Ep #309: Referrals and Business Besties

Stacey Brown Randall: Sometimes business is just made better when you surround yourself with other folks who get it, can hold you accountable, support you, and cheer for you. And it also helps when you go through trainings to learn new things with that business best friend alongside. Let’s talk about referrals and business besties.

Hey there, and welcome to episode 309 of the Roadmap to Referrals podcast, a show about helping you build a referable business. I’m your host, Stacey Brown Randall. My journey from a business failure to a successful business now 10 years in, I know generating referrals naturally and consistently has made all the difference. Working with clients around the world, we leverage the science of referrals, protect relationships above all else, and help you build a referable business.

Alright, are you ready to listen to a really fun business conversation with two interior designers who are first and foremost business buddies? They are best friends and also members of my BRB, Building a Referable Business coaching program.

We talk about having a business buddy for massive accountability and support, plus we talk about what they’re doing to receive more referrals.

It is such a fun conversation. I’m excited to introduce you guys to Amy Peltier and Darci Hether, who are both interior designers, both own their own businesses. Amy has an office on the East Coast and the West Coast. Darci has two offices, both on the East Coast, and they’re going to share a little bit more about their business.

And of course, I’m going to link to how you can connect with them and follow their fantastic work on Instagram as well.

But I wanted to have them on the podcast because it’s the first time I’ve actually had somebody join the coaching program and bring along a friend and like, hey, we’re going to do this together. We’re both going to join. We both have our own businesses. But they really do a lot together.

I’m pretty sure they said, and you’ll hear us talk about this, how they talk almost every day. Not for hours, nobody has time for that. They both lead very successful two offices companies. So they are super busy.

But they talked about joining the BRB program and doing that with a friend and from that accountability factor. But also, they talk just more in general about having that accountability partner, having that person that’s with you there in business.

And so I am so excited for you to listen to our interview, for you to listen to them talk about their big aha moments they have when they started talking and learning more and more about referrals.

And of course, if you’re watching this on YouTube, then you’re also noticing that we’re all dressed alike. And we’re going to talk about why are we all wearing the same T-shirt. That is discussed as well.

If you’re not watching us on YouTube and you’re just listening to this on your favorite podcast app, you will be able to go to the show notes page for this episode and see a picture. So show notes for this episode, StaceyBrownRandall.com/309. But right now, let’s get to the interview.

Stacey Brown Randall: Amy and Darci, I am very excited to welcome you guys to the podcast. I think it is always fun to do interviews when we have multiple people, because I think that that sometimes brings even more energy to an interview. So thank you both for agreeing to show up here today and be with me on the podcast. Welcome.

Darci Hether: Thank you. So happy to be here.

Amy Peltier: Thank you we’re excited.

Stacey Brown Randall: Yeah, okay so let’s dive in. First, why don’t you each, and it doesn’t matter who wants to go first, Darci, you can go first if you want. Why don’t you guys tell the audience about what you do.

Darci Hether: So I have an interior design firm, we are located in New York City and I recently moved to Connecticut, so I’m also branching out in that area as well.

Stacey Brown Randall: Wonderful. And how long have you been an interior designer?

Darci Hether: Oh, gosh. I’ve had my own firm since 2007, but I’ve been doing design since ‘98.

Stacey Brown Randall: I think we call those the dark ages.

Darci Hether: Right.

Amy Peltier: Literally.

Darci Hether: Back when cavemen roamed and there was no internet.

Stacey Brown Randall: Yes. That’s what our children would say. They’d be like, oh, like, back before there was even anything cool. OK, yes. All right, Amy, tell us about yourself.

Amy Peltier: So I am also an interior designer, focused on residential, and I have two locations, just like Darci. One is on the West Coast in Southern California, outside of Pasadena. And the other is where I live on the East Coast in Northern Virginia, outside of DC.

Stacey Brown Randall: Fabulous. Well, I am so glad that you guys decided to both join me today. So I know you guys, when you both joined my BRB, Building a Referable Business coaching program, and you guys kind of came as it felt like a package deal.

It was really kind of cool. You both joined and you’re like, we’re in this together, right? And a lot of it has to do with the fact there’s some accountability, which I love, which we’ll talk about in a minute.

