The Ins and Outs of Referral Groups

Referral groups are great if you are looking to take business networking to the next level.  Business referral groups, business networking, professional networking groups, and/or networking organizations are all different names for referral groups.  If you are a business owner or professional looking to get fast results, business referral groups help you expand your customer base and your reach.

There are many ways to get referrals, but word-of-mouth seems to have the most success.  In fact, word-of-mouth referral marketing can result in five times more sales than traditional paid ads.  Many marketers use word-of-mouth marketing because it helps increase their brand awareness.

The Benefits of Joining Referral Groups

If you’ve ever heard the phrase “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” then you’d know the power of joining a high-quality referral group.  Some of the benefits include the following:

•  Get more clients/increase your business.

•  Discover more professional opportunities.

•  Expand your network and make better connections.

•  Raise your clout and profile amongst your peers.

•  Find mentors/gain advice from those who have “been there, done that.”

•  Increase your confidence.

•  Be a positive influence while helping others.

Typically, if you are helping someone grow their book of business, traditionally, they will want to return the favor.  This isn’t why we help someone, of course.  We do it because in doing so, we are ourselves filled. 

Typical Guidelines/Rules of Referral Groups

Depending on the type of referral group you join, there are different rules, guidelines, and expectations that members traditionally have to follow.  One of the things we find is the more structured a group is, the more referrals are passed between members.  There are other things that affect this too.  For example, the culture within a group can make or break a group. 

Here are some traditional guidelines, rules, and expectations most (not all) referral groups enforce:

Commitment. 

Joining a referral group often means that there is an attendance policy in place.  The number of absences a member has may drive the group to eliminate a member.  This could be for several reasons, but one of the main reasons is to see whether a member is serious enough about growing their business as the other members.  A hungry professional is driven, motivated, and committed.  And oftentimes, they pass a lot of referrals to the other members!

Exclusivity.

Depending on the group, many referral groups want to ensure that only one trade per group is being represented.  For example, if you own a roofing company, joining a group with another roofing company may be a conflict of interest for you AND the other company.  It would benefit both of you to join separate groups or chapters within that networking organization.

Result-oriented.

A highly structured agenda helps to not only maximize everyone’s time, but their results as well.

         Are you passing referrals within the group?

         Are you meeting the attendance requirements?

         Are you inviting other professionals to visit the group?

Are you providing the best products and services to the referrals you’ve received within the group?

This ensures everyone is getting the most out of the group by keeping a collaborative attitude.

Automated growth.

Lastly, is the group automated?  Can you visibly see the number of referrals you are receiving and giving?  Is referral group growth automated?  Is attendance automated?  Automation means less work for the group members.  This is a good thing!  I don’t know many people who want to join a networking group to grow their business, but instead end up gaining a “part-time job” because the group isn’t automated! 

How do I Join a Networking Group / Referral Group?

You can easily find referral groups in your area by googling “business referral network,” “referral marketing groups,” professional networking groups,” or even “best networking group.”   

If the group has public meetings, you can often find when and where they meet up via various social media portals.  Or, if you are interested in something that is more streamlined and efficient, you may want to consider visiting a We&Co Huddle or starting We&Co in your area.

What Makes We&Co Different from Other Networking Groups?

There are many things that We&Co does differently from other networking groups. 

• Smaller Hyper-Focused Groups

For one, our groups are smaller because we only put professionals in a specific chapter (aka “Huddle) who share the same target audience.  Instead of a room filled with 50+ professionals all representing one trade, we put professionals with 5 to 10 of their ideal referral partners. 

There are many reasons for this, but I’ll give an example of why this is so important.  In one of the last networking groups I attended (before launching We&Co), I was in a fairly large networking group.  This group had a plumber as well as an HVAC technician in the group.  Unfortunately, the plumber also offered HVAC services.  This already eliminated the chances of referrals being passed between them.  If the whole point of me joining a networking group is to pass and receive more referrals, why would I join a group where I have a direct competitor?

Sure, networking is about relationships, but it’s also about finding the best way to spend my time to maximize my bottom line!

• Help Professionals Save Time

Instead of meeting every week for an hour and a half (not including drive time and before and after the meeting networking), our Huddles meet twice a month for exactly an hour.

• Minimized Referral Group “Homework”

Due to our highly structured agenda, we maximize effort and efficiency by covering huddle growth and referral tracking during the meeting.  That means if you know someone who you think would like to come to your Huddle, you can invite them during the “growth” meeting segment.

• Automated Success.

Another great thing about the We&Co referral groups is that we’ve been building out automation from the start.  You log your attendance and referrals on our platform, you can access your own personal We&Co CRM and see how many referrals you’re making from We&Co, and lastly, if you are in a leadership role, you don’t have to worry about taking home any homework to do at your job or after hours.  You don’t even have to follow up with a member who didn’t attend!  We have an automated emailing system that tracks when someone isn’t in attendance. 

In summary, we help professionals save time while making more money, and we do this by providing them with an automated platform that’s been built to help them become more successful.  The best part?  People are allowed to check it out before they buy!  We offer all visitors a free 14-day trial and we do not ask for their credit card details!

About We&Co and The We&Co Huddles

We&Co is a professional co-oping & professional networking business that was founded in Springfield, Missouri in 2020.  While there are many professional networking groups in and around the United States, We&Co focuses on creating small industry-specific groups with five to ten professionals who all have the same target audience but offer different products and services.

In essence, professionals come to us when they want to save time while making more money.  These industry-specific groups are essential pods of professionals surrounded by their ideal referral partners.

These small groups of referral partners (called “Huddles) meet up twice a month for an hour and talk strategy on how to become that one-stop-shop for their clients.  If you are a professional who is interested in joining or launching your own We&Co co-op (or “Huddle” as we like to call them), start a free trial here (no credit card needed), and a representative will get back to you shortly!