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MICHELLE'S
​ MORSELS

How to Build Referral Partnerships to Grow Your Business

4/26/2022

1 Comment

 
​Referral partnerships are invaluable for growing your business. A referral partner is someone who works in a different industry, but tends to work with your ideal clients and is likely to refer clients to you. For example, someone who just got a puppy will need pet supplies, but they’ll also probably need a dog walker for the times when they can’t take their dog out themselves, in which case a pet supply company could be a great referral partner for a dog walker.
Referral partnerships are incredibly valuable because someone the prospect already knows and likes is vouching for you before they’ve even met you. You can spend a lot of time doing your own prospecting and making sales calls to bring in new clients, but that requires convincing them you have what it takes to solve their problem. When they come to you via referral, they’re more likely to be convinced you’re the real deal because they were told as much by a trusted source.
Now that we know why referral partnerships are so valuable, let’s go over some strategies you can use to build referral partnerships to grow your business.

​Get Clear on Your Ideal Client to Communicate to Referral Partners

​Not only will getting clear on your ideal client help you identify the people you want to work with, which in turn helps you identify your referral partners, but that clarity can also help you communicate to your referral partners who it is you’re looking to meet. A great relationship with a referral partner doesn’t do any good if they don’t know which prospects to send your way, so make sure you can clearly communicate your ideal client to anyone who asks.
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​Understand the Value You Provide to Referral Partnerships

​It’s not enough for your referral partners to tell people in their network you exist. They need to be able to give those referrals a reason they should reach out to you over someone else, which means you need to have communicated to them what makes you stand out from the competition.
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​If you’re not so clear on the value you provide that it can be summed up in a few words, you need to start by getting clear on that so you can start telling all your referral partners why they should send work your way.

Identify Your Referral Partners

Next, you need to identify your referral partners so you know which people you want to talk to at your next networking event. Are there people in certain industries you tend to work with on projects? Do your clients tend to need a particular product or service before or after calling you for your product or service?
In some cases, you could even build referral partnerships with people in your industry who serve a slightly different niche, or could take your overflow when you have too much work coming in, and by the same token, you could take their overflow when they have too much work.

​Build Your Network of Referral Partners

​Before you can build referral partnerships, you need to meet your referral partners, so attend networking events and local mixers. Keep an eye out, not just for your prospects, but for potential referral partners.
​You should also consider who else your referral partners might want to meet and keep an eye out for them during networking events, so when you reach out to potential referral partners, you can offer them access to an extensive network that can help them grow their business.

Build Referral Partnerships by Sending Referrals

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​It’s true that givers gain, so the best way to build referral partnerships is to start sending referrals their way. When you first connect with them, ask about the types of people they’re looking to meet and see who in your network fits that description and make that referral. People remember the people who send work their way, and they appreciate the gesture, which means they’ll be more likely to return the favor.
​As a business coach, I love helping my clients find strategic ways to grow their businesses. When you know the keys to unlocking growth for your business, you can focus on those strategies, which allows you to work smarter, not harder, so you can get more results in less time. If you need help identifying the keys to unlocking growth for your business, schedule your FREE clarity call now so we can talk about how I can help.
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Finding the Ideal Nonprofit Employees: How to Identify the People You Want to Hire

4/19/2022

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If you’re like a lot of nonprofit organizations, you might have a hard time finding and retaining high-quality nonprofit employees. There are certain things you can do to retain staff once they’ve been hired, but most of the time I find the problem starts with the hiring process. When a hiring manager is desperate to fill a position, they often don’t take the time to make sure the person is right for the job - or that they even want the job.
​To avoid that problem, let’s take a look at some strategies you can use to find your ideal nonprofit employees so you won’t have to work as hard to retain them later on down the line.

​Identify Your Ideal Nonprofit Employees

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​For-profit organizations often create marketing personas to represent their ideal clients, and I recommend doing the same when looking for nonprofit employees to fill positions in your organization. What kind of person do you need in the role? What values do they need to share with your organization? What kind of temperament do they need to have? What kind of work style would be best suited to that position?
​Skills and qualifications are important, but remember those can be learned, so don’t focus on them too heavily during the hiring process. Instead, focus on the kind of person who will fit into the culture of your organization, because that’s the kind of thing that can’t be taught.

