Congratulations! You have a new referral! Now what?
Lately, I found myself thinking about this subject quite a lot. I don't know if it is because of my daily interactions with members who are new to Wealthy Affiliates, or something else.
This has caused me to think a lot more about how we go about our follow up contact with the members that our quality content and affiliate links have brought in to Wealthy Affiliates
That's right, I am talking about our referrals
What would you say is your responsibility towards your referrals?
Is it never to introduce yourself and make yourself known, but still accept the commission that you are given?
The fisherman approach
Consider the duty and work of a fisherman. He takes his bait and toil all throughout the night. Even getting frustrated, disappointed and even depressed at times when he is not successful in getting any attraction to the bait that he has provided
Yet he doesn't give up! He goes night after night and even tries alternative things to stay focused and awake. He sometimes smell the excitement that his success is not far away
Alas, he finally succeeds! After all this time, diligently and tirelessly working, he has finally got some fish. Results!
What does he now do?
Do you think he just collects the fish and places it on his kitchen counter to spoil or rotten away?
Or does he just toss it in his fridge or freezer and forget all about it?
What are your thoughts about his responsibility towards that fish?
Your referrals
It is the same as our referrals. We spend all day, nights toiling away, researching, and writing our content.
We anxiously await the indexing and ranking of Google's intervention. Finally, we are receiving traffic!
At last, we are receiving traffic AND returning traffic.
Now, it is a referral. We have finally done it!
But then, we do nothing but wait until the first of each month to collect our commission. We silently willed our new members to upgrade, while we celebrate in triumph
Is that it?
You've now done your duty and so you feel comfortable to just sit and do absolutely nothing?
Yes, I know the Wealthy Affiliates community is excellent in what they do, uplifting the members when they need support and giving them praise when they complete a task or have any increase in revenue. Is that really it?
But what really is your responsibility with regard to your referrals?
It is NOT all about the money!
Kyle and Carson have done a fantastic job with the training and platform. What should you be doing?
New members need nurturing.
They need someone to hold their hand at least for the first month or two
Is this the way you treat a new investment?
Do you really expect to see any growth?
Are you really surprised when new members don't follow through and upgrade?
We can do better
Reflect on when you first got here. Do you remember how overwhelming everything was for you?
Confusion about knowing what to do?
The training is important and excellent but what about pointing your referrals in the right direction with regard to their personal goals
Let's be honest, Referrals are investments, and the way we treat them affects our business and revenue!
Please don't let them struggle on their own!
Until next time,
Simone
Recent Comments
125
Simone, a wonderful and thoughtful post.
I was just recently thinking to myself, it would be nice to have
some really one on one help with screen sharing.
I've been stuck many times, the first time I sent a message to my mentor only to find out it went to the entire community.
I was very embarrassed and haven't contact him since.
Another time, I took a chance and private message Diane, since she's very active in the community.
She responded in the sweetest way ever, and told me not to be shy, that the community is here to help.
Yes, this is a very helpful community, but we can do better.
Too many of us are left alone to struggle.
Thanks for bringing this awareness to the community.
Melanie
Thank you Melanie and I am so sorry about the way you are feeling
These are just some of the reasons I wrote this blog.
I could see the members struggling and I was not able to help.all of them
Although we have an amazing community, not everyone feels it is okay or brave enough to post their comments
I hope that I am speaking for her, when I say that Catherine wouldn't mind answering all your questions
Her contact details are in her profile. You just need to PM her first and she will happily sort you out
Thank you for your valuable input to this discussion
Yes, this is a very useful post.
Although unfortunate, it's good to know that I'm not alone in my WA struggles.
Thanks for referring Catherine, I will contact her.
Thanks again my friend.
Awesome post Simone, this is the first post I came across with the encouragement of how new referrals should be treated. I agreed with you very highly.
I remember when I started, I received welcome emails and such, and with any cry for help, I was referred to a video, basically you are on your own.
Yes the community has been great, but when you think of it most of them came in with some form of experience in Affiliate marketing, or savvy with the computer, and this training is like a brush up for them, while real beginner like me do struggled to complete a module, and put it into action. Speaking from my point of view, I am very much struggling still.
However, on my part of effort from this training, I have achieve and still learning, only that it’s taking longer than it should, if there was someone giving me their input from time to time.
Thanks for sharing great input for new members.
Elizabeth
Hi Simone,
Yet another great blog for your collection!
And I am indeed honored that you consider me as your friend, what a great silent achievement anyone could ever achieve! Your school friends made a colossal mistake: one they will soon learn to regret dearly
The biggest issue I have had with referrals is that I would reach out to them and they don’t respond back. This creates a problem of not being able to help them even if you want to. I think that this is because the new referral wants to explore the platform as much as possible (they only have 7 free days to do so).
Additionally, it could be because there are members of the community that flood them with suggestions instead of just welcoming them to the platform.
I understand that these overly excited members are just trying to be helpful but sometimes going over the top can cause more damage than do any good. They need to stop and think, do they want the community doing this to their referrals?
If it’s my referral I should be able to offer them as much help as I can initially without any interference from the community but after the 7-day free trial period that is a different story.
