The Referral of a Lifetime: The Networking System That Produces Bottom-Line Results Every Day (The Ken Blanchard Series) [Paperback]

Tim Templeton (Author), Ken Blanchard (Foreword), Lynda Rutledge Stephenson (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2005

In The Referral of a Lifetime, author Tim Templeton frames a powerful plan for cultivating clients and customers in a fable about businesswoman Susie McCumber, who feels increasingly like a failure. A friend refers her to the mysterious Mr. Highground, who introduces her to four successful people. They show her how they transformed their businesses and their lives by determining how others view them and how they view themselves as both human beings and businesspeople. Each of the four represents a "type" in this schema - from the "relational/business" type who puts the relationship first but thinks strategically when the talk turns to business, to the "business/business" type, who avoids relationships unless they work to a business advantage. Templeton shows how understanding one's type allows one to showcase strengths while improving weak areas in this simple, easy-to-use guide to success in business and in life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Like Who Moved My Cheese?, this book is a management tome in the form of a simple, readable narrative. This first title in the Ken Blanchard Series weaves a handful of business principles into the story of a disheartened businesswoman, Susie McCumber, and her desperation to boost her career. Along the way she meets a spiritual and corporate mentor, David Highground, who spews various prescriptions that aren't all that shocking: business is about relationships; create a massive network; "Keep in touch, consistently, personally and systematically"; and so on. Templeton, CEO of San Diego-based training firm MasterTrack, engagingly uses fiction to espouse his own company's principles (a system named High Ground, natch). It's a basic story, occasionally trite, but it's slickly written and works beautifully as something that's easy to gobble down in one sitting.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"The Referral of a Lifetime defines an approach to one of the most important aspects of building and keeping a strong base of business and personal relationships-something all of us need to adopt in our lives." -- Dwight Johnson, Executive Director, Mail Boxes Etc. Foundation

"Entertaining, engaging and informational, The Referral of a Lifetime is packed with great insights and direction on how to build a profitable, relational-based company and keep it that way." -- Fred Johnston, Director of Marketing, Personal Coaching Division, Franklin Covey

"Powerful testimony for the value of a lifetime relationship and what it means to your bottom line in business and in life. If you could read only one book that proposes a system about achieving customer retention and referrals, this is it." -- Brad Orr, CEO, John Burnham and Company --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 135 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576753212
• ISBN-13: 978-1576753217
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,842 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #27 in Books > Business & Investing > Marketing & Sales > Marketing > Multilevel
  • #51 in Books > Business & Investing > Marketing & Sales > Public Relations

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The end of cold calls, the beginning of consistent referrals, August 11, 2003

By 

Daniel Limbach "Reader, writer, gadget guy" (Algonquin, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Referral of a Lifetime: The Networking System that Produces Bottom-Line Results . . . Every Day! (Hardcover)

We're always looking for a system for everything. Plan the work, then work the plan. If you don't know where you're going, any road will do. If you fail to plan, you should plan to fail. It's all true. So how come we are so bad at following a system?

We have to believe it will work, not hope it will. Systems are usually simple, but rarely easy. That's the catch. We know what we should do, but we give up before it has a chance to work.

The best time to try something new and innovative is when the status quo isn't working. What have you got to lose? Move past the things that are holding you back.

Like many people, I hate cold calling. Those who are good at handling rejection can make a go of it. To them, it's a numbers game. Make 100 calls, schedule 5 meetings, close 1 sale. Zig Ziglar is a popular cold-calling sales guru.

If cold calling makes you cringe and dread the day's work, this book was written for you. Tim Templeton provides a systematic approach that anyone can implement. It will work if you have the following criteria.

1) You want to work with the gifts and personality you already have, rather than changing who you are for conducting business.

2) You are willing to dedicate yourself to the process for a specific amount of time - no more, no less.

You'll see some results almost immediately, but you'll need about 10 weeks to fully implement the system. You'll see breakthrough, sustainable results in about four months. That may seem like a lot of time to invest, but when you can jump-start your career so dramatically, it isn't really a lot to go through. And you aren't working the system all day every day. If you can invest two hours a day, you can change your life.

Here's how it works.

1) Discover what type of personality you are and decide to use it for the greatest benefit

2) Build a list of 250 people who know you, and use technology to manage it

3) Offer your assistance to people, and help them whenever you can

4) Connect with them consistently, personally, and systematically (The book will show you how easy it is)

5) Let them know how you work, and how they can refer people to you, who are in need of your services

The key is to NOT ask for a sale until you have built up personal credibility with a contact. That's where the systematic, personal, consistent communication works its magic. In the end, clients and prospects will often call you, or at least welcome your call with open arms. What could be better than that?

That's all I'll give up. Buy the book.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Implementation made easy, February 3, 2004

By 

Michael A. Manning (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Referral of a Lifetime: The Networking System that Produces Bottom-Line Results . . . Every Day! (Hardcover)

To whom it may concern: Recently, I attended a 1 hour presentation in San Diego, California put on by Tim Templeton providing an overview of his book "The Referral of a LifeTime". The presentation generated a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for me, which led me to read the book two days later in entirety. I have a very successful financial planning practice, 18 years of experience and an income well into the 6 digit level. I mention this not only to give you an overview of who I am but to also let you know that I am convince that if we employ the strategies discussed in the book we will generate a bunch of referred business, leading to us helping a large number of individuals and leading of course to much higher compensation for our services. We primarily deal with high income earning individuals and business owners (typical client makes well above $500,000) and with people who have large estates. The book was not only well written, easy to read and hard to put down but provided a simplified system for implementation. To many people who author books of this nature do not provide an easy to implement system, hence, too many readers never actual apply what they have learned. I liken the appendix to an easy to follow outline that provides plenty of substance. Mr. Templeton is to be commended for his insight. We will take our business to the next level through implementation and that will start with us purchasing 8 copies for our staff to read, highlight and summarize for idea shring in our regular staff meetings. Michael Manning of Hamilton, Manning & Associates, LLC

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Simple but Profound", January 23, 2008

By 

Judy Mines - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Referral of a Lifetime: The Networking System That Produces Bottom-Line Results Every Day (The Ken Blanchard Series) (Paperback)

I really enjoyed reading the book "The Referral of A Lifetime" By Tim Templeton. It was simple, almost common sense but truly profound. To quote the forward this book offers "simple truths and profound wisdom".

What I really liked about this book was it does not try to tell people how they should be, it tells you that you should be yourself and work with what your particular style is. Transformation can take place when you know
where you are. You can't worry about what you did in the past only what you are going to do right now and everyone has their style. Templeton stresses that relationships are our most valuable referral source
and if we treat them right they will refer clients to us. You must also let your relationships know what you are looking for and how important they are to you.

Another book I really enjoyed is Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment" by Ariel & Shya Kane. On page 103, they say "Satisfaction comes from Being Here in this present moment. The simple act of engaging in our lives can transform an ordinary existence into a deeply satisfying one..."

Both of these books were delightful and warmed my heart on a cold winter afternoon.