​Communicate What You’ll Need from Your Ideal Nonprofit Employees

​Setting expectations is key to success in just about any area of life. Consider the last time you looked up a restaurant online before visiting. If the reviews you read painted a picture of candlelit dinners with fine wine and attentive staff, you’d be disappointed to find a noisy restaurant with overworked staff and mediocre table wine, even if the food is good. On the other hand, if you were told the food was good, but the environment left something to be desired, you’d be more likely to be satisfied with the experience because your expectations would have been met.
​The same goes for hiring your nonprofit employees. If you paint a rosy picture of how wonderful it is to work for you, while neglecting to mention how many hours they’ll be expected to work or some of the challenges they’re likely to face on the job, they’ll be unpleasantly surprised when they start work. As a result they’ll be more likely to look for a job that does meet their expectations.
​Obviously you don’t want to paint such a bleak picture of your workplace that you deter candidates from applying at all, but you need to strike a balance between showcasing the best parts of working for your nonprofit and being honest about the not-so-great parts of working for your nonprofit.
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​Be Consistent

​Just like marketers need to keep their marketing personas in mind through every step of the marketing process, you need to keep your ideal nonprofit employees in mind through every step of the hiring process - from the job description to the interview to the employee contract.
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​When you’re clear on what you want from the beginning, you can craft a job description that resonates with your ideal nonprofit employees, come up with interview questions that help you determine whether a candidate fits the definition of your ideal nonprofit employees, and create an employee contract that sets the boundaries for the type of relationship you want to have with your new staff member.
​Whether you’re struggling to hire new talent or keep your existing staff members, it can help to talk with a coach who has decades of experience helping nonprofits with challenges just like this one. Schedule your FREE clarity call now to see how a coach can help your nonprofit organization.
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5 Ways to Make Sure Failure Leads to Success

4/12/2022

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​I don’t talk about failure a lot, but it’s an inevitable part of being an entrepreneur. I’m not saying your business is doomed to fail, but every entrepreneur fails at something in their business, and the longer you’re in business, the more failures you’ll have. As the saying goes, failure doesn’t define you - it’s what you do afterwards that counts. So how can failure lead to success?

​Failure Leads to Success Only After Analysis

​Sometimes things happen that are completely outside of our control, but in most cases there is something we could have done to handle the situation better. If you’re asking, “Can failure lead to success?” The answer is only if you learn from the experience so you can avoid making the same mistakes over again.
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​Know that You Are Not Wrong

​As an entrepreneur, it can be tempting to take failure personally, but that’s a huge mistake. There’s a difference between doing something wrong and being wrong (i.e. a bad person, or a bad business person). As the proverb goes, “To err is human; to forgive, divine.” So recognize that, as a human being, you will make mistakes from time to time. Then access the divine within you to forgive yourself so you can learn from those mistakes and move on towards your next great success. Don’t waste time in self-flagellation.

​Talk About Your Failure with Someone

​Sometimes talking through your experience with someone can help you process it, especially if it’s a fellow entrepreneur who understands the struggle of trying to run and grow a business. In addition to lending a sympathetic ear, your friend might also have some suggestions for how you can move forward so you can make sure your failure leads to success. After all, two heads are better than one.
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​Take Action to Ensure Failure Leads to Success

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​The worst thing you can do (after failure or any other time) is to stop dead in your tracks. Yes, you can take time to process and analyze the failure, but don’t let it stop you from moving forward in your business. Once you’ve learned from the experience, it’s time to create an action plan so you can ensure your failure leads to success.

​Don’t Let Failure Stop You from Dreaming Big

​I always tell my clients to dream big because I truly believe nothing is impossible until you decide it is. While it can be tempting to let failure hold you back from dreaming big dreams in the future, I encourage you to dream even bigger because you know more now than you did before you failed. You have experiences and knowledge you didn’t have before, which will better enable you to tackle even bigger goals. I do know that failure leads to success, but only if you decide that’s the case.
​Whether you’ve recently experienced a failure, or you’re just starting out and you’re afraid of failing, it can help to talk with a coach about what your next steps should be. Schedule your FREE clarity call now to see how I can help you make sure your failure leads to success.
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How to Set Goals for Nonprofit Organizations

4/5/2022

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​Setting goals is important in every aspect of our lives, and while for-profit organizations tend to be known for being very goal oriented, it’s just as important (if not more important) to set goals for nonprofit organizations and lay out a plan for achieving those goals.
​In my years of working with nonprofits, I have known them to be very good at understanding their overarching goals of serving their communities in a specific way, but they often fail to aim for the smaller goals that can help them achieve that big vision. In order to make sure your organization is as effective as it can be, use these strategies for setting goals for nonprofit organizations.

