Untitled Episode

What makes someone truly valuable in business?

It’s not just solving the one problem you sell.

It’s becoming the person who knows how to solve many problems.

In this episode of From Overlooked to Consistently Booked, Meaghan Chitwood continues the conversation with Alan “Dutch” Kerr of Swipe for a Cause to talk about how strong referral networks help businesses create deeper trust, stronger retention, and more opportunities.

Because when you become known as the person who can connect people to solutions…

you become incredibly referable.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER:

•  Why solving additional problems builds deeper customer trust 
•  How referral networks increase your value to clients 
•  The role curiosity plays in uncovering opportunities to help 
•  Why well-connected people naturally become more referable 
•  How BNI creates built-in accountability and trust 
•  Why customers remember the people who solve problems for them 
•  The difference between selling a service and becoming a resource 
•  How generosity and relationships lead to long-term retention 

THE BIG IDEA

Customers don’t always remember:

•  The quote 
•  The pitch 
•  The transaction 

But they absolutely remember the person who helped solve a problem.

Dutch shares how simply knowing the right people:

•  Builds trust 
•  Creates loyalty 
•  Strengthens retention 
•  And positions you as a valuable resource in your community 

Because when someone says:
 “Do you know someone who can help with this?”

…and you do?

That relationship changes. 

WHY THIS CREATES MORE REFERRALS

The businesses that grow the fastest often aren’t the ones trying to sell the hardest.

They’re the ones:

•  Listening closely 
•  Paying attention 
•  Looking for ways to help 

Because every problem someone mentions becomes an opportunity to:

•  Add value 
•  Strengthen trust 
•  Deepen the relationship 

And over time, those moments compound into referrals.

THE POWER OF A STRONG NETWORK

One of the strongest points in this episode:

A strong network allows you to confidently connect people to trustworthy solutions.

Instead of saying:
 “I don’t know anyone.”

You become the person who says:
 “I know exactly who can help you.”

That changes how people see you.

WHY BNI MAKES THIS EASIER

Dutch and Meaghan talk about how BNI naturally creates:

•  Trust 
•  Accountability 
•  Familiarity 
•  Relationship depth 

Because when you consistently build relationships with professionals you know, like, and trust…

you become more valuable to everyone around you.

IF THIS EPISODE RESONATES

This is exactly what BNI is designed to do:

Help business owners build relationships strong enough to create meaningful referrals and real collaboration.

Find a chapter near you:
 https://bit.ly/4n3WFPD

COMING UP NEXT

Next week, we continue the conversation with Dutch and talk about:

Why generosity builds a pipeline faster than strategy alone ever could.

CONNECT & FOLLOW

•  Subscribe for more episodes of From Overlooked to Consistently Booked
•  Share this with someone building a referral-based business 
•  Drop a comment: What’s one problem outside your service that you help solve regularly?

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Hi, I'm Megan Chitwood, and welcome back to From Overlooked to Consistently Booked, where we have real conversations with real professionals. This month I'm joined by Dutch Kerr of Swipe for a Cause. And this week we are talking about winning trust by solving additional problems, not just the one that you can solve with your own business. So I know that you check in. We've talked about checking in. You've talked about staying in touch with your customers, getting curious. So I want to talk about like how do you how do you use the other resources and other professionals that you know to help solve additional problems?

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Well, I mean, the the funniest part is um about that is with B and I, um, you see these people every week. And then if you sub, you might see them every month or whatever. But you if you if you're being active in B and I, you're gonna run into the same people quite often. So they have to see you. So there's they have to be, you know, they have to say what they're gonna do. And most of the, you know, they all do. So um when my wife has something that she wants done at the house, she will come to me and say, Who do you know in B and I who XYZ? So I'll give you an example. We we we bought a white couch, okay, which is a smart thing to do when you have a three-year-old.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

I was gonna say, I think you shared that you had a three-year-old on a previous episode.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

So uh it's a good idea to probably uh uh in retrospect, probably getting a white couch is probably not a great idea unless you're in BI. And you have an upholstery cleaner. Yeah. So um I I uh uh Q from Jones Carpet always comes over to the house. He's our he's our go-to guy when there's an issue like that. And I'll give you an example. So now here's another way that helps, actually, now that I'm on this. So the last time he came to clean the white couch, we also have this couch, which is down where my my son hangs out. Well, my son's a bit of an artist and he got some acrylic paint on this couch that my wife likes a lot. So I said, All right, before I, you know, say, hey, look, John did this and we're he's gonna be in trouble for it. I said, can you take a look and see maybe you could get that acrylic paint off that before, you know. Before we can well, he saved my son. So this is the thing about BI because he was able to get that off. He was able to, you know, and he does the car. I mean, this is what happened if I had if I needed a roofer, um, who do you know in BI? If we need a plumber, who do you know in BI? Whenever there's an issue, she knows that whatever's whatever needs to be solved is going to be solved. I know it's gonna be solved. And I've never, honestly, I I can honestly say anybody who's ever done any work, anybody I've ever referred to, I've never heard anything bad ever. I've only heard positive things. That's amazing. And I think that's also you're held accountable because every week you're meeting someone. Well, the worst thing you want to do is do something that, you know, um, you don't want something to go wrong. You're gonna do everything you can to make sure, of course, things are mistakes happen and stuff like that. Yeah. We're this we're all human. But you know you have to see that person and you have to see them all the time. And you know your friends, you've had one-on-ones, you know, you're gonna make sure you take care of them. You know, you've got a little B and I family. So that's how I refer to people. That's how um, with me, if someone, you know, gives me a referral and I go out and try to help someone out, I make sure I'm due 100%. You know, I give it everything I got because I want to.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:42

