Referral partners can be an awesome business booster!

A great referral partner has the ability to expand your audience and bring a whole slew of quality leads to your business, but finding the right colleague to partner with can be challenging. Creating a mutually beneficial partnership that can withstand the test of time starts with asking yourself five important questions:

1. Does Your Audience Align?
   
   Your ideal partner has a similar target audience that shares the same values, wants, and needs as your core client base. Your audiences should be like-minded and facing similar pain points so that your collaborations will speak to both fan bases.
   
   
2. Do You Share the Same Goals, Values, and Spotless Reputation?
   
   You need a referral partner that shares your goals and vision for the future of your business. It’s important to talk about where you see your companies and your partnership in a year, five years, or ten years down the road. It’s also critical that your referral partner has a spotless reputation and provides the same level of impeccable customer service that you do.
   
   
3. Have You Clearly Defined Your Goals for the Partnership?
   
   Before you enter a partnership, you need to have clearly defined, measurable goals for your collaboration. The secret to referral partner success is to sit down and create strategies for what you want to accomplish and how you’re going to get there.
   
   
4. Have You Set Your KPIs?
   
   How will you measure the success of your partnership? You need to set your metrics and outline your tracking process before your collaborate to ensure that you’re staying on path to meet your partnership goals.
   
   
5. Do You Have a Contract?
   
   A referral partner can’t be established with a handshake! When you are bringing two businesses together, it’s important to have a legally binding contract that outlines the duties and expectations of both partners and ensures that the partnership meets all legal requirements and complies with all industry standards.

Choosing the right referral partner can lead to epic growth and incredible opportunities for your business! If you’d like more great strategies for choosing a referral partner, let’s talk!