Relocation Network Roundup

This week from our Affiliates:

• Why buy a Renter’s Policy? - Bollinger Blog
• Penske Opens Tijuana, Mexico Facility - Penske 
• Celebrity Homes For Sale - GoMini's 
• Mobile Storage Can Take the Headache Out of Home Renovation - Moishe's Mobile Storage
• Moving Coverage - Valuation vs. Insurance Coverage - American Van Lines

Relocation Network Roundup

• Best Children's Books for Moving Day - Relocation.com
• Discount Moving Rates for Select Locations - ABF U-Pack Moving
• Tips on Moving a Refrigerator - Air1 Moving
• How many movers do I need? - All My Sons Moving & Storage, Connecticut
• Help! I'm Moving Today And Am Not Completely Packed! - Moishe's Moving
• Prepare Well and Protect Your Belongings - All My Sons Moving & Storage, Denver
• Scupture & Watercolor - an Unlikely Mix? - Mana Fine Arts Moving
• Criteria To Determine When To Refinish Antique Furniture - JC Wood
• Mobile Solutions During Moving Season - Moishe's Mobile Storage
• Need Space? Store Your Seasonal Belongings - Moishe's Self Storage
• Stuck outdoors when thunder roars? Follow these safety tips. - Bollinger Insurance

Relocation Network Roundup

This week in our Relocation Network of Affiliates:

• How To Repair Leather Chairs And Renew Leather Furniture - JC Wood
• Leaping Figures? Anthony Gormley in NYC - Mana Fine Arts
• Creating Your Business Name - Go Mini's
• Decorating Ideas: How to Design with your Kids - Relocation.com
• Heading off to college? Add Health Insurance to your to-do list. - Bollinger Insurance Solutions
• BBB ? Spotting Rogue Movers Before They Have Your Goods - Priority Moving
• Fan Fridays: Ram Katalan of NorthStar Moving - Moishe's
• LEND(ing) a Hand - Two Men and a Truck

Word From Our CEO: Put it Down to Get it Done!

Thanks to our CEO/President Gadi Binness for the following post. Learn more about Gadi and connect to him on LinkedIn.

I belong to a group of local business owners here in the Tri-State area called The Alternative Board (TAB), which meets once a month to discuss and coach each other on a variety of topics and issues that we experience as small business owners. Participating in TAB meetings has helped me gain perspective on my business goals through hearing about others’ successes and failures, as well as sharing my own.

Professional gatherings like this can be an incredible source of ideas that can be implemented in your business right away. However, it wasn’t until recently that I realized that there is one thing I must do at these meetings to make sure I actually benefit from hearing others’ ideas—write it down! It may sound obvious, but in the past I had sometimes neglected to take notes and it was those times that my business probably did not benefit as much as it could have from those meetings.

That is to say, if I don’t put things in writing, I will forget about them. Whether your style is to use a simple notebook or to type notes on a laptop, the act of taking notes is a critical first step in turning new ideas into action. Not only can I refer to my notes later, but I find that I actually remember ideas better after I have physically written them down.

There is probably some psychological or scientific reason for this (and please feel free to look it up and send me your findings), but the bottom line for me is that I would not have gotten all my business ideas in place unless I wrote them all down at some point. Thus was born my new mantra (which I’ve repeated endlessly to my employees, friends, kids, and to myself): “Put it down [in writing] to get it done!”

What methods do you use to turn ideas into business practice? Please feel to share with us and our readers in the comments section below.

Affiliate Network Roundup

Here's what's been going on amongst our affiliates this week. Are you a Relocation Insurance Group affiliate and haven't seen your blog featured? Send us your blog URL here.

• Proud Sponsor of this Year's Le Book Tradeshow - Flat Rate
• World Cup Fever - America’s Moving Services
• New flood insurance policies won't be sold by State Farm - Relocation.com
• Moving Reviews Posted - NorthStar

Positive Signs from our Relocation Affilliate Network

Lots of great stuff going on this week!

• Move for Hunger and Priority Moving work to Stamp Out Hunger - Priority Moving
  
• Extending “Bring Lebron James to the Knicks” Campaign! - Moishe's Moving
• Summer is here! - Elephant Moving and Storage
• Penske Logistics Presents Report: U.S. Logistics Industry Poised for Rebound - Penske
• Free Packing Course for Moving Customers - Ferguson Moving & Storage
• Get Cross Country Moving Rates - ABF U-Pack Moving
• GO MINI’S 2010 Dealer of the Year - GoMini's
• E-Z Movers’ Teams Up With Apartment People - EZ Movers

The Relocation Referral Engine

There’s a great new book out there called The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself by John Jantsch (award winning social media publisher and author Duct Tape Marketing). The basic idea of the book is that you want your company to become a source of referrals for your customers and, in turn, your company will be sent referrals in droves.

Jantsch suggests that you should be able to refer your customers to the BEST companies that might fit their needs, outside of (but related to) the product or service you provide. For example, at Relocation Insurance Group, we refer customers to the very best movers, storage facilities, and mobile storage providers. We also use our industry experience and contacts to refer our affiliates to the very best vendors we know.

In return, Janstch tells us that the companies you refer customers to regularly will gladly return the favor when their customers are in need of a company offering your services. That is, if you are among the best! That’s the other (perhaps understated) half of Janstch’s magic formula: be remarkable. If your company is striving not only to see revenue, but to provide the very best product or service in your space, chances are you’re doing some remarkable things—and members of your network will refer customers to you.

What do you think of this idea of becoming a “referral engine”? Have any of you read the book? Leave your comments below.

Utilizing Trade Associations

Keeping up with industry news and trends is essential in running any type of business. Online resources such as LinkedIn are a great way to hear the latest buzz and connect with others in your trade, but don’t forget about traditional trade associations. In addition to connecting you with other professionals in your industry, these organizations can help you stay abreast of relevant news and policy, and sometimes offer discounts on relevant goods and services.
As the owner of a company operating in two separate industries, I belong to organizations in both. The American Moving and Storage Association  keeps me connected to the relocation world, and the Professional Insurance Association provides insight into the latest news and policy in insurance.
How do you use trade associations to improve your business? What tools do you use to network with other industry professionals?