But I’m really curious, because you guys have been doing this business bestie thing for a really long time, even though you have separate businesses. How did you guys meet? I think those stories are really interesting.

Darci Hether: Oh, that’s a good one.

Amy Peltier: We met at a conference when I was pregnant with my second. So she’s about to turn 10. So that’s like, I mean, we know we have our 10-year anniversary, and we need to celebrate it. We’ve talked about it. Where are we going? What are we doing for our 10-year anniversary? But we met at a design conference in Vegas, right?

Darci Hether: Yeah. Yeah.

Stacey Brown Randall: Was it Market? Were you’re at Market?

Amy Peltier: No, it was just a conference. And I think the two of us were the best thing that came out of it.

Stacey Brown Randall: You know, it’s interesting. So I have a business bestie. She’s out of Michigan. And so we don’t live near each other. Like, we didn’t grow up together. We weren’t neighbors. We didn’t necessarily meet because our kids were at the same preschool. Like, you think about some of the ways as you get older, like, that you have friends and best friends and stuff.

But we were in a mastermind together. And the story that Amy, that’s her name, that she always tells us is, like, we were on this first mastermind call together. And she just decided before that call was over, oh, yeah, Stacey’s going to be my new best friend.

And so I’m like, I’m so glad you didn’t start our conversation with that. Cause I would have been like, who is this weird human? But yeah, I mean, it’s really great.

Like we know each other. I mean, you guys have known each other for 10 years and you do the same thing, even though in different markets. So you are intimately knowledgeable about all the parts and pieces of each other’s businesses.

For Amy and I, she isn’t like event venue, rental space for weddings, and so, but she used to do some of the stuff that I do like online programs she just did them for brides, and I used to do events in a former life so we like know each other’s world.

So I think that kind of helps, because you just jump right into the issue at hand versus having to give all the backstory. And we just, yeah, I think those business bestie relationships are the best.

Okay. So what I have noticed with both of you being in BRB, is the accountability that you guys bring to the program. And sometimes my favorite thing is, is like when one of you has pre-submitted a question and then you’re not able to be there live to have it answered, the other one will be like, I know exactly what she’s trying to ask. So it also makes my life a little bit easier. I’m like, okay, great.

So, but the accountability that you guys bring to each other, I’m seeing it from this program, but I know you do it from a business perspective as well. How has that improved the progress that you have made, not only in BRB, but in business in general?

Amy Peltier: You want to go Darci?

Darci Hether: Sure, I think for, I’ll speak for myself. So I am somebody who can come up with 100 reasons why it’s not working. And Amy comes up with 102 reasons of why I need to get over my big bad self and just shut up and do the work.

So, that’s my personal take on it, I think that, you know, like you said, we do have different businesses, we do have different kind of target markets, if you will. But at the end of the day, it’s still the same thing.

And yes, we’re, you know, there’s like, big stories are happening in our brain as to what we need to get over. And so she’s like, No, that’s not, that’s an excuse. Like, let’s do the work. So that’s been great for me.

Stacey Brown Randall: Yeah. What about you, Amy?

Amy Peltier: So I think that I always get stuck because I know what I need to do and I know what I want to do. But I’m like, I don’t know how to do it. I get stuck on the how. And so Darci’s really good at like saying, well, why don’t you just do it like this? And I’m like, oh, yeah, that’s so easy. Or helping me write the thank yous or whatever it is.

So and I would say that’s completely accurate about our entire friendship and I would say business relationship. The reason we work so well together is we have completely different skill sets and we excel in completely different areas of our business. So we balance each other out perfectly. What one person needs to like, I don’t know, work on or needs help on is what the other person does really well and vice versa.

Darci Hether: For sure.

Stacey Brown Randall: How many text messages do you guys send back and forth in any given day? Or maybe I should say week. I don’t know.

Amy Peltier: We actually probably talk more than we text. We literally talk almost every single day.

Stacey Brown Randall: I love that. That’s how Amy and I are. We all text when we’re sharing like pictures or images or things, but we are phone communicators. Like we are on the phone almost every morning.

Amy Peltier: Yeah, that’s what we do.

Darci Hether: Same.

