About Us
Gold Star Referral Clubs, a nationwide business networking and referral marketing organization, has been successfully creating networking groups for 17 years. With a team of 52 friendly professionals, we help small to medium businesses grow their bottom line, sometimes by as much as 82%! We believe, teach, and live by the 'Give then Receive' principle and offer a fun, supportive environment for serious business. If you're looking to explode your business through referrals, call me today!
We've adopted a "Go-Giver" mentality from the book The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann.
Gold Star has shorter meetings, fewer rules, and a lot more fun than similar groups, all while doing serious business with each other.
Our members grow their bottom line. Sometimes 10, 20, or even 50%! I talked with a member, who told me in the last six months, he's grown 82% simply because of the referrals he got from Gold Star Clubs!
We have clubs across the country. If you're local to one of our groups, check it out. If you're not, contact me for information on how to start your own Gold Star Club.
When you start a group, you get paid to promote your business, and your industry seat is exclusively yours!
That's right! You get paid to promote YOUR business while you help others get more business for their companies. However, it's not only about the commission we pay. It's about helping others while your business explodes!
The system we've developed works. We should talk if you like to network, are willing to be trained and coached, and appreciate and understand the value of referrals.
How We Got Started
After having been with another networking group for years and finding the rules too strict, and the management too unyielding, we developed the Gold Star Clubs system to help business people who were without a great referral group, to join one or to even start one of their own.
Today we have clubs from New Hampshire to California!
We're headquartered in Tulsa, and are doing business nationwide! Check out what all the excitement is about!
Call me, or schedule a Zoom by following the link below.
Many thanks,
Todd Davis
918-933-4866
Chief Executive Officer & Founder
Gold Star Referral Clubs
More Business for YOUR Business by Referrals
Book a Zoom connection
with me here:
https://my.timetrade.com/book/5TNJH
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Recent Activity
Internet sites can be flooded with "fluff" and fake reviews. And, the reviews themselves could be fake or submitted by employees.
Referrals, in my opinion, are the best way to find the right person to do the job - regardless of what kind of job.
There was a survey done that said: "92% of...
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Internet sites can be flooded with "fluff" and fake reviews. And, the reviews themselves could be fake or submitted by employees.
Referrals, in my opinion, are the best way to find the right person to do the job - regardless of what kind of job.
There was a survey done that said: "92% of those surveyed preferred to have a referral for a product or service. 78% of them used the referral to fill the need they have."
I hear you already, "Where can I find a referral?"
If a trusted neighbor of friend doesn't know, most cities have formal organized referral groups, like Gold Star Clubs, BNI, etc., most of the time the members have been interviewed, references have been checked, and for the most part insurance/workers comp have been filed. (At Gold Star - for sure.)
Look them up and see if they 1) are near your area. 2) They are familiar with the work you need done or the product you're looking for to fill the need. When in doubt, call their references yourself and ask if they would be comfortable using them again. If no? Move on.
If you have a business and aren't in a referral group, Gold Star is always looking for great people to start one!
LOL! Great question. Why, indeed? Open houses do nothing to SELL listings. In 25 years, I never sold an open house. I'm sure someone below must have, not me. But then again, I focused on selling the home, not sitting in it.
The answers below run the gamut. Opens mostly make the seller happy....
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LOL! Great question. Why, indeed? Open houses do nothing to SELL listings. In 25 years, I never sold an open house. I'm sure someone below must have, not me. But then again, I focused on selling the home, not sitting in it.
The answers below run the gamut. Opens mostly make the seller happy. They can see you doing something to earn your fat commission check. However, if you explain to those sellers UP FRONT that open houses most likely will not sell the house, then you won't find yourself locked into holding it open every other weekend. Be honest and tell them so.
In my marketing presentations, I outlined everything I would do to sell the house. The plan was for 30-days at a time. The open house was at the bottom of the list and held open, "only if we need to."
Sellers don't want me (or anyone else) making them leave the house on a Saturday or Sunday only to have a few tire-kickers, nosey neighbors, and unqualified strangers roam through.
Oh, sure. You might pick up a buyer that may want to buy "something" as a result. It still did nothing to the SELL the house. If you want buyers, take floor duty.
The money is in listings. You can manage more listings for less work, less gas and less effort, than the same number of "buyers," if you work smart.
I used a brochure box with a couple of good pictures and a killer description on every listing and never a price. I asked the seller, since they're part of the team to sell the home, to put a maximum of five flyers in the box at a time. That way, neighborhood kids don't end up taking my stack of 50+ flyers and tossing along the street.
