With the mass of social networking tools and marketing gimmicks it’s no wonder that people continue to tune out marketers messages. There is a better way to communicate with customers and it has nothing to do with what platform you use, what cool presentation or call to action you show them.

You’re building your network; it’s growing but now what? How do you manage it? Is your network balanced enough? I’ll tell you I’ve always had a problem maintaining an acceptable balance in my network. Mainly because I see my network in three categories: Information, Support, and Referral. It’s tough work maintaining all three categories at the same time but it is worth it.

What relationships do you have that are not profitable? How do you know? Are you measuring, using some form of metrics to help you make these decisions? Many people will immediately default to the de facto standard of profitability – money. That is not the only metric to use, I suggest keeping track of referrals received and given. Of those referrals what was the outcome of them. How hard did you have to work to convert those referrals to customers? Sometimes these are better metrics to help you decide whether a relationship is worth continuing to pour energy into. A relationship that is yielding poor profitability may not be due to the referrer but to you not effectively communicating to the referrer what your business capabilities are. This more often seems to be the problem rather than simply a relationship does not make enough money from the referrer.

As you begin to delve further into building your network the next important task is create, nurture, and maintain your credibility. Once expectations form, your credibility stage begins. It is important to understand how vital this stage, if each party is confident of attaining fulfillment from the relationship, it will strengthen it. How is credibility attained? When appointments are kept, promises are acted upon, facts verified, and services rendered. Then and only then does credibility get whittled out in small, meager, diminutive portions.

There is no doubt that the foundation of referral marketing is relationships. Without them the marketing is unfounded, useless, and unproductive. Referral marketing works best when both parties benefit, look at your network, is everyone benefiting from what you are doing? Are you helping your network succeed? The first mistake in referral marketing that most people make is assuming everyone in your network is your client. This is quite the misnomer when speaking of referral marketing, your network is mainly your referral sources, the place where your prospects come from. Are you enabling your referral sources to help send you potential prospects?