​Take Stock of Where You Are Before Setting Goals for Nonprofit Organizations

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​Before you set goals for nonprofit organizations, you need to start by taking stock of where your organization currently is. How many staff and volunteers do you have helping you? How much have you done to help your community? How much money do you raise on an annual basis?
​It’s important to take stock of the goals you’ve already achieved and the wins you’ve already had, and this is the perfect opportunity to do so. Taking a look at what you’ve already accomplished can get you motivated to achieve bigger goals, which is part of why I think it’s a good idea to take stock of those wins before sitting down to set goals for nonprofit organizations going forward.

​Set Big Goals for Nonprofit Organizations by Figuring Out Where You Want to Be

​Now it’s time to decide where you want to go. How big do you want your nonprofit organization to become? Do you want to serve your entire community? Do you want to serve communities in addition to the one you’re already serving? Do you want more office space? Multiple locations? This is your chance to dream big, so don’t be afraid to be ambitious when you set goals for nonprofit organizations. The sky's the limit.
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​Lay Out an Action Plan to Achieve Your Goals for Nonprofit Organizations

As the saying goes, a goal without a plan is just a wish. Rather than wishing for your nonprofit to grow, take the time to lay out actionable steps you and your team can take to get you from where you are to where you want to be. Will you need to raise more money? Find more volunteers? What steps can you take to get the things you need to reach your goal?

Take Stock of Potential Pitfalls and Setbacks When Setting Goals for Nonprofit Organizations

While it’s great to have an action plan to achieve your goals for nonprofit organizations, it’s important to remember that life often gets in the way of our plans, no matter how well thought out. Instead of letting pitfalls and setbacks blindside you, take some time now to think about some things you can anticipate getting in the way of you and your team achieving your goals for nonprofit organizations. Then identify ways you can get around those pitfalls and setbacks to achieve your goals.
Of course, life will always throw things at us we can never anticipate, but it’s important not to let the unexpected hold us back. By trying to anticipate the ways in which things can go wrong, and coming up with a strategy to overcome those obstacles, you’ll be better prepared to handle whatever life throws your way, no matter how unexpected.

Set a Date for Achieving Your Goals for Nonprofit Organizations and Take Stock on That Date

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One of the keys to successfully setting goals for nonprofit organizations is to set a date to have the goal accomplished. Without a deadline, you can put the goal off indefinitely, which prohibits you from taking stock of whether your action plan is working or needs to be adjusted.
Once the deadline has arrived, take stock of your goal. If you made it, great! Take the time to celebrate.
If you didn’t make it, that’s OK. Take stock of what worked and what didn’t, then set a new deadline and continue working towards that goal. It’s important to also take this time to acknowledge what you did accomplish in that time. Don’t fall into the trap of beating yourself up for not achieving your goal when that time would be better spent congratulating yourself and your staff for all the awesome things you did accomplish.

Need Help Setting Goals for Nonprofit Organizations?

If you feel like you’ve tried everything and you still feel stuck, it might be time to talk to a professional coach with years of experience helping nonprofits increase fundraising and grow their operations. You can schedule your FREE clarity call now to see how a coach can help your nonprofit.
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    Why Morsels? 

    Business advice,
    like chocolate chips,
    is best digested
    a handful of morsels at a time.  I think we'd all agree that devouring a lot of either all at once can be too much for the average person to handle..

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  • Services
    • Consulting
    • Coaching Programs
    • ECOURSE
    • Year End Specials
    • Speaking & Training
    • Events >
      • Living Room Sessions
    • Merchandise >
      • Book
      • Success Binder
    • Client Resources >
      • Group Coaching Calls
      • It's Call Time!
  • About
    • Tools & Software I Use
    • Testimonials
    • Where's Michelle? >
      • Past Speaking Engagements
      • Past Community Events
      • SCORE- Boardroom Business Bootcamp for Businesswomen
    • Free Resources >
      • How To's
    • Become a Guest Expert
    • Why Z&B
    • signup
  • Blog
  • Online Academy