3 Types of Referability Partners—and How to Leverage Them

Contributed by Michael Roderick, a recent EO 360° podcast guest and the founder and CEO of Small Pond Enterprises, which helps coaches and consultants make their brands referable, their messaging memorable, and their ideas unforgettable. He’s also the cohost of the Access To Anyone podcast, exploring how you can get to know anyone you want to in business and in life using everything from the latest technology to the most time tested principles (including the Art of the Ask).

As someone who has spent a great deal of time studying the facets of referability, I have seen a lot of interesting things, but one thing that I noticed recently really got my attention.

I realized that there are actually specific types of people who influence the level of referability we have, and if we have a healthy mix of all three in our lives it can actually make being referred even easier.

I like to refer (ha ha) to these people as “referability partners”.

Below are the three types of referability partners you have in your network:

1. Translators: These are the people who are really good at looking at whatever it is you are offering and are able to find the language that resonates with your audience almost effortlessly. The challenge if you are a translator, is that you usually can’t translate for yourself. This is why it’s important to have translators in your life even if you are a great one.
2. Angels: These are the people who are often called “connectors” in your circle of friends, but I’d go even further to say that these are intentional connectors who readily advocate for you. Angels often identify the most talented translators and introduce them to opportunities, like-minded translators, and the last partner on this list.
3. Producers: Producers are the big picture people who are always thinking about how something can grow beyond its current capacity. Producers are very good at helping someone figure out how to build a business or make money and often think about how something will be received by the public. They geek out on the larger-scale opportunities that lie within any idea or concept.

If you saw yourself in any of the descriptions above, it means that you are currently in a position to be someone else’s perfect referability partner:

• If you are a gifted translator who is doing great work, you could shorten the time it takes to get your idea out there with an angel in your circle and you could make a lot of money with the mind of a producer looking at your ideas.
• If you are a gifted angel who loves connecting people you can find all kinds of opportunities in connecting producers in your circle with gifted translators. A solid producer in your corner can help you avoid being connection-rich and cash poor.
• And if you are a producer who loves creating and growing business opportunities, then having angels in your circle who introduce you to amazing translators will only deepen the pipeline you have of great products to promote.

So take some time today to ask yourself which category you fall into and which people are missing from your current circle. Then, find those missing links and leverage those valuable connections to grow your business.

It could be that you are one person away from realizing the true potential of your next project.

This message originally appeared in Michael Roderick’s weekly email messages and is reposted here with permission.

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