing cost structure were not. Things felt a little unstable. PayPal needed buzz so it could raise more capital and continue on. (Ultimately, this worked out. That does not mean it’s the best way to run a company. Indeed, it probably isn’t.)2 Thiel’s account captures both the desperation of those early days and the almost random experimentation the company resorted to in an effort to get PayPal off the ground. But in the end, the strategy worked. PayPal dramatically increased its base of consumers by incentivizing new sign-ups. Most important, the PayPal team realized that getting users to sign up wasn’t enough; they needed them to try the payment service, recognize its value to them, and become regular users. In other words, user commitment was more important than user acquisition. So PayPal designed the incentives to tip new customers into the ranks of active users. Not only did the incentive payments make joining PayPal feel riskless and attractive, they also virtually guaranteed that new users would start participating in transactions—if only to spend the $10 they’d been gifted in their accounts. PayPal’s explosive growth triggered a number of positive feedback loops. Once users experienced the convenience of PayPal, they often insisted on paying by this method when shopping online, thereby encouraging sellers to sign up. New users spread the word further, recommending PayPal to their friends. Sellers, in turn, began displaying PayPal logos on their product pages to inform buyers that they were prepared to honor this method of online payment. The sight of those logos informed more buyers of PayPal’s existence and encouraged them to sign up. PayPal also introduced a referral fee for sellers, incentivizing them to bring in still more sellers and buyers. Through these feedback loops, the PayPal network went to work on its own behalf—it served the needs of users (buyers and sellers) while spurring its own growth.
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Geoffrey G. Parker (Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy―and How to Make Them Work for You)
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less an authority than financial advisor marketing expert Bill Good recognizes this, and he refuses to allow his salespeople to ask for referrals. As he puts it, “They manifestly do not work.”1 In fact, Good tells the story of an advisor who got a pesky client to stop calling him by asking for a referral each time she called!
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Stephen Wershing (Stop Asking for Referrals: A Revolutionary New Strategy for Building a Financial Service Business that Sells Itself)
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Once you reflect on it, you will likely realize that you make referrals pretty regularly. Your clients do, too. They likely refer people to you more than you realize. In her study, “Anatomy of the Referral,”4 Julie Littlechild found that 91 percent of clients were comfortable providing a referral to their financial advisor, and 29 percent had made a referral. One of the primary questions she hoped to shed light on was why, when such a large majority of clients are comfortable providing referrals, “only” 29 percent actually did. It’s a good question, and she uncovered some answers I will address later on. In addition, I am intrigued by the 29 percent. Most of the advisors I know would be thrilled to receive referrals from almost a third of their client base. What portion of your client base do you think referred someone to you in the last year? If you asked, I bet a much larger proportion would tell you that they did. We will get back to this statistic in a little while. For now, let’s take a look at whether clients feel comfortable making a referral to you and why they would.
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Stephen Wershing (Stop Asking for Referrals: A Revolutionary New Strategy for Building a Financial Service Business that Sells Itself)
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Referral consultant Paul McCord says, “The traditional method of ‘do a good job and ask for referrals’ does not give your client a reason to give you referrals. We make the assumption that if we have done a good job, the client will like and respect us and be willing to give us referrals. Again, this is far from the case. Most clients will not give good, quality referrals just because they like you or because you have done a good job for them. You must give them a reason to give you referrals. They need to understand why it is in their best interest to give you referrals.”7
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Stephen Wershing (Stop Asking for Referrals: A Revolutionary New Strategy for Building a Financial Service Business that Sells Itself)
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Evidence from other studies in Ethiopia suggests 56 percent of firms insist on work experience even for blue-collar jobs,42 and it is also common to ask for a referral from an employer.43
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Abhijit V. Banerjee (Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems)
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there are some things money can’t buy: reliability, integrity, all that good stuff,
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Michael J. Maher (7L: The Seven Levels of Communication: Go From Relationships to Referrals)
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Another procedure which we are skilled at is paintless dent removal. It is a cost effective way to repair minor dents and dings in which the car paint or metal have not been stretched. The reason it is so cost effective is because there is no need for filling or painting the car. It takes an experienced hand to do paintless dent repair, because in the wrong hands it can create more dents and scratches to the car.