Stacey Brown Randall: Yeah. That’s awesome. I guess that’s a little tough though, Amy, if you’re hanging out in your California office.

Amy Peltier: Right. She doesn’t hear from me a lot. Or when she goes on vacation and I’m like, oh, three more days.

Darci Hether: She told me on my last vacation that I wasn’t allowed to leave anymore until she was on vacation at the same time.

Stacey Brown Randall: You guys really should plan these much better. Like you should be going off at the same time. It’s funny because Amy does a lot of vacations. She does more than I do. And I’m like, I can’t wait for your kid to get to real school. And then you can’t do this stuff anymore.

Amy Peltier: That’s right.

Stacey Brown Randall: You just got one. I mean, so I guess maybe Charlotte’s in real school now, but it just doesn’t feel like it. Cause that girl, that’s her daughter. And I feel like they’re constantly going on vacations.

I mean, you know, I’ve got two in high school and one in middle school and you just can’t be missing the way you can when they’re in elementary school. So I’m like, stop with the vacations. Like you’re killing me.

I remember when we met, she lived in California and then she moved to Michigan. And I was like, thank you for coming to my time zone. Like it is extremely helpful.

Darci Hether: I think for the first three years of our relationship, Amy was in California, and I was in New York, and I was like, oh my God, hurry up and turn 12 o’clock so I can call Amy.

Amy Peltier: I’ll never forget when I moved here, I was like, this is so easy to call her now.

Stacey Brown Randall: I know it sounds so minor, but I think it’s like major in a lot of ways. Okay, so here’s the thing. We can’t let this interview go on for too long. For those folks who are watching this conversation on YouTube, they clearly see we are all in the same green T-shirts.

For those of you listening to the podcast, you’re like, I don’t get it. Maybe we’ll take a screenshot, and I will put it in the show notes for this episode. If not, just hop over to YouTube so you can actually see that we’re all wearing the same T-shirt. So who wants to tell the story about why we’re all dressed alike and where these T-shirts come from?

Amy Peltier: That’s Darci.

Darci Hether: So when we started with you, we were, I mean, Amy and I were always doing something for business development. I would say Amy definitely had a much more robust calendar of events, if you will, that she was kind of pushing out. And I was very haphazard in it.

And we started with your program, and we were in a way getting ourselves confused because we were listening to your program and we’re doing the things, but then we were like, but I did this already like two months ago with this past project or this past client. So where am I putting them in the program? Like how am I? So it was starting to be this like, well, this I was doing this pre-Stacey Brown Randall.

And by the way, we don’t call you Stacey. It’s Stacey Brown Randall. You’re just like a constant Stacey Brown Randall. Stacey Brown Randall. So it’s pre Stacey Brown Randall.

And so I just said to Amy, I’m like, we should have T-shirts made. She’s like, I should. And so I don’t know. It was a Friday night. I was sitting at home. And I went on to one of these t-shirt companies and I was like sending her screenshots. What do you think about this one? What do you think about this one? And then, you know, you have a green color, so we had to had to pay some respect there. So there you go.

Stacey Brown Randall: So you did stay on brand for me. I very much appreciate that. Yes, this shirt will get worn more than now because it’s green, than just in this interview.

Darci Hether: But so then the idea is that if you’re wearing it around town, Stacey Brown Randall, and somebody comes up to you and says, what’s that t shirt? I don’t get it. You’re like, well, you have to come join my program and then you’ll know exactly what it means.

Amy Peltier: And then you’ll know.

Stacey Brown Randall: And then you’ll know.

Darci Hether: There’s a life before, and then there’s life after. And life during.

Stacey Brown Randall: Well, and I think that’s really important that you guys bring that up because everybody who joins my program, like I don’t work with anybody who’s usually in their first six months or sometimes even within their first year of business.

There have been cases where I have, but there’s usually some specifics that they have in place that makes me say, yes, let’s do this. Most of the people have been in business for years and sometimes we have somebody in the program who just celebrated 25 years in business. So people have been in business for a long time.

And there is a way that you did things and a way that you thought and a way that you almost have like that default mechanism of just how you responded to situations and do things.

