REFERRAL STRATEGIES FOR YOUR BUSINESS AND PODCAST WITH MICHAEL WOODWARD
Michael Woodward’s Tips on Getting Referrals
Referrals are a bit harder to get if it isn’t a client – Clients can have business acquaintances and partners that may have an issue that your business can handle. In that case, your client can simply refer you to their contacts, securing business indirectly for you. When you’re in an active network that specializes in this kind of thing, then referrals can come naturally; provided you build your reputation to a level where referrals are simple to get. What I find myself doing nowadays however, is simply reaching out to people we want to work with, building relationships and then working towards the long game. That way, when they do need help, our company would be the first they’d call. I’m also a fan of providing value, but within certain limits.
Michael Woodward’s Dream
I think right now, my biggest dream is to really help people see and attain their dreams. Sitting down with someone, finding out their dream and determining how we can make it a reality is one of my biggest aspirations at this point. Another big dream right now is that I’d love to get a place in SoHo; we live on a massive farm in Pennsylvania, as well as have an office in Manhattan. It’d be expensive, but it’s a dream I have.
Three Pieces of Advice From Michael Woodward
Firstly, community. You need to be in some sort of community. Why? Because you can’t do everything on your own – you need mentors, coaches, peers; people that you can mastermind with and get advice from. My second piece of advice would revolve around authenticity. You can’t have a persona that people see, but isn’t really you. Just be yourself and stop trying to measure up to everyone else. Accept your flaws and move on like everyone else; failure can be a beautiful thing. And the last piece of advice is play it for the long game. Hustling is kind of a lie – we need to work hard, but we need to have the mentality of making a life story – as opposed to becoming an overnight success, only to crash and burn a few years down the road. Stop measuring today’s situation for what could be 5 years later, for example.