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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
Understand the Value You Provide to Referral PartnershipsIt’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.  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 PartnersNext, 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 PartnersBefore 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
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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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
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 EmployeesSetting 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.
Be ConsistentJust 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.
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.
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 AnalysisSometimes 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.  Know that You Are Not WrongAs 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
Take Action to Ensure Failure Leads to Success
Don’t Let Failure Stop You from Dreaming BigI 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.
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
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
Lay Out an Action Plan to Achieve Your Goals for Nonprofit OrganizationsAs 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 OrganizationsWhile 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
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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