And then you kind of come into my program and I’m like, hey, we need to shift. We need to think differently. We need to do things differently. Some things we leave alone. But some things we need to elevate or do better or don’t do that. And we kind of have this whole mindset shift first.

I always tell folks, the people who succeed in working with me typically are open to the idea that they are now going to have to think different, and then by default, of course, they will have to do things different.

But it does take a little bit of time to sort out the, okay, this is how I used to do it, this is how Stacey is saying to do it, and then to get clear on what you’re going to do to be able to move forward. So the fact that you put an acronym to it, PSBR, Stacey Brown Randall.

Amy Peltier: Stacey Brown Randall. You’ve got to say the whole name.

Stacey Brown Randall: I know, I don’t usually call myself by the full name, but now maybe I will. Yes, definitely. Yeah, when people try to like shorten it to Stacey Randall, I’m like, no, no, no, no. Come on, let’s give some respect to the Brown.

Amy Peltier: Why shorten it? It like rolls off your tongue. There’s no need to shorten it.

Stacey Brown Randall: Thank you for that. I agree with you. I will tell that to the people who are like, let’s just make this shorter. I’m like, no, we’ll just keep it nice and long. Okay, perfect. So thank you for telling the story about why we’re all dressed alike, because it certainly does make this way more fun.

Alright, so let’s talk about referrals. Now, as interior designers, you guys have been in business for a while. Obviously, you know about referrals. It wasn’t like you did not know what referrals were until you found me.

So referrals have probably always been something that has been an important piece of your business, a piece you wanted to improve. But when you think about what referrals mean to you and why you want them to be even a bigger piece of your business, what does that look like for each of you?

Amy Peltier: I think for me, it’s twofold. I mean, a referral is a way to, for a designer, the right referral gets you the right kind of project, which moves your business in the right direction, especially from like an image photography perspective.

So if I want to do more color in my work, getting a referral that also wants to do more color, and then we photograph it and put it on the website, then continues to drive my new referrals are people coming to my website in that direction.

But also, I have a lot of friends who own businesses as well. And sometimes I’m like a little jealous of them because they get a new client and it’s a client that can last years. It’s a monthly service that goes on and on and on and on. Ours is project-based.

So if I’m doing a home and I finish that home, that project is done until that client either moves or buys another home and who knows how many years that is.

So we are constantly having to fill our pipeline with referrals to make our business keep going forward. Our clients aren’t necessarily clients over and over and over again, or at least not on that consistent of a basis.

Stacey Brown Randall: Yeah. It’s like, it’s like with real estate agents, right? Like you may come back to the same real estate agent, but you’re not selling your house every year. So they could be years and sometimes decades in between where they come back and need you.

And I think, I mean, I think that’s a really good point is, I mean, I think referrals are important. I don’t teach referrals in all industries because that’s not where I spend my time and energy. I teach in the space where I know it will work.

But there are two types. There are the types where, you know, we’ve got like Randall in the group. He’s a CPA. He will do your taxes until the end of times, and you can be a repeat client with him forever and ever and ever. It’s a little bit different with you guys being project based.

So Darci, what does that look like for you about the importance for referrals for you and your business and why you kind of decided to make sure that was a focal point for you?

Darci Hether: I think for me, especially in in New York, there’s a bazillion interior designers and you can only do so much with SEO, you can only do so much and that’s, you know, advertising dollars, right?

You’re spending a lot of money or time going out and like trying to pound the pavement, network, and all these things and these are it can take a long time and it can cost a lot of money.

And if somebody comes to us by way of a referral, I feel like it’s much more of an interested person as opposed to, because somebody else that they trust has recommended us.

So there’s already this kind of feeling like I know I’m in good hands because this person that I trust has already said that you do whatever it is that you do, awesome work, and you’re you know this type of a person, and you’re, this is your type of business owner.

I feel like it’s just so much easier to sign that client, number one. And number two, from even just looking at it from an economical standpoint, it’s probably better ROI than some other ways of trying to gain a client.

Stacey Brown Randall: Yeah, most definitely. And you can see it. Like it’s not only is it like the higher ROI, because usually the client is like quicker to close, easier to close, already trust you. But you can actually measure it.

