A Message From Michael, Happy Holidays Ambassadors! Blessings indeed… First, let’s take a moment to celebrate the highlights of this year. As a business person, we tend to focus on the problems or planning next year. Right here, right now, I ask you to celebrate your year’s accomplishments AND reflect on WHO made it possible. And please know the who for us is… YOU! Thank YOU! Please indulge me as I celebrate REFERCO’s recordsetting year… that YOU made possible.
REFERCO launched our CERTIFIED REFERRAL TRAINER (CRT) Program and welcomed almost 100 CRTs who are teaching the principles of (7L) across the globe. (CertifiedReferralTrainer.com) REFERCO launched REFERRALS Magazine® and distributed thousands of copies in four months. (ReferralsMagazine.com) REFERRALS Podcast® exploded onto the podcast scene and continues to be
one of the most downloaded podcasts in the world. (ReferralsPodcast.com) (7L) The Seven Levels of Communication: Go From Relationships to Referrals, passed eight (8!) straight years on Amazon as the #1 Bestseller bestselling book in the Real Estate Sales category! (TheBookOnReferrals.com) And perhaps you’ve heard the latest, EVENT MASTERY CLASS set Black Friday and Cyber Monday records. I’m
teaching this class live and super-excited about helping professionals run events with the (7L)System approach. (EventMasteryClass.com) Celebrate! Then, get busy planning for 2019. I can’t wait to see what you have in store. Here at REFERCO… well, you’ll have to wait and see! All I can say is, buckle up and get ready to enjoy the ride! Happy Holidays Ambassadors. Blessings, Your Coach-Michael REFERRALS
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DECEMBER 2018 FOUNDER AND CEO Michael Maher
VP Sheri Maher EDITOR IN CHIEF Mandy Thacker DIRECTOR OF DESIGN Joshua Nelson GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Ben Duff CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ashley Alt O’Beria Seats Taylor Murphy THIS ISSUE Michael Maher Don McNaughton ADVERTISING BookMichaelMaher.com 7L: The Seven Levels of Communication 30Mornings.com GenGenEvents.com ReferralPodcast.com GetAccelerate.com CertifiedReferralTrainers.com CallWithCoach.com ArmyOfAmbassadors.com EventMasteryClass.com
©2018 Referrals Magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part, without written permission is prohibited. To purchase a subscription to the magazine, visit www.REFERCO.com To advertise or contribute to the magazine, contact Publishing@ REFERCO.com
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REFERRALS MAGAZINE | REFERCO.COM | ISSUE 05 | DECEMBER 2018
WHAT’S INSIDE! Referrals Roundtable 4 The Best Holiday Party You’ve Ever Attended! referral strategies
Who is your Lighthouse?
... And How to Appreciate Them
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The Only Business Plan You’ll Ever Need
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the influential zone
A Company Driven By Faith, Fueled By Generosity
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featuring Don McNaughton be referable
7 Steps to Santa Mastery 22 20 Do’s and Don’ts for 26 Hosting an Awesome Holiday Party feed your soul
Holiday HOPE Who you should be checking on during the holidays
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catalyst* connection
The Great Pie Day Giveaway! 30
Want the ULTIMATE Plan for your Database? CLICK HERE or visit www.52weekplan.com
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Referrals ROUNDTABLE What is the best Holiday Party you’ve ever attended? What makes a great Holiday Party? Are YOU hosting or holding or part of organizing a Holiday Party? What advice would you give someone hosting a Holiday Party?