Once a week I'd drop off more flyers if they needed them. In reality, the flyer made the house "available" and "open" 24/7. (I sold many homes from the flyer calls!)
The website I individually created for each listing did the same thing. No Price, killer description, tons of staged photos, etc., and an invite to schedule a "private open house." Which meant they had to call me, make the appointment, get pre-qualified/pre-approved with MY lender - before I showed the house.
There is also the obvious danger of sitting in a vacant home alone, allowing strangers to wander through. You simply have no idea who that "buyer" is. So maybe, you bring a friend to pass the time. It is a waste of both of your time.
If a seller didn't agree with me about open houses, they typically gave in when I promised to consider one in 30-days. Most often than not, the home was sold before the open had to be scheduled. However, if the sellers wanted an open every weekend, I turned the listing down. In a three to six months when they hadn't sold and their contract was up, they'd call and ask if I could help. And I still didn't do open houses for them.
Historically, people in the market, buy LESS home from the sign in the yard (in terms of price), and MORE home from the photo advertised in the paper. (Oh, and I didn't advertise.) My buyers and sellers both came from referrals.
I agree with Carl Lucchi below. You've got to find out the "need" for the offer.
If there is no need, there won't be a sale. No amount of "hurry-up" will change that.
However, if during the process (sale or not) you've taken the time to build a relationship with the prospect, and then keep in...
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I agree with Carl Lucchi below. You've got to find out the "need" for the offer.
If there is no need, there won't be a sale. No amount of "hurry-up" will change that.
However, if during the process (sale or not) you've taken the time to build a relationship with the prospect, and then keep in touch, you've got a good chance to be referred by the prospect to someone that does have a need and could really use your product or service.
Everything centers around having the "know, like and trust factor" with the prospect. If the prospect likes you, they get to know you (time invested with you), and you've proven that the product or service offered is worth more than you're asking for in terms of payment, they'll likely refer to you. Especially, if you have that relationship and ask for referrals.
As an example I offer this true success story.
Years ago as a salesman for a new home builders, I needed to find an agent to help me market the high-end townhome community I had been assigned in the Washington, D.C. area.
I asked a friend, Sally, to help me find a good agent. She recommended one, and I had a couple of others to interview.
The agents I spoke with were all about, "what's in it for me?" and couldn't be bothered by what I needed.
So, I called Sally's friend. She was professional, career oriented, and loved real estate.
Instead going for the close right away, she ended up interviewing ME! She wanted to find out what I was looking for and how could she help me go after it.
After I showed the models, I hired her on the spot. She never pushed. Never in the "hurry-up" mode. She moved at a comfortable speed to get me to the "yes."
I don't do real estate anymore. Nearly 25 years was plenty.
The agent I hired was great. The boss liked her, the other salespeople liked her - and many other salespeople hired her for their homes, too!
I liked her so much I married her and we're celebrating 25 years in October and have worked together ever since.
1 Reply
Essential, if they enjoy playing and are reasonably able to play.
What I've seen with my CEO wife, is that she enjoys playing a very casual game. With someone hovering over her shoulder - and of course, making suggestions to correct a flaw, it isn't fun for her (or anyone else).
When she and I...
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Essential, if they enjoy playing and are reasonably able to play.
What I've seen with my CEO wife, is that she enjoys playing a very casual game. With someone hovering over her shoulder - and of course, making suggestions to correct a flaw, it isn't fun for her (or anyone else).
When she and I get paired with another couple of guys, I swear by the second hole they have become "pros" and are filled with advice.
She and I have an agreement; I make no comments or suggestions or helpful well-intentioned corrections unless I get asked for them. Period.
When coupled with the "pros", we typically ask them to play through on the third hole. Spending 4-6 hours with the pros like that would make for a horrendous afternoon.
It may be better to send tickets or an invitation to attend a tournament being played locally. My wife got offered a pair of tickets from a vendor to a PGA practice round a couple of years ago. To this day she can tell you exactly what Tiger Wood's drive sounded like exploding off the tee.
The vendor? Still used as our primary and have increased our budget for them each year since.
Flyers alone rarely generate business. Unless you happen to be standing on the street in front of your business offering something outstanding. Even then, usually turns into a "one-off" sale, not anything sustainable. My opinion only.
Developing great referral sources can make you rich. (Just...
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Flyers alone rarely generate business. Unless you happen to be standing on the street in front of your business offering something outstanding. Even then, usually turns into a "one-off" sale, not anything sustainable. My opinion only.
Developing great referral sources can make you rich. (Just saying.)
Great question, Agin.
Depending on the situation, you may want to ask for references. Perhaps ask friends or associates who they would recommend.
