The following article was originally published on our main agency website. We’ve gone through the process now of setting up these Google Guarantee Ads for a couple of roofers and they’re seeing great results. We know this is going to be huge for auto repair shops as well. We hope you find value in this article. Let us know if you have any questions about Google Guarantee Ads or the process of becoming verified. The best way to do that is to join our Facebook group – “Auto Repair Marketing Mastermind” – and ask in there, that way others benefit from your questions and comments.
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Having been referred to as the “Queen of Connections”, I often field phone calls, emails, Facebook private messages and more asking me to make introductions, where to find a specific product or service and many others like these. I even got a phone call once asking me “Where can we go eat on Tuesday night where kids eat free?”. Did I know the answer? No. But, I found an answer and replied. That’s the difference between a networker or connector and someone who doesn’t understand the power of a networking partner. In this blog, I want to share the importance of strategic alliances.
Years ago, I was introduced to BNI (Business Networking International). BNI chapters can be found all over the world, literally. It was through BNI that I became a master networker and connector. I learned A LOT about business and developing strong strategic alliances. In BNI, I was taught that while we all seek out and get very excited about each and every referral – or the “Golden Egg” – what we really should be working on is finding the “Golden Goose” who will lay all those Golden Eggs! Therefore, we find the importance of the development of strong strategic alliances.
So, no matter who your clients are – they are shared with someone else. When you take the time to find those other businesses that share your clients, develop those relationships and create a great partnership then you will find yourself reaping the benefits of strategic alliances. Let’s take a nutrition counselor as an example. The nutrition counselor’s clients are people either with specific health issues to address, the person needing to lose weight, lower their cholesterol, or get off of blood pressure medications. Who else has those same clients? We can name several such as: a fitness center, personal trainer, chiropractor, natural health practitioner, massage therapist or health food store. As the nutrition counselor, I would use my existing network of friends and business colleagues to find those other business owners. Invite them to coffee, lunch or a quick meet-up to get to know one another. Don’t forget about utilizing LinkedIn to get connected – it is a great tool!
Once you get the introduction, begin a plan of really putting a plan into place for how you can help one another. It could be by including that strategic partner in your email campaigns, share their page on your Facebook page, hold a special event where you both invite your current clients, co-partner on a Chamber Business After Hours. When you put your creative minds together you will find that the sky is the limit to how you can benefit one another.