We have built a reputation and trust with our clients in Irvine, Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Rancho Santa Margarita, Coto de Caza and countless Orange County families and car fleets. For this reason, we have earned their repeat business and referrals of clients, friends and families. As a result, we reward our clients with incentives to say thank you for their continued support.
So don’t drive around in a damaged car. Let Mission Viejo Auto Collision do what we do best and restore your car to its mint condition in no time. Contact us at (949) 951-7503 for your next auto body repair in Orange County.
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Mission Viejo Auto Collision
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Take good care of relationships. God has never come down from heaven to do anything on earth by Himself. God works through men! God uses people to pour out blessings in your life. The person you despise today can be your saviour tomorrow. The answers to your prayers are locked in people. You cannot be praying for promotion at work yet trashing your Boss. You cannot be praying for success in life/business yet manipulating, using people, lying, cheating people every chance you get. Some relationships that could've blossom and brought more open doors, business referrals or better opportunities in future are killed prematurely because of quick/immediate gain. Destiny helpers don't come with white clothes and wings.
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Nicky Verd
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Everyone knew the real reason discipline numbers looked good: Mrs. Rawlins was the assistant principal in charge of discipline, and she rarely enforced any actual consequences. This not only kept suspension numbers low, it also meant few teachers bothered to fill out referral forms in the first place—and these were the two ways the district calculated discipline numbers. It was, of course, these same two tendencies that caused actual student behavior at the school to skid downhill, but this was no time to make changes to the one set of numbers that felt assured.
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Roxanna Elden (Adequate Yearly Progress)
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To highlight this point, many months ago I began running around the country proclaiming, “It’s Article One time!” to people who have no clue what I mean. I explain that Article I is where the U.S. Constitution spells out the privileges and obligations of the legislative branch. I argue that—lest it be steamrollered by whoever is in the White House—Congress must reassert itself as a coequal partner in government. How? Lawmakers have the right to hear testimony from executive branch officials, demand information from agencies, investigate cases of wrongdoing for referral to the courts, and evaluate the integrity and competence of persons nominated for positions of trust. They have a duty, as well, to help set the nation’s agenda so that urgent economic, social, and security needs are not lost amid political posturing. Internationally, they have a chance to reassure allies that America will stand with them in moments of stress; they can also set an example for democracies worldwide by collaborating with one another for the common good.
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Madeleine K. Albright (Hell and Other Destinations: A 21st-Century Memoir)
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Clarity is an act of courage to say "yes" to the best business - and therefore to decisively say "no" to work that isn't a good fit.
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Steve Woodruff (Clarity Wins: Get Heard. Get Referred.)
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aWe refer anything to anyone in order to enhance our standing... we do it to look good... If it does not give someone an opportunity to look good than they are not going to talk about it. (p. 26)
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Scott Degraffenreid and Donna Blandford (Embracing the N.u.d.e. Model - The New Art and Science of Referral Marketing)
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We refer anything to anyone in order to enhance our standing... we do it to look good... If it does not give someone an opportunity to look good than they are not going to talk about it. (p. 26)
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Scott Degraffenreid and Donna Blandford (Embracing the N.u.d.e. Model - The New Art and Science of Referral Marketing)
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The first driver is Novelty. If everyone has already heard of it and it is not novel, there is no reason to refer it to someone... You can actually have Novelty be present in some degree with almost any product, all the time, even old established products... It needs to give people a chance to tell their friends and family about this distinction that makes them look good, because their friends and family would not have heard of it before. ... The next aspect is Utility. In other words, will the majority of the people you mention it to have a use or need for it... Whenever possible it is best to target networks that are both broad and deep. A broad network is one with a large number of members. The more critical aspect however is depth; this represents the frequency of communication within this network or their structures for sharing information. An example of a network that is relatively quite deep would be golfers. Not only do fellow golfers frequently discuss their sport, they have magazines, television shows, newspaper columns and specific locations to indulge their interest. ... The third characteristic is Dependability. If something is seen as unreliable or inconsistent, you will not refer it. Why not? It would not make you look good. It is not that it is 100% failure free, but rather that it performs exactly as expected.... The fourth characteristic is Economy. Economy does not mean cheaper necessarily. It is just that it has a better value and you get more of what you wanted out of it. Very often what you get out of Economy is image. We are not really buying products and services, we are shopping for approval.... Strangely, a Hummer is going to be economical for some people. There are very few vehicles that get the kind of attention a Hummer gives.
