The Purple Bath

It had been one of "those" days -

...a combination of things had taken its toll and my mind seized up, my emotions were running wild, and while nothing particularly "bad" had happened, to stay afloat emotionally and mentally I felt the urge to put my regular life on hold, and defer to one of my go-to self-care strategies.

I thought of a birthday gift I received from my daughter and decided it was an opportune time for it. 

Escaping life in a purple bath at the very unusual time of 4.30pm on Tuesday got me thinking. And very grateful actually. 

As I reflected, I was grateful for the processes I have put in place to support my life. 

And the spaciousness I've created, over several years, to be able to take an hour, or a day, even a week (occasionally even a month!) to "sort out my life" - or do some degree of recalibration - without the wheels falling off in the meantime. 

One of the big ways this has been made possible is by looking closely for LEVERAGE points in my life. 

Whether it's on the home front or the business front I'm always looking for more leveraged ways to get the outcomes I desire. 

Kids and their practical stuff - routines etc.

Building individual emotional connections with five kids.

Optimising my own health and wellbeing.

And yes, definitely scaling impact in my business. 

I constantly ask the question - where do I invest my precious time to get the most leverage possible?

And when I spot a way to do something I regularly do with more ease, or more leverage,  I'm usually all in.

In business, one of the absolutely highest leverage points is referrals, and getting people talking about you, or sharing your work with other people. 

Because it's

a)  less "marketing" you have to do yourself

b)  so high-value having other people talk about you


And I was so grateful to emerge from my purple bath only to check my phone and see that unknown to me, two people had shared my content with their audience!  (here's one of them below!)




 
Referrals hold more weight than ever.

Both for short-term lead generation - AND long-term brand building. 


But people need a reason to give them.

So in today's piece I want to share why people give them, and how to get them.

People are looking for shortcuts and any ways they can burn less mental calories making decisions, and less time and energy on desktop research and due diligence.

Word-of-mouth referrals make those decisions easier and the most recent data cites statistics as high as 90% of decision-makers rate word-of-mouth as influential in gaining both their ATTENTION and PURCHASING DECISION. (2023 LinkedIn Edelman B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report)

This is amazing, because you don't want just one of the other you want and need both!!.


ATTENTION - so you are on their radar,

and

ultimately their DECISION to purchase what it is you offer.

And referrals and organic endorsements play a BIG part in both of these!!

Traditionally, asking for referrals has been the most effective way of getting them and it still works for people you are in close proximity and regular contact with.

However, there are many on the periphery who haven’t seen you in ages but would refer you if you were front of mind.

That’s where your content, and ability to connection as a personal brand comes in.

The more visible you are, and the more impact your work is having in the public marketplace, the more a recommendation is "de-risked" by the person giving the referral.

But it's not just about publishing more - it's about making sure people strategically know what you do and how you do it, but also feeling they connect with you authentically. 

They feel drawn to you as a human, to the point that they feel in service to other referring you and sharing your message (and through it, your essence!).

Because this is where the power is. 

And so the more public recommendations and private introductions you receive, because people see you in a positive light more often.

For some great pointers you read my blog on How to be Shareable.

And if you need a guide and some support to help you implement it and actually do it, consider my Marketing Me Experience. 

And any moment you feel like you need to put life on hold and take that purple bath - do it!

******
 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nina Christian is a Marketing Futurist & Global Marketing Mentor who helps people do their marketing in a more human way. 

She is a Certified Practicing Marketer (CPM), Life Member and Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute & AMI State Chair (Vic) and for 20 years was director of Braveda (Winner, Best Marketing Agency, Australian Marketing Excellence Awards).

Several years ago Nina saw the world of marketing shifting – this time as people became their own brands.  With this, she created a new business as a thought leader, combining her expertise in brand building with personal positioning, resulting in a breakthrough praxis known as Marketing Me™.

She has a knack for simplifying the complex which comes from being a hands-on mum to five children, and uses this to turn time-sucking activities into easy-to-follow systems and processes that make a lot of sense and get outcomes fast.

There are different ways to work with Nina based on your situation and organisation size - with all of them you'll see rapid transformation and tangible outcomes fast. Book a chat with Nina here.