Earlier tonight I read a great post written by an Active Rainer who had just CLOSED her very first Active Rain referral. She was so excited... as well she should have been. How cool !
Of course, I congratulated her. I told her how glad I was for her that she "broke the ice" and got her first Active Rain referral closing. I was just being my normal sweet, supportive self. <she said, with her usual dorky grin>
The next comment after mine was from a Rainer who also congratulated her, and then asked her if she had any clients moving his way. Obviously, he was looking for a referral from her.
Now... she may have known of some folks ready to move... but why should she send them his way? Was there an Active Rain relationship between the two of them ? I didn't know, but when you are hoping for referrals... in my opinion, a personal relationship is the place to start.
Here is what I shared, and the advice I suggested:
In my opinion... Active Rain is ALL about relationships.
What usually makes the referrals come... is having established an online Active Rain relationship between the Active Rainer sending the referral, and the Active Rainer receiving it.
That can only be done if you put some energy into it. Relationships on Active Rain don't just "happen." They have to be worked at. They have to be nursed along over time.
I then suggested that the person asking for the referral should take a look at their "points totals." Look at the points earned from writing blog posts... and then look at the points earned from making comments on other people's posts.
If they are fairly equal, one could guess they are probably well on their way to getting their own first referral.
If most of their points are just from writing blog posts... and very few of their points are from making comments on the posts of other Active Rainers... I suggested that this indicates the proverbial "one way street." And often-times... one way streets can easily turn into dead ends.
And if that is the case... I suggested that they comment more on the blog posts of others... and try and establish some relationships. The only way you can build relationships... is if you give of yourself.
Again... I think that building relationships is the key to getting referrals.
Dear readers... what do you think ? Can one expect referrals just because they happen to live in a "hot city ?" Or... is there more to it than that ?
What do you think are some of the best ways to attract referrals from other Active Rainers ?
Comments (92)Subscribe to CommentsComment