People Refer You For What You Do, Not For What You Sell with Dave Plunkett of Collaboration Junkie

In this GYDA Talks, Rob talks to David Plunkett of Collaboration Junkie, a ‘nearbound specialist’ who helps agencies gain work through word-of-mouth referrals and partnerships.

Humans have always been tribal, based on shared values, and business is no different.

Referrers are the tribe who appreciate your value but may not fully understand it. They need to be educated.

Partners are the tribe who know your value and can leverage it.
They need to be motivated.

Collaboration Junkie work with agencies and other businesses where high degrees of trust are needed in their sales process, to develop the skills, systems and processes that allow for the consistent delivery of ideal clients, at the ideal time to buy, from trusted third parties.

Rob and Dave discuss:

• Defining Nearbound Marketing

• The Undervaluation of Word-of-Mouth

• Critique of Formal Networking Institutions

• Nearbound vs. Outbound Lead Generation

• Building a Referral Culture

• Overcoming the “Ick” Factor - discomfort in asking

• Leveraging LinkedIn Effectively

• Role of AI in Nearbound Marketing

• Measuring Referral Success

Core Takeaways

• “People refer you based on the problems you solve, not the services you sell.”

• Focus on clearly articulating client problems solved, not just services offered.

• Referrals grow when clients and partners can easily explain your value in real-world terms.