Like, there’s just some things we do in our business where it’s really hard to measure. Like, okay, they maybe landed on the website or maybe the SEO hit. Maybe they saw that ad and then they landed into our world and then ultimately ended up becoming a client.

And sometimes you can track that, but it’s usually fuzzy. There’s a lot of tracking from that perspective that’s more fuzzy. It’s not, it doesn’t make those things wrong or bad or anything like that. It’s just that’s the reality of there’s a fuzziness to the metrics. There’s a fuzziness to the tracking.

Our tracking is we got a referral, and we know who it is. We know where they came from and we know exactly if they’re the right type of client or not, because more than likely we’re going to have a conversation with them. Not always. Right?

I mean, I always tell folks, you can still get ghosted by people who are referred to you, but it usually will happen a little bit less likely than other types of sources where clients are coming from.

So I think that’s such a unique thing for folks to focus on is that that metric is there, like that piece of like, we know exactly where they come from and we can keep up with those metrics.

Darci Hether: I think for us too, I think in the design field too, depending on who it is that’s doing the referring, but there’s also this personality, right, of if the person who’s referring them to us, if we’ve worked with them, whether as a client, or in the industry, somebody we already have a relationship, like a really good relationship with them.

And they’re saying like, hey, you know, Sam or Joe, I think you would really work well with Amy or Darci. It’s like, they’re already knowing also personality wise, that we’re a mix. And you know, we’re with these clients for 12, 18 months.

Amy Peltier: We’re married to them.

Darci Hether: We’re married to them. And so it’s really important that it’s not only that the design aesthetic aligns with how we are, but also our business, how they’re going to honor how we run our business, and even just the interactions that we have for the next one-and-a-half to two years.

Stacey Brown Randall: Yeah, I think that’s one of the things too that I didn’t know until I actually worked with my first designer. Is that I just assumed like all designers can do all amazing and beautiful work. But there really is that design aesthetic, as you said, or just like kind of like what you are more likely to lean to.

I mean I’m guessing if a client came in and said, Amy, make the whole room black and white, you can do it. And you can make it beautiful, but that isn’t naturally where you’re going to, like, find your joy. You’re like, can I just put some red or some green?

Amy Peltier: Right. I’ll constantly try to put something in there.

Stacey Brown Randall: And I never knew that that was so important until I actually worked with my first designer and then started having interior designers as clients. And I was like, so it’s one of those things, you know, I say this, every referral is not a perfect fit, but even more so for you guys.

It’s not necessarily a perfect fit, even if they have the project that you dream of having but they’re like do everything in black and white and you’re like, I just died inside, right?

Amy Peltier: I give them to Darci.

Stacey Brown Randall: Right. Because that is where they’ll go and see, and it’ll be perfect.

Amy Peltier: That’s right.

Stacey Brown Randall: So I do think that’s really important for people to recognize, you know, referrals are great, but we want the right kind. And I always, and this is backwards from what most people say, but I say, when we’re building a foundation of referrals in our business, we do focus on quantity. Like, are we good at getting them?

Once we’re good at receiving referrals and we have the quantity coming in and we’ve got the number of people referring us that we need, and we know how to turn clients into referral sources and we know how to nurture people who’ve referred us before to refer us again.

Once we can get the quantity going, then we can focus on quality. But if we never get to the quality, it’s not fun because then we don’t ever get what we ultimately want from a referral perspective. And that quality is so very important.

Most people say quality over quantity. And in most things in life, I completely agree. But when it comes to referrals, it’s always the reverse. Get good at receiving them. And then let’s focus on how we change the quality of them if you’re not receiving what you ultimately want. So that definitely makes it a little bit easier.

Okay, so you guys have been in the program a couple of months. What’s been your biggest aha with really just how you think about referrals in your business? I mean, it could just be a different way that you’re, and it may not be.

I mean, I’m assuming it’s referral based, because that’s what we talk about in the program. But what’s been like the biggest aha that you’re like, I didn’t see that coming. I didn’t know that was something I should focus on or like what has been that big?

I mean, you may have had multiples, right? But like, what’s one that really sticks out to you as now that you’ve been kind of exposed, so to speak, to the SBR world. What’s been that one thing?