Um, you know, not just because I'm gonna see the person every week or I'm gonna see them every month, but because I like that person, I want to make sure I do the right thing.

unknown 3:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

And again, we're back to giver's game by doing that. Yeah, you know, absolutely it's about the other person.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

So, how can you use this with your customers as well? And and using the extended network that you have to solve your customers' problems.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Well, a lot of times if someone has something going on, um, you you have to listen. You really have to listen. So if you're with a client and they're complaining, you know, something's going on in the office or something, you're gonna like an auto dealership or whatever, you know, and whatever it is, and they have an issue with something, and you you know, um, I'm trying to think. Well, okay, let's just say you're in there, uh, this is just um let's just say you're somewhere and someone's complaining, or you can see that there's like something wrong with the rug there, or something's going on in an office and they're complaining about it. Well, you go, hey, you know, by the way, if you guys are looking for someone, I know someone who can do that. That's all you have to say. Yeah. They're like, oh, really? Because they don't know someone, but you do. And now that's your client. Now you're even more hold on. Now, when you go back to your client and you're talking to them during a retention call or something like that, they're often gonna say, Hey, listen, that guy you sent in, I called him and he did a fabulous job. Really? Thank you for doing that. You must you must know a lot of people in this town. You're well connected, they're gonna come to you for other things, and that's really, really cool. Not only that, you do get a little, I'm I'm not gonna lie, you do get a little ego boost. Everyone likes to be well connected, so it's kind of cool that you can come out with a name, right? Like that. And um, you know, it it does make you feel good, it makes you feel important, even though it's somebody else who's doing the work. And you can have the confidence that if you can come up with a name for someone to do something, you have the confidence it's gonna be done right. And you can be pretty sure the next time you see that person, they're gonna say, Hey, thank you for sending that guy over and helping me, or that woman who, you know, whatever the case may be, um, for helping me out. It's just a natural thing. And it's it's it's a little bonus, you know.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

I think it's just a great, easy. I mean, it's just a good retention tool, right? If if you your customer gets the point where they're calling you, like, do you have a cleaner? Do you have a when you said auto dealership, I was thinking of um there is a guy in the trustful chapter that has a coding that makes everything non-slip. Oh, exactly. As an example. Okay. Yeah. And so if you get to know all those things, like, hey, I got a lot, I've got some, I've got a few things I can help you.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

I already just thought of someone who could use that.

SPEAKER_00 6:15

Yeah, there you go. I'll make the introduction. Yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

But I also think um it also a lot of times people don't know how to solve the problem. I think one of the the things that that is valuable of having a strong network is that you know a lot about a lot of different things, right? So you can spot because somebody's taught you how to spot the problem. You spot the problem. You now know how to transition to how do I talk to this person about the problem and how do I say, hey, I can solve it.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

Well, actually, you just brought up something that is might be a little off topic. I don't know, but there's there's the training that you take, which actually teaches you that.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

Yeah. Of how to how to do all of that and make those connections. Yeah. It is amazing how yeah, again, if we were going to do this outside of B and I, I would say you've where what what are the common problems that your customer has? And when you have when your customer has those common problems, you need to have a professional that you know, like, and trust that you can pass those pass those things to. Yeah. Um, I just think I think BNI's nailed it, but um, but of course, somewhere in the BNI. So I I have to say that as well. But it's uh, but I do think it's uh an easy way for us to just become more valuable.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

Yes, absolutely. Yeah, and you you've you are that more valuable uh for knowing all that. And you know, the other thing that can happen a lot is let's say you don't know someone, you can still go into your uh B and I on your app and look for someone, you know that you're you you're gonna be picking someone who is reputable because they wouldn't be there in the first place if they weren't. Yeah. First of all, they the vetting process would have gotten rid of them from the beginning anyway. You know? Yeah. So you know, hey, maybe I don't, but hey, I know this person uh or I here's somebody that I would recommend. You may not know them. Yeah. Chances are in a handful, you probably, if you've been in B and I long enough, you will have met them once or twice. But um, but you can still refer people that way.

SPEAKER_00 8:10

And you can also check up on people. Or one of my favorite things to do is uh call up someone and ask, hey, if if if you were gonna refer someone for this product or service, what would that you know, who would you recommend?

SPEAKER_01 8:20

That's right. And you if you know someone else in another chapter, you can say, hey, do you have someone in your chapter that can do this? And and that person, and they're and then they're grateful for the referral too.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

Yeah. I just think and and then hearing other professionals and then sparking, hey, when so and so was talking about this, I thought of you like, you know, as another touch point for your customer as well.

SPEAKER_01 8:42

I mean, this is a great point and a great benefit of B and I. Uh, it's just one of the many things that unravel, you know, as you as you go through the years of being a member of B and I, you start finding different different things that you never thought of that you can use it for. Um it's it's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

So next week we are going to talk about how service creates predictable referral. So it's how having amazing customer service creates that. And so we will continue that conversation with you. Thank you so much for tuning in this week from Overlook to Consistently Book. Join us next week as we continue our conversation with Dutch and talk about why generosity builds a pipeline faster than strategy can. If you like real conversations like this, please like and subscribe to the channel and drop us a comment on something you would like us to dig into next. And if you are interested in learning more about BNI and how it could be a resource for your business, visit us at northern.biallabama.com or if you are outside of Northern Alabama BNI.com.