Having the right partners, especially referral partners, can be a serious game-changer for most agency owners!! The sooner you have the right partners,the sooner you have steady cash flow!

In today’s episode, I am talking with Cory Snyder, Director Over Channel at Active Campaign, he basically owns the entire channel organization for partnerships for Active Campaign. Cory and I have known each other for many many years and trust me when it comes to partnerships, Cory is an expert! There really is no one on the planet who understands the value of having some trusted partners in your corner more than the man I am interviewing today, Cory Snyder!

Takeaways From This Episode:

• The Power Of Referrals And How To Tap Into That Power
• The Difference Between An Affiliate And A Strategic Referral Partner
• Certified Partner Channels Can Bring In 40% 50% 60% More Revenue
• Your Relationship With Referral Partners Is A Two Way Street
• Don't Always Try To Be Right, You're Gonna Be Wrong Sometimes
• Find Out How To Charge $200 An Hour And Up For Your Services

Sadly, you do not hear about referral partners out there as much as I feel like you should, which is why I asked Cory to be one of my first round of episodes to be recorded. I built my agency on the back of referral partners and in this interview we talk about the power of referrals and how to tap into that power! Strategic referral partners are vital -  they can be difficult to get in play sometimes but when you get them, dude, they may bank you for a decade!

If you find the right certified partner channels they can bring in 40% 50% 60% (depending on the month) of your revenue model (the total revenue, new sales revenue and the attrition rate) and if you build it right, another bonus is that the churn rate for partners is about a point lower. So, if you are at a 3% churn channel you should be a 2% cost of acquisition. Lowering your acquisition cost because you are not having to pump out a lot of marketing! #win-win.

The first thing we discuss is,“What is the definition of a referral partner?” You may have noticed, there are a whole lot of gurus out there talking about strategic alliances. The way that you define that relationship is how you define your program. In a nutshell, an affiliate is somebody that does one simple thing, generates leads. That's it. They are getting paid.

Referral Partners Are More Of A Warm One To One Transfer. They're Potentially Getting Paid A Little Bit More Because They're Generating Actual Warm Leads.

Cory and I  break down the difference between an affiliate (someone with no skin in the game) and a referral partner (someone who trusts you and brings you warm leads). Having the right referral partners is a two way street, you're both paying money to get in front of the same target audience. What you're doing is you're sharing resources and sharing brains.

How Do You Find The Right Referral Partners?

Cory talks about what it takes to find those relationships that truly fit! Being a decent human is the first thing, making your partner look good and in turn that makes you look good! If done right, the money is the least of the benefits of the right partner relationships. You build trust through honesty and reliability of products and services. Building your good reputation is more important in the long run. 

Create The Type Of Ecosystem Where You Are At The Forefront Of Their Minds!

Cory talks about creating an email template that he gave to every single one of his partners and said, “fill this out”; He made it stupid simple for them... Because at the end of the day, you are a very, very small piece of the overall revenue generation of that company. You have to remember that your goal is to answer the question...“How do I keep at the forefront of my partners' minds?” He breaks down the three ways on how to be beneficial and profitable with your referral partners.

Start Charging $200 An Hour And Up For Your Services!

If you're having a problem getting what I call “positioning elements” and you're charging $30,$40,$50 bucks an hour and you're sick of it; you are ready to get up to about $100 or $200 an hour, this episode will show you how to do it. 

At the end of the day, just do it - Find people who are paying money to get in front of your target audience! They're already doing that. They're out there. There are publications, there are speakers, there are conferences, there are associations, nonprofits, magazines, the list goes on and on!

Best Advice Ever...Don't always try to be right, you're gonna be wrong sometimes! Way too often it is just understanding the stepping stones because every time you fail, you learn a valuable lesson and you learn not to do that again. So, learn that lesson and don't do it:)