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Scott Degraffenreid and Donna Blandford (Embracing the N.u.d.e. Model - The New Art and Science of Referral Marketing)
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Breakthrough products and services, in order to be perceived as credible desperately need a handicap in order to offset the too-good-to-be-true Toxic Novelty... It is something that is just noticed out of the corner of their eye, not really hidden, but unnoticed by the casual observer. Ideally, all early customers will believe that they are the only ones to have noticed this subtle flaw. We are now naturally situated for high referrals. "Almost too good to be true." Managing the "almost" part of that is the critical secret...
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Scott Degraffenreid and Donna Blandford (Embracing the N.u.d.e. Model - The New Art and Science of Referral Marketing)
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Breaking down a huge question (“Do you know anyone we should hire?”) into lots of small, manageable ones (“Do you know anyone who would be a good salesperson in New York?”) garners us more, higher-quality referrals.
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Laszlo Bock (Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead)
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Leaders who focus on meeting their teammates where they are and find ways to inspire the greatness within them will have crazy success in keeping them for the long haul and getting plenty of good employee referrals along the way.
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Heather R. Younger (The 7 Intuitive Laws of Employee Loyalty: Fascinating Truths About What It Takes to Create Truly Loyal and Engaged Employees)
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He stared at the card and thought, “Give more in value, huh? Well, here goes nothing.” “Jim? Here, try this guy. Ed Barnes, B-A-R-N-E-S. I heard he’s pretty strong overseas. . . . Yes, he’s a competitor. I just thought he might be in a better position to help.” Joe didn’t know if he felt more like laughing or crying at the words coming out of his mouth. “No, you don’t owe me, Jim. I just hope it works out. Sorry we couldn’t help this time.” He clicked off the phone, set it on his desk and stared at it, lost in disbelief at what he’d just done. “This guy just blows me off—and I give him a referral?” he muttered. “And throw some good business at a competitor?!” He glanced up and saw Gus at his office door, gazing at him. Gus smiled and nodded.
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Bob Burg (The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea)
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one of the best ways to get referrals is by straight out asking for them from customers for whom you’ve delivered a good result.
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Allan Dib (The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Get New Customers, Make More Money, And Stand out From The Crowd)
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There are three clear benefits of being a part of a mastermind: Growth. By surrounding yourself with folks who can provide you with informed advice, qualified referrals, and critical constructive feedback on your failures in a safe space, you are setting yourself up with the resources and guidance you need to focus on growing your business. Hopefully there’s at least one other person on each call who has more experience in a specific area than you do. There are some things in my business that I’m pretty damn confident I’m good at. But I know I have blind spots in other areas. I can bring those things to my mastermind because they don’t have the same blind spots. Accountability. As many solo founders know, keeping yourself accountable with no outside forces can be challenging. During most mastermind meetings, there is a point in time when each member is in the hot seat, discussing past goals and their progress, setting new goals and tracking them, and reporting back to the other members with updates along the way. By asking your group to keep you accountable to your business, you’re also committing to holding them accountable. A good mastermind also forces you to look at your weaknesses. You can bring your weakest attributes in front of this small group of trusted individuals who know your story, your revenue, your growth rate, and all your foibles—personally and professionally. Your mastermind will tell you things that if your spouse said them, you’d ignore them. (Ask my wife about that.) Support. Humans are social beings. Napoleon Hill says that the convergence of two individual minds creates a third, invisible force that combines the strength of both of its components. When you share your vulnerabilities and successes with others, you magnify your own experience and make it the experience of those around you. The power that comes from those shared experiences can be just as compelling and empowering as your individual success. Three of my favorite entrepreneurial communities are Indie Hackers, the Dynamite Circle, and of course, MicroConf.
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Rob Walling (The SaaS Playbook: Build a Multimillion-Dollar Startup Without Venture Capital)
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new is “What do you do?” Next time you answer that question (probably in the next week or two if our experience is any guide), follow up with “Say, now that I have told you what I do, who are the most talented people you know who could be a good fit for my company?” Do that, and you will turn a common social question into a sourcing opportunity. After years of asking for referrals and personally recruiting
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Geoff Smart (Who: The A Method for Hiring)