Regardless, I feel that if a member comes to WA using my affiliate link it is my responsibility to get them comfortable with the platform and help them make an informed decision of whether Affiliate Marketing is something that they are interested in doing, and if the WA platform is right for them.
At this point, it is not about money but helping the referral to make an informed decision. I feel if I were to talk someone into joining WA and 2 months in they decide to quit, it's my fault for twisting their arm.
On the other hand, if I inform them of what all WA offers and show them what is possible and the same scenario happens it’s not my fault, because it was their decision not me trying to convince them that premium is the way to go.
I guess for me it is more of a moral thing than a money thing. I will hold their hand for the first 7 days from there I feel it is their responsibility to come to me if they need help. Much like Bux’s riding the bike analogy.
Of course, I will stop by their profile to see how things are going for them, every other week, and offer my assistance to help them to assure that they know I’m here for them if they need me.
I think the community is a great safety net in case my referral is trying to get instant help with something and I am not online. The referral can always use the chat room or post a question and get answers (I can’t be at my referral’s beck and call every second of the day)
Also as Bux pointed out, my time is very valuable to me; so if my referral is not showing some sort of interest (completed the profile page, started the training, of has built their first free website) I am only going to pursue after them for a short period of time.
On the other hand, if they do show interest I will show greater interest in continuing to help them. Basically speaking, the more they are involved with getting started the more I will be involved with them.
On a side note, I do not often follow those members that remain a free member nor will I often return a follow of a non-premium or non-premium plus member. The reason being I won’t waste my time with someone that doesn’t show any initiative to be involved in WA, so I show no interest in them.
It‘s a matter of who should receive my help and who shouldn’t. Of course, I am going to help the person more involved in the community then those that are not. Please don’t get me wrong, I want to be able to help anyone that needs help, but sometimes I have to choose (because my time is limited) who to help and who not to help.
My mentor always told me; “Show me you want my help, by doing the things I ask you to do, and I will help you: if not I will go and find someone that will earn my help”.
Again, I am honored to say:
Great post my friend,
Calvin
Interesting insights Calvin
From a revenue point of view, would you be holding those points?
Great Question!
The way I look at it Simone is…
Unfortunately, we ultimately cannot force our referrals to do anything; it would be great if we could have them upgrade so that they could benefit from everything WA has to offer them. I do believe that is our main goal as referees. Help people see the light (the WA way) at the end of the tunnel!
But just like everything else in life, there is no exact science in recruiting. Therefore, we can lead them to water but we can’t make them drink it; no matter how thirsty they are.
They have to want the drink or realize they are in fact thirsty before they will drink, no matter what we do or try to convince them prior to their realization of the situation.
We must stop and think about how we first felt when we started at WA.
This seems too real to be true.
Is this just another scam?
Can this system really work?
How long before I start getting money?
And finally, How much is this going to cost me?
Remember they are going to be just as precautious as we were we you first signed in to WA for the first time.
It’s a double-edged sword if you push they might leave or later think we didn’t care about them we only cared about the money. Additionally, if you don’t follow up with them enough they may leave, thinking that we didn’t care.
So we flip a coin and hope for the best because each person that explores this great platform looks at it from a different perspective.
Furthermore, because each of us in our own minds has a different approach to how we want this system to work for us. And that individuality, although good for us individually and the community as a whole: it is what makes recruiting and retaining members a difficult task to achieve at times.
I hope this answers your question,
Calvin
It does, but I was not talking about pushing them.
It was more if a 'work with them to achieve and fulfill their dreams,' approach
Thank you for your response Calvin. I do appreciate you!
I agree Simone new members need nurturing, I remember when I first started at WA. I felt overwhelmed. I did have emails asking how I was getting on from the top.
I think what would be nice when people have completed 5 levels that they get recognition for their accomplishments. Yes, there is a badge but if you were in University, college, TAFE etc. you would get a certificate of completion or a letter of accomplishment.
Referrals are very important and it is important that we support our new members.
Yvonne, thank you for your input.
You have highlighted some great insights
I would really welcome a badge after my completion of OEC.
I would find that very motivational.
Hopefully we who have referrals will improve and realise that referral are indeed important
Thank you Yvonne for stopping by
Some soulful thoughts Simone, and very well put.
What's that saying in business, it costs less to keep a customer than it costs to create new customers.
A little mercenary?
The terrific thing about WA is that there is a battalion of foot soldier's that genuinely care about the wellbeing of fellow members and go out of their way to pay it forward.
Just a thought by helping referrals to find their feet you can learn so much about yourself and your own journey.
A win win.
Alex
Absolutely Alex, it is a win win indeed.
Thumbs up to our fantastic, awesome community.
Thank you for stopping by Alex. Always happy to hear from you
See more comments
Simone, this is an excellent reminder for us about our roles and responsibilities as WA Referees.
Whilst I like that we have systems in place to set up regular communication, time permitting, it can be challenging to be as personal as we would like to be.
Many members are not only building their own online businesses but also have full-time employment outside of WA.
The intent makes all the difference though and our Referrals should know this.
The training is EXCELLENT and very well structured and this helps immensely.
Thank you for sharing.
Cassi
Thank you Cassi for your valuable feedback.
It is always a pleasure to hear from you
You are very welcome, Simone.