The Referral of a Lifetime

The Networking Systems that Produces Bottom Line Results…Every Day!

By: Tim Templeton

Narrated by: Michael Mish

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.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2003, 2004 Timothy L. Blanchard and The Blanchard Family Partnership (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"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)

Things We All Know We SHOULD Do

Narration was good, given it was a story format with a male speaking softly for the female characters. The overall concept of this book is simple... Network. The importance is to do so intentionally and meaningfully. I'm now grabbing a hard copy of the second edition so I can better implement the concepts.

Don't miss out on the download with the audiobook (go to chapters and it's at the top).

You Can't Argue with That

So, this author has chosen to tell you what he wants to you learn, not as a typical non-fiction book, but as a narration. I am confident that for my own part, it seems to be true. Now, the characters are entirely two-dimensional. You cannot have any experience with literature and disagree with that. They're like people from a half-hour TV show, but somehow it feels dishonest of me to evaluate this book as I might a true work a fiction because it's not promoted as such.

But then there's the non-fiction component: the method of networking the author is advocating. I haven't begun to try it because of where I am in my life, so I can't reliably testify to whether the method even works. It makes sense. Basically, you take care of the people you know, stay in regular contact with them and ask them straight-out to help take care of you whenever they can. As they say, it's not rocket-surgery ... but if you rely on my having told you what the book is "about", you probably won't absorb it as well as those of us have who've listened to it as a story.

It's not in any way unpleasant to listen to. (Mish does a good job reading it and delineating the characters. Before I chose the book, I noticed one reviewer didn't like how he portrayed one of the characters. I honestly have no idea which one they could have been referring to.) The story is upbeat, positive, hopeful. It's hard to argue with the notion that taking care of existing customers (so we can keep them) is a lot easier than finding new ones.

I think if you're looking for a way to increase your business "sphere of influence" or are having trouble hanging onto clients, this would be a useful listen. If you've got some extra credits that you need to use before you lose, this book is certainly better than wasting them. Just don't pick it up expecting a satisfying novel.

Very Inspiring book that makes learning fun,.

This roadmap can work for me as I grow my network career. Thanks very much.

A real path to success

I have been in sales for nearly 40 years and have just found the book that explains in detail what it takes to obtain referrals. No gimmicks, no tricks!

As Much As I Dislike Business Parables...

There is no denying this book was great. I honestly preferred the hard copy of Endless Referrals I got, but there is a lot of great info in this book. If you run a service business you HAVE to get this book. If you sell widgets, idk if it will help- probably though.

I took a star off of the performance because the narrator made Highground (one of the characters) sound kind of like a weirdo. Other than that though- awesome book!!

Loved it!

This book kept my attention as it was based on a character, versus your normal "how to" books. Great ideas.. Must read (listen) book.

Awesome!

This book was just what I needed to take my business to the next level.

Turns Modern Digital Marketing Strategies Upside Down

This book has really opened my eyes to harness the power of business growth through the people I already know. As a digital consultant the referral methods shook the foundation of the marketing I knew for years. Life changing wisdom for me.

Good, a little long winded

Good book, a little long winded. I wish they talked faster, and chopped out a bit of the "story" part, but I did like and implemented their ideas.

amazing story and very informative !!!

What a breath of fresh air!
I learnt a lot from this book and will definitely be applying these skills to my business.