Amy Peltier: Do you want to go first, Darci?

Stacey Brown Randall: Yeah, whoever wants to go first is great, but what’s been that one thing that you’re like-

Amy Peltier: Or do you want me to do it?

Darci Hether: You do it. You go.

Stacey Brown Randall: Oh, wait. I feel like I need a drumroll. I feel like you guys are setting me up for a drumroll. Okay, yes. Hit me, Amy.

Amy Peltier: I think the biggest aha has been, and this was my goal, but kind of seeing it happen or sensing it happen, my goal was to make business development my number one job.

Because it’s always been there and it’s always on my list, but I will do a whole lot of other things before I do business development. And I was like, no, this year I want this to be like, this is like my number one job as business owner this year.

So in trying to keep that focus and being in your program, it’s made it top of mind every single week because we have calls and then Darci and I do our accountability call. And then I’m also like keeping it top of mind.

It’s really interesting to see because I was like, well, I’m going to run out of people to connect with after like four weeks. But you don’t, because you’re always thinking about it.

You keep finding more, sort of like when you’re manifesting or like the first time I was like, oh, what’s this? I moved to California, and I saw this car that I’d never seen before. This was like 10 years ago. And I was like, what is that car? And it was a Tesla.

And I was like, oh my God, this is the coolest looking car I’ve ever seen. And then like, no joke, all I saw were Teslas from then on. It’s like that thing when you first notice it, then it starts to pop up everywhere.

And they say that happens in like manifesting, which I’m sure, I know there’s a name for it, I just don’t know the psychological name of it, but it’s like that. Now it’s everywhere.

Stacey Brown Randall: I think it’s called reticular focus.

Amy Peltier: Yes, exactly. It was a big word I couldn’t pronounce. So you did it for me, thank you. And so that’s exactly what I feel like started to happen. Now I’m just very focused. I’m like, oh, well, I’m talking to this person. I’m like, oh my God, look at this connection we have. And how can I help you? And oh my gosh, you’re connected to this person. Would you connect me with them?

And it just goes, I don’t know. It just feels like this connection and helping people and them helping me are everywhere swirling around me now. So that was a big aha.

And then the second big one was planting referral seeds. I know how to write a thank you note to somebody I had coffee with, or like I sent out an invite to this tour that I’m doing, but I would have never put in the planting referral seeds language like you did when you rewrote it. And I was like, perfect.

Stacey Brown Randall: Yes. The language piece is usually the one people are like, oh, now I see the secret sauce. Now I see where the magic happens. Yeah, so what’s been the aha for you, Darci?

Darci Hether: So to kind of piggyback on what Amy just said about the verbiage, the language, oh my gosh, that’s been a game changer for sure. And then the other one, it’s like Captain Obvious, but just keeping the calendar. You know, like literally having it in writing, put the date in, what happened when, like, I feel like that’s the accountability portion.

I mean, yes, Amy and I team up and we kind of go through it together and okay, what are we going to do this week and who you reach out to and stuff. So, you know, I feel like I’m really lucky in that, that I have that and that we have that with each other. So it’s kind of making sure that that is also on our calendar.

But then just looking at it and saying, oh, yeah, I talked to Joe in January. When am I going to talk to him again next? Oh, I see. I talked to Sally here. This is what happened. What am I going to do next? So it’s just seeing what has happened and what is going to be happening has been a game changer.

Stacey Brown Randall: Yeah, I feel like it’s never just one thing that you kind of take in and put into practice within your business. There’s usually the thing that kind of gets people that are like, I would never have thought about on my own. I would never thought about that, to do, right?

But then it really is, I mean that’s why we teach it the way that I teach it in the program and the coaching program which is why I prefer to have people in the coaching program or work with me as a VIP versus just like hey, let me just get access to this one online program, this one strategy through an online training, because it is so interconnected.

And it’s so much a part of how I want you thinking about business from that business development perspective in general, right? And it’s anytime I’m having a conversation with someone, I’m like, it’s not just how do I get more referrals from someone who’s referred me, but it is, it’s how do you track them?

And how do you pay attention to your closing ratio and your quality? And then how do you get more of those referrals? And then how do you get new people? It’s so interconnected to really should be a sustainable piece of how your business just functions. That’s my goal for everybody.

