You CAN Get a Load of Referrals. If…

A clear, compact message is not just for prospective customers. It’s for your referral advocates.

Every time I’ve asked the question over the years, the answer comes back the same.

“What is the very best source of targeted new business?” “Referrals!”

It’s always been this way - for generations. I’ve seen all the new shiny objects over my 60+ years, and there’s one constant: people want to do business with people they trust, which is what great referrals are all about.

In these days of growing AI slop, clarity matters. Warm human recommendations matter. It’s more vital than ever to equip our clients, friends, and network connections with a message that (like a relay race baton) they can pass on to others.

Conclusion: We need to get ourselves and our businesses referral-ready with clear, concise messaging.

Twenty years ago, I launched my business on that basis.

When I went solo with my consultancy, the heart of the business model was referral matchmaking - helping corporate clients find ideal outsource vendors (and vendors find well-targeted opportunities). What I discovered early on was that a crucial missing piece was a clear and differentiating brand message. To be blunt, all the vendors sounded the same. “We do blah-blah-blah…” (just like everyone else). So I started doing clarity sessions to meet that branding/messaging need, and that part of the practice was wildly successful.

A clear brand message - EVERYone needs it!

Rather quickly, clarity sessions began to expand beyond corporate matchmaking. What I soon discovered is that every business needed to become referral-ready - especially small businesses. Well, also startups. And fellow solopreneurs. And individuals in career transition. Referrals power business decisions at every level, in every marketplace. So EVERYone needs a clear and compelling message that advocates can remember and pass on. That became the theme of my first book, Clarity Wins.

My method: network-building.

I didn’t have a huge sales/marketing budget, so proactive network building was my main biz dev approach. Because…well, referrals come through people-connections. And I found that I really enjoyed building a human-powered network that helped me make a variety of connections and referrals outside my corporate clientele. My network-building got turbocharged during the era of social media, and tech tools remain a crucial part of my approach to this day. Also, actually, so do coffee shops.

Trying to make clarity a big deal.

Over time, I wrote two books and expanded my clarity practice into delivering workshops on a range of communication topics. I did more corporate gigs and less matchmaking. I created an entire framework for clear communications that any company (from startup to Top 5 Pharma) could apply (that was my second book, The Point). But it was difficult to get traction in that space. Clarity, at the corporate level, was being treated as a nice-to-have, not a must-have - which really frustrated me, because I know it’s vital at every level. I’m convinced that clarity-fueled focus and messaging are absolutely mission-critical for every business. However, during this time, I continued to do a steady flow of clarity sessions for individuals and small businesses, because that was always my most fulfilling work. Really, it had become my mission.

Back to my roots.

I kept seeing the need to help others succeed with clarity, especially small and micro-business people like me. What had never changed during those years was this drive to help people become referral-ready. A clear focus and clear message will be the difference between success and failure for countless businesses. So here in my 60’s, I’ve shifted my focus back to clarity messaging, broad networking, and referral matchmaking. Which is what I’m doing today in the various networking groups I enjoy (Iron Sharpens Iron, the Connective, Nashville Entrepreneur Center, Club Ichi, and more).

Making 1,000 (or more) entrepreneurs successful

Now I spend my days doing what delights me - meeting great new people (through referrals, of course), learning about their business, and helping them quickly find their differentiation and their message. This one fact sums it up: You can’t read the label of the jar you’re in. My job is to read the label. I believe that the best way I can touch the future is by helping as many people as possible find their ideal role, their best-fit work, and their Memory Dart messages - and then connect them with other great people in my ever-growing network of awesome individuals.

Which, not surprisingly, is almost exactly where I started 20 years ago.

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