Referrals and the big picture

One thing about referrals that people forget is that they are not always sales, sometimes they are better. One of the best referrals I got a few years back from a leads group I was in was to someone we hired and helped our company out a lot for the year she was with us. A referral is something that someone refers to you that has value So what qualifies as a referral?

• Job Candidate
• Sale
• Great person you should know to build your network
• New partnership opportunity
• New business opportunity (Ask me about the tropical island we may be opening offices on)
• New job opportunity
• Speaking opportunity
• Other networking group you should attend
• Name of valuable tool you should use
• Opportunity to write or be interviewed
• Gain an advocate

The list is probably much longer than this. Feel free to add comments. The key is to always consider that there is more to networking than getting warm sales leads, especially if you are in it for the long haul.