When they graduate from BRB, whether they’re with me for just a year or like Katherine, who’s been with me for seven years, when they eventually decide to graduate from BRB or never graduate and just keep doing it year after year, that there are processes, there are procedures, there is a foundational piece of this is just how I run my company.

Like we do this kind of invoicing, and this is how we generate referrals. Like it’s all in the same thing, right? It’s not this fad that you try and that it works and then you don’t do it again, which that certainly happens too.

I don’t ever understand that folks that are like, wait, it was working. And then you just decided to stop. You know, it’s like, what are those things? Like, I just got so busy. I’m like, oh, that is the kiss of death right there. Right?

Amy Peltier: That’s what happens to my diet.

Stacey Brown Randall: Same.

Darci Hether: The other thing I would say too, which was something that was unexpected is, you know, we’re on these calls, these weekly calls, and there’s people from other industries that have absolutely nothing to do with design. And yet when we’re listening to them and I’m hearing you coach them on certain things that they are working on.

And it’s like, oh my God. So it’s like, it’s getting my mind going of like, wow, that’s a really cool idea. How can I take that thing and kind of turn it from my own, you know, market, if you will, my target. It’s that’s been something that I wasn’t expecting at all. And it that’s been really amazing as well.

Stacey Brown Randall: Yeah, I get people ask me all the time. They’re like, hey, have you ever thought about doing BRB just for interior designers or just for attorneys or just for CPAs or just for coaches and consultants?

And I could. I could totally have multiple groups that run. But I know in that moment what we will miss out on. And usually, what people don’t know is that I’m actually usually paying attention to making sure that there’s not just one person from one industry in the group.

I mean, there usually is, Erin, I think she really is the only travel advisor that I have in the program. I mean, she’s been with me for years and years. But if you’ve noticed, right, you guys joined the program, but there’s a couple of other interior designers. in the program. There’s a number of a couple of attorneys in the program. There’s a couple of CPAs or bookkeepers in the program.

I mean, part of that comes down from my niching, right? Like that’s where I niche. That’s where I feel like I can get people the results that I want them to get as fast as possible. And they’re never like the only one in there.

But the fact that you guys can learn from the attorneys or from the travel planner or from the real estate agent, that’s huge. And I think it only adds to the richness of the coaching program, which is nice.

I always notice this too. And I think this happened naturally, but then when I realized that I was like, yes, that should be part of my business strategy is, every single person that I work with, like any type of industry that I work with, I have some level of intimate knowledge with that industry.

Like, I didn’t start coaching interior designers until I’d actually worked with one. And then I’m like, oh, I totally can help you. I used to be a real estate agent. Most people don’t know that about me. I never did it full time. I always did it part time, but I got my real estate agent license in 2006, you know, so we had a two good years and then maybe not so much after that.

But I did it part time, like after I got married, because my husband owned a restaurant, and was never around nights and weekends. And I was like, well, I work in days and now I might as well work nights.

But it’s interesting, like in all those areas of folks that I’ve worked with, I have some type of connection. And I think that helps me understand the industry better too, which I think is important as well.

Okay. So you guys have been so great to come on the podcast and be interviewed with me. I just have one final question that I want to ask you guys. And I know that there are people who are listening to this episode and maybe they’re an interior designer, or maybe they’re not.

I do really quick, Amy, want to give a shout out to Janelle, because I know that is how I was originally connected to you. You were referred to me by Janelle, and then I got the Amy/Darci package, which is the most fun package to ever receive. So I appreciate you bringing Darci along with you. But quick shout out to Janelle for referring you to me.

But I know there are people listening, and they’re listening to you talk about your mindset shifts, and what you’re planning on doing, and what you want your business to look like from a referral perspective.

And if that person listening is like, I’m thinking about joining BRB, what would you tell the person who’s listening right now that’s thinking about joining you inside BRB? What would you tell them?

Darci Hether: Stop thinking.

Amy Peltier: Yeah. I mean, if you really want to master business development and it’s an important part of your business, and I don’t know whose business it’s not an important part of, then why would you just do it haphazardly?

