Why do we make business so damn hard? It doesn’t have to be. Take the idea of referrals. Every company I know is struggling with “new business development.” People whine: “there’s never enough in the funnel; there’s never enough of the right business in the funnel…” On and on it droans.

If you have just one customer, then you have a referral base. But don’t do it the way Willy Loman would have done it–pleading for referrals. Do it the 21st Century Way–create a referral system.

John Jantsch (author of Referral Flood), has great stories. Check out his work. His course is about $100–well worth it.

I especially like his idea of creating strategic alliances so that you can get access to others’ database. But you have to give something of great value for their contacts! And it must be well thought out.

Comment on some ideas to help small businesses grow their customer base via referral. I’d love to hear how you generate referrals–the right way.