I’d like to have a get together/client appreciation party for 50-75 of my vip clients, but I’m at a loss for something that’s easy on the budget, esp around the holidays. Anna Marie Losito - Palm Beach County, FL
Tonight, a few agents hosted a partner appreciation. Really good turnout. Will host a pie party Nov 20. Be flexible. Plan but don’t get held back by perfection. Enjoy! Lisa Willis Kimball - Bossier City, Louisiana
It’s all about the dancing! Amee Sas - Sebastopol, California
Music is important. Keeps the energy going and the mood fun. Also some sort of game that results in prizes. Melody Meece Burr - Nashville, Tennessee
I think great food and mixer game is key to a successful party. Having a fun way for people to interact is so important and especially for those who are shy. A game gives them a reason to talk to others that they would not otherwise talk to. Judy Jones Paul - Gainesville, Georgia
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Some of you may have had a good year. Maybe a great year. Or even a recordbreaking year. If you have a referralbased business then you already know who to appreciate for your success. And if it wasn’t for these unique campaigners, your 75 plus transactions could have easily been a mere 25 by year’s end. So who are those referral champions who kept you above the fold in 2018? Michael J. Maher, best-selling author of (7L) Seven Levels of Communication: Go From Relationships to Referrals, calls them ambassadors. To put it in layman’s terms, ambassadors are your lookouts, your got-your-backs, your aces in the hole, or possibly your ride-or-die sources. Maher tells us who qualifies as your ambassadors: “Ambassadors are people who speak highly of you and refer you willingly. These are brand ambassadors, business ambassadors and unpaid salespeople for your business.” Maher explains the types of ambassadors you more than likely have in your database:
Who is your Lighthouse? ...And How to Appreciate Them By O’Beria feat Michael J. Maher
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The Traditional Ambassador “This is someone who always seems to be thinking about you, and always referring you. Every year, this is someone who’s referred you a couple months or 20 at one time . . . they’re looking to get you paid, and they’re looking to help their friends by referring you.” The Influential or Connected Ambassador “They may have only referred you once and it didn’t work out, but there’s momentum in the relationship. And you want to take that momentum to the next level. You want to build a stronger more professional relationship.” The Potential Ambassador “This is someone who is really influential, really connected and you’ve noticed they are referring
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are just value exchanges. And if there is no value being exchanged, there’s no relationship,” Maher said. The best times to schedule a oneon-one meeting is during the last week of November up until around the first two weeks in December. By the end of the year, you will already have your year-end review in mind, as well as have the mindset of looking forward to next year. If a physical one-on-one is not possible then schedule a conference call. But a oneon-one meeting is always preferred.
Meet UP
other businesses quite often. They’re very connected throughout the community. Maybe they’ve connected you to one or two people who are also influential.” However, we all have those ambassadors who are our top spokesmen and highest supporters. They deserve special recognition and appreciation for easily outshining all the others. Maher describes them as lighthouses that guide us through the vast sea of referrals that make up our network and community. As we reflect on our year, Maher tells us we should take notice of our top four lighthouses. “The people we should start with is ‘who is Oprah for us this year? Who was our cheerleader and referred us a lot of business even if only half of it turned out to be full transactions?’ We need to literally meet with them, thank them, and get to know how we can help them better in the next year.”
Schedule A One-On-One Meeting Even though you may talk with your ambassadors on a regular basis, it is
by far not the same as actually sitting down with them to have a focused one-on-one conversation, where it’s all about them. One-on-one’s are powerful because it allows you to take the relationship to the next level. According to Maher the structure of these one-on-one meetings is to look back, look forward and then look at now. So you’re going to do a year-end review. Ask them what were their biggest highlights of the year, and what goals they did or did not achieve. And then you’re going to do a year in preview, which is taking a glimpse into the year ahead. You can ask them things like, “What are your goals for next year? Where do you plan to vacation? Or what clients are you hoping to attract?” And lastly, you’re going to find out what’s their biggest need right now. Ask them, “What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing right now? How can I help you, and what can I do for you now?” “And by getting to know how we can help them, we can then add value to their life like they’re adding value to ours. We have to realize relationships
As professionals and goal-oriented people, we should always find every opportunity to grow. Often times we can learn and gain wisdom from those who have already traveled the road to success. Said Maher, “I always say when you meet up, meet UP. Meet people who are more successful than you. Meet people who are wealthier than you. Meet people who are more balanced than you. Meet people who are more energetic than you. When you meet UP, it pulls you UP.” Maher recounts a time when he met UP with a Potential Ambassador, while only a couple years into his real estate career. She was a former realtor and knew hundreds of real estate agents. Maher admittedly was nervous when he called her for a one-on-one. “I didn’t know if she’d say yes. She was above me in the pay grade. She was above me in social circles. This was a stretch for me from the aspect of who I networked with.” But he thought he’d try his luck anyway, and scheduled to meet her for lunch at the EBT restaurant in Kansas City. Well, the conversation took an unexpected turn. She confided in Maher and told him she was going through a painful situation, and he was one of the first three people to know. He reassured her his
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