Like, we don’t do our own bookkeeping because we don’t have time. Like, it’s that type of thing. Go, you know, it really teaches you how to stay focused on it and gives you a process. It gives you things to track.

I would also say, because I remember I first joined and just bought one of the programs, which I did on my own, which was helpful. I liked it. But I would say there’s a drastic difference between just buying one of the packages and trying to implement on your own.

And then like really, truly joining, getting, you know, having all of them and then being in those weekly calls. That’s like night and day. And I learned a good amount from just the one program, but I’m like mastering it with all of them now. So I would just have skipped that and gone straight to the whole shebang.

Stacey Brown Randall: You came into Referring Machines, correct?

Amy Peltier: Yes, yes.

Stacey Brown Randall: Yes. And I really think that whereas, I mean, obviously it wouldn’t be available if I didn’t think people could go through it and master it and figure it out. But I do think I see a big difference with folks when they’re in the coaching program and they’re implementing Referring Machines and all those tiny, nuanced situations come up and you’re like, what do I say? What do I do?

When you’re in the coaching program, you’re not thinking of the answers on your own. You’re making me think of the answers for you. Like that’s the whole point, right? Is that’s what I’m here for. So I do agree. That it just makes things easier. So yeah, Darci, anything you want to add?

Darci Hether: I mean, I just think that just like kind of like Amy said, going through the, doing the work, and you need to make time for it, right? I mean, you’re making time for the connections, you’re making time for the calls, and as a business owner, doing the work.

I mean, it’s like going to the gym, right? If you haven’t been in a very, very long time or ever, and you’re learning, like, what is this weight machine? And how do I do it? How do I pick it up?

But, you know, the more you get at it, you’re like, oh, and then I can try this. And I just think it’s like, it’s the showing up and doing the work. And it’s, I don’t know, I’m so glad that it came along, or this came to me when it did, because it’s been, it’s been huge.

Stacey Brown Randall: Thank you, guys, so much. Thank you for joining me on the podcast Thank you for the t-shirt Thank you for being great clients who show up and do the work. I really appreciate that. I appreciate you guys so much. Thank you.

Darci Hether: We appreciate you.

Amy Peltier: Thank you. This was fun.

Stacey Brown Randall: I hope you enjoyed listening to that conversation as much as I did. I always find something new to learn about how people view my business when I talk to them in this way when they’re clients of mine. So it’s always beneficial for me. I hope it was beneficial for you as well.

Maybe you can see yourself in the decisions that they made to join my BRB coaching program, and the decision they made to invest in themselves and their business to generate more referrals, and just the decision that they made to take their business forward.

Hopefully you can see yourself in that conversation that we had. Whether or not you have a business bestie, that’s totally fine as well. But of course, I hope you enjoyed this conversation. It was definitely a fun one for me to do.

And if you want to join, Amy and Darci inside the Building a Referable Business Coaching Program, I would love for you to join them. You can join them by just going to StaceyBrownRandall.com/referable and submit your application. That’s exactly how Darci and Amy got started. Just submit your application.

And of course, you’ll learn all about the program and be able to learn more about how I work with my clients, what’s all included. There’s so many things that we include inside the coaching program. One-on-one access to me, in addition to weekly access where I’m answering questions live.

We have a retreat that we do every December as a bonus for members of the coaching program. You get access to all the trainings from day one, but so that you’re not overwhelmed, I walk you through exactly in four 90-day increments what you should be focused on and what you should be doing. It’s a lot of fun inside our coaching program, and I’d love for you to consider joining us.

Okay. The show notes page for this episode can be found at StaceyBrownRandall.com/309, which is where you will find a link to check out Amy and Darci’s websites and their Instagram profiles because they do amazing work and you’ll be like me, and you’ll probably just find yourself scrolling through all the fabulousness.

That is, I have to say, one of my favorite things about working with so many interior designers over the years is that then we start following each other on Instagram, and I get to see and be inspired and then be reminded how I am not creative like they are. But you can go check them out on the show notes page for this episode, StaceyBrownRandall.com/309.

We’re back with another great episode next week created with you and your needs in mind. Until then, you know what to do my friend, take control of your referrals and build a referral business. Bye for now.