I’ve been diving into 80/20 Sales and Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More by Perry Marshall. Actually, I’ve been listening to Audible and bought the hardcover too — it’s that good.
Here’s the deal. The 80/20 Rule (or Pareto Principle) simply says that roughly 80% of your results come from 20% (or often far less) of your inputs. As successful owners — whether you’re a financial advisor, CPA, attorney, or a consultant helping businesses grow — you already know this instinctively. But nowhere is it more obvious than when it comes to referrals.
The truth is, at least 80% of your ideal client referrals come from far fewer than 20% of your relationships. In my experience? It’s often less than 10%.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t build a wide network — you absolutely should. It just means you must be strategic about how you use your time, energy, and money.
The first test: Do you actually track referrals?
Most firms don’t. Or if they do, they only track how many referrals they get, not where they’re coming from. Ironically, the very firms that take even the simplest approach to tracking — just counting total referrals across the firm — often end up getting more. Classic 80/20. The small percentage of firms that actually measure this key indicator see the lion’s share of the results.
If you’re interested in taking your business a step further, head over to my Substack to read the full article and subscribe to Can I Borrow Your Car.
