Field Notes

A good referral partner does more than send business your way. Sometimes they make that business considerably easier to serve. When I was designing kitchens and baths, some of my most productive referral relationships were with remodeling contractors. These weren't...

In kitchen and bath design, that might mean understanding whether the homeowner actually had a project. What were they considering? Were they replacing cabinets or contemplating an entire remodel? Did they have measurements? Were they working with a contractor? Were...

My approach would look something like this. First, identify the relationships worth revisiting. Then review the account history before contacting anyone. Know who they are. Know what business they previously did with you. Know anything important that happened near the...

That was the system. Someone came into the store. They asked about a kitchen. We offered free design. Sometimes a serious project came from it. Sometimes we invested considerable time in someone who wasn’t remotely ready to buy. Eventually I began noticing something...

I’d spend more time identifying a small number of people whose clients, standards and way of doing business fit naturally with mine. My own productive referral network in kitchen and bath was relatively small. Roughly five to eight relationships eventually generated...

It carries some of the other person’s reputation with it. That deserves to be treated accordingly.

That distinction matters. A record may show the last appointment. The last invoice. The last project. The last telephone call. It can show that a relationship became inactive. But software only knows what someone put into it. If nobody had a candid conversation with...

One of the advantages of working with fewer clients is having more time for each of them. That may sound obvious, but the financial implications aren't always appreciated. During my years as a kitchen and bath designer, I developed a small network of trusted...

You sent me three. I sent you two. Now somebody owes somebody one. That may work as accounting. I’m not sure it works very well as a relationship. If I knew someone who could genuinely benefit from working with one of my referral partners, I made the introduction. I...

One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that businesses often go looking for new opportunities before taking a close look at what they already have. A professional practice may have hundreds of former clients or patients. A contractor may have relationships...