Without being more specific about the situation you may be facing, I'll give it a shot.
I'll give you a take from my company's stand point. If we...
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Great question, Agin.
Depending on the situation, you may want to ask for references. Perhaps ask friends or associates who they would recommend.
Without being more specific about the situation you may be facing, I'll give it a shot.
I'll give you a take from my company's stand point. If we don't know, like, or trust a business person, we don't do business with them. We work at growing the relationship to the point where all three of those have been satisfied.
For example, when a person wants to join one of our referral clubs, we check two business references and have an interview to make sure there isn't a conflict with any other member, and determine if is felt they would be a good contributing member. We typically have a one-to-one to get to know more about them and their business, and help build that know like and trust factor.
When we feel the applicant is a good fit, they are welcomed.
On the other side of that coin, if the new applicant can't or won't follow our training or instructions, or they show themselves as a bad person to do business with, we counsel first, then remove them from the club. (Honestly, the bad members will show themselves quickly.)
I had a handyman years ago that made two appointments to do work for me. Both times I was stood up without a call or excuse. I couldn't take the risk of referring him to anyone. I felt as if the same lack of respect would be shown to people and clients I cared about. After counselling, he moved on.
I hope this helps. Todd
Easy! Treat your network as your biggest and best clients.
Find way to help people in your network. Refer business to them with qualified referrals - not tips, not leads. But to someone who needs a product or service, and is willing to speak with someone you know, like and trust about solving...
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Easy! Treat your network as your biggest and best clients.
Find way to help people in your network. Refer business to them with qualified referrals - not tips, not leads. But to someone who needs a product or service, and is willing to speak with someone you know, like and trust about solving their need/problem.
Treat each and every person - assuming "face-to-face" - in your network as a potential referral source for you. But remember, it's not about you, it's about them. At Gold Star, we teach, "Give, then receive."
Zig Ziglar used to say, "You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
Cheers, Todd
1 Reply
Disagree.
The old adage of "know, like and trust" are hard to establish and build exclusively online. How well do you really know someone by reading their profile or exchanging an email or two?
I had one guy that I attempted to connect with on LinkedIn. He sent a note back that he wouldn't...
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Disagree.
The old adage of "know, like and trust" are hard to establish and build exclusively online. How well do you really know someone by reading their profile or exchanging an email or two?
I had one guy that I attempted to connect with on LinkedIn. He sent a note back that he wouldn't accept a connection request without meeting in person or through a phone conversation. (Honestly, I was taken back!)
However, his reasoning was simple. He felt that if he couldn't offer anything of value to the connection, there wasn't a point to connect. After we connected by phone (I was out of state), he told me he didn't need "numbers of connections." He wanted people he would know, and be able to build on the relationship.
Taking your networking off-line will help build the relationships into possible referrals to you and from you. You may become the "go-to person" that appears to know everyone when you give good referrals that leads to closed business.
To a degree, I've taken that strategy to heart. I have to ask myself, What can I bring to the table to add value to the connection's life or business?
Cheers, Todd
Many of the people who have already answered are right on point.
Do what you're best at in your wheelhouse, and if not, consider people or businesses that are in your network and refer your existing client to someone you know, like, and trust.
For example, in Gold Star, we have a lot of...
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Many of the people who have already answered are right on point.
Do what you're best at in your wheelhouse, and if not, consider people or businesses that are in your network and refer your existing client to someone you know, like, and trust.
For example, in Gold Star, we have a lot of insurance companies represented. Sometimes representative for "Insurance X" can't help the client. Fortunately, they know the representative for "Insurance Y" can. The customer is happy for the coverage and thankful that Rep X took care of them by putting their needs first and making the referral to Rep Y.
If you need a larger network, look around for the company/companies that could provide the service you are asked for and don't handle. Get to know them and how they do business. If it matches, there may be a way for you to refer to them. Down the road, they might be able to refer to you should they bump into something they don't handle.
Best of success!
Try a low cost - high return method, business networking. Groups/clubs - like Gold Star Referral Clubs, BNI or even LeTip are all great ways to grow. It would mean that you would take responsibility to work the sales aspect - and the relationship building - for your business.
Don't forget,...
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Try a low cost - high return method, business networking. Groups/clubs - like Gold Star Referral Clubs, BNI or even LeTip are all great ways to grow. It would mean that you would take responsibility to work the sales aspect - and the relationship building - for your business.
Don't forget, it's all about the relationships. You'll need to demonstrate to the fellow members a "know, like, and trust" mentality, so they'll be confident about you, your product/service and do business with and refer business to you.
I'm sure there is one of those groups near you.
Best of success, Todd
