11 Somebody Told Me: Referrals

Indie business club with Barfield and McKinney

We met up in Norwich this week (thanks, half term) to plan out our upcoming episodes. We’ve got topics up to #20, but we always welcome suggestions. Themes include tone of voice (suggested by Amy Nolan), software, and copywriting (it’s probably about time).

Today’s episode is called Somebody Told Me, and we talk about how inbound referrals can boost your business. We picked this theme because both of us have benefitted massively from inbound leads. When you’re recommended by someone else, onboarding the client is often a far simpler process.

We got our longest voicenote yet, but we know you’ll forgive us when you hear it’s from a legend in the field of referral marketing, Bob Burg. He of “know, like, trust” fame. You might remember us taking about the principle on the Personal Branding episode, Shiny Happy People.

Bob is a Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker on referrals, relationship building, and genuine influence. He co-authored the international bestseller, “The Go-Giver” and co-founded The Go-Giver® Success Vault.

Bob outlines the four main benefits of marketing your business based on inbound referrals, including the borrowed influence and trust you get from being the name people suggest when you’re not in the room.

Your Friend(s) And Mine

You say Kah-bo, I say Kay-bo. Let’s call the whole thing off. Not really. Also, it’s Kabbo so we were both wrong.

The people (that’s right, it’s a duo) we feature as this episode’s Your Friend(s) And Mine are partners in both business and in life. They run Kabo Creative, a website and graphic design studio. It’s Penni and Jo Pickering! They also run The Marketing Meetup Northampton with Elisha Horrocks, and the couple also founded Cowork Crew Northampton. Busy busy!

You can find Penni and Jo on LinkedIn and at coworkcrew.com, kabocreative.com and The Marketing Meetup Northampton.

Ben and I are both speaking at Cowork Crew in the next few weeks as it happens…

Ben’s at Cowork Crew Cambridge on Friday 15th November, speaking about how to be your own best customer. We’ll both be there so come and say hi.

Mel’s at Cowork Crew Northampton on Thursday 21st November, speaking about how to find and use your unique voice.

Friends of the show Molly Scanlan, Ange Lyons and Tom Garfield are involved with Cowork Crew, too. Molly is hosting the new South East London Cowork Crew, with Ange as the first speaker on Friday 22nd November. Tom is setting up Central London Cowork Crew, launching soon. Sign up for updates.

We know ALL the best people 😎

Find us wherever you get your podcasts, and on the indie business club LinkedIn page.See ya,

Mel & Ben

🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and AudibleThe back catalogue

01 Fools Gold: Pricing your projects ft. Tom Garfield and Ange Lyons02 It’s Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients ft. John Lyons and Bonnie Harrington03 All Together Now: Communities ft. Mark Masters and Ant Henderson04 A Little Respect: Client Relationships ft. Jodie Newman and Sophie Cross05 Flaming Lips: Public Speaking ft. Pascalle Bergmans, Becki Wilson and Nikki Pilkington06 I Bet You Look Good On The Timeline ft. Dave Harland and Jonathan Wilcock07 A Design for Life: Creating for yourself with guest co-host Dan Nelken ft. Penny Brazier and The McKinneys08 Chasing Rainbows: Business planning ft. Alastair Thomson and Melanie Johnson09 Shiny Happy People: Personal brands ft Lea Turner and Steve Folland10 Paranoid Android: AI ft Tom Albrighton and Molly Scanlan

Find our producer, theme composer and labrador Swiftie Ant Henderson on LinkedIn 🐶

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barfieldandmckinney.substack.com