The Myth of Referrals: The 6 Faces of Contribution for Your “Marketing Tribe”

March 1, 2017
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Anna Sun Choi
Ever ask a fellow entrepreneur “What marketing do you do?” “Where did you find that client?”
They proudly respond, “Referrals.”

While some entrepreneurs may say “referrals” intentionally to not disclose their marketing secret sauce, mostly I find that response is code for... 

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Ever ask a fellow entrepreneur “What marketing do you do?” “Where did you find that client?”
They proudly respond, “Referrals.”

While some entrepreneurs may say “referrals” intentionally to not disclose their marketing secret sauce, mostly I find that response is code for “I have no consistent marketing plan, and I’m hoping my existing clients will do the work for me.” Or  “It feels too awkward to ask, so I’m not going to bother asking, and hope we provide good enough service they share about us with others.”

Let’s be straight—at it’s best, referrals can help keep your doors open. But you cannot rely on that marketing method alone and expect to grow. Over the years, I’ve noticed people who don’t even use your service might send leads your way, while others who are happy customers might be very uncomfortable sharing about your services.

Why? Because you can’t treat every client the same way. You have to understand what motivates each client and discover the ways they like to contribute. Some clients, no matter how much they love your service, are not connectors who love to introduce people together. They might be more of an idea type who loves to give feedback and their perspective on a challenge you’re facing.

 Mostly people don’t understand how to actually leverage their existing network. By leverage, I don’t mean manipulating people to get what you want. By leverage, I mean genuinely assessing how each person in your network likes to contribute and being willing to take the time to customize ways for each person in your existing tribe to contribute to you.

Consider you cannot win the game of business without other people. If you take the case people are hungry to contribute, the point here is to find out how people like to contribute and customize opportunities for them to express that. Some people will have multiple ways to contribute while others may contribute best in one particular way.


Either way, here are the Six Faces of Contribution for your “Marketing Tribe”:

1. Connectors: These are people who love listening for what people are looking for then making a relevant introduction to the right resource. Nothing is more satisfying to a Connector than contributing a potentially great relationship. Bad connections are a threat to a Connector reputation and they will be picky with how best to introduce you to someone. While more rare, be sure to treasure and honor your connectors.

2. Masterminders. These people are strategic, smart, and love to problem solve. They may have a tendency to research, analyze, and recommend different strategies.  How they give best is through listening, understanding the big picture, asking great questions, and offering relevant ideas for solutions. You often walk away with a new perspective you wouldn’t otherwise have gotten. These people could make strong advisory board members for your business and/or business mastermind.

3. Supporters. These people love you and are there for you. They will tell you straight up what they think, even if you don't want to hear it. While you may not necessarily want to surround yourself with these people for business purposes, Supporters are typically friends and family you socialize with. They may not share your business interests, but are vested in your personal success.

4. Followers. These people are often strangers or online relationships who follow you on social media, cheerlead you, and generally give you an ego boost or confidence builder. They are on the sidelines, not actively participating with you. They may enjoy your content and could turn into a deeper relationship or play a more active role as a difference Face of Contribution. These people may make low risk recommendations on your behalf, whether they have tried or paid for your actual service or not.

5. Worker Bees. These are people who love to execute and do something for you. Do not give them anything that involves big picture planning and thinking. They want to be told specifically what to do and go execute on it. They are fabulous builders who take actions like crazy. Their expression is service and give of their time and talents generously. They sometimes can be a good accountability partner in getting things done.

6. Clients. These people pay you for your services and offerings. They financially invest in you, trust you, and may or may not feel comfortable referring you even if they are happy with your service. They often want to simply just pay you, enjoy the benefits of your services, and be done. The more you invest in delivering outcomes and good service, the more loyal and long term they can become.  

Of course you can’t put people in a box and people change. However, by taking the time to analyze your current relationships in what Face of Contribution they currently are, you can more effectively create opportunities for them to express themselves, that will pay nice dividends in the long run. Crack that code and you can accelerate your business vision more quickly and in flow.

Anna S. Choi helps conscious companies grow their client flow through business and marketing coaching. She loves synthesizing, adapting, and distilling strategic marketing plans into executable daily actions to take that get results to grow your business. If you're interested in taking focused action on an intentional strategic marketing plan to energize more client flow, please watch this introductory video to see whether we are a fit. I look forward to connecting and supporting you! You can contact her at anna@annasunchoi.com or 206-330-6426. ​