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Business Consultant: Best Referral Sources

Who should be sending you clients, and the rooms they are already sitting in.

Your top referral sources
  1. 01 Attorney Business & Corporate 84
  2. 02 CPA / Accountant 82
  3. 03 Business Banker 75
  4. 04 Business Broker 70
  5. 05 Commercial Real Estate Broker 66
See why, and what to say to each ↓

Get the networking events worth showing up to

Tell us where you are. We will send you the best rooms for business consultants and the next meeting dates. Add a ZIP and this page will also show your local chapters and which seats are open.

Most business owners network where their competitors are, not where their referral partners are.

Your own trade group is for learning. Your partners' groups are where the work comes from. Everything below starts with one question. When something happens that makes people need business consultants, who else gets a call that same week?

Business consultants sell to other businesses, and most of the work starts when an owner sells the company. People take their time deciding, so a recommendation carries most of the weight. Clients return now and then, so the introduction has to keep paying off.

What starts the work
  • Sale of a businesswhen an owner sells the company
  • Financing or refinancewhen somebody needs a loan closed
  • First hire / payrollwhen a business puts its first employee on payroll
  • Compliance deadline or inspectionwhen an inspection or compliance deadline lands
  • Commercial property acquisitionwhen an investor or operator buys a commercial building
Block one

Who should be sending you clients

Ranked by what starts the job, not by who sounds close to your trade.

  1. 01

    Attorney Business & Corporate

    They send you work
    84

    Trigger: an owner sells the company

    Business attorneys hear about it when an owner sells the company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  2. 02

    CPA / Accountant

    They send you work
    82

    Trigger: an owner sells the company

    CPAs hear about it when an owner sells the company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  3. 03

    Business Banker

    They send you work
    75

    Trigger: an owner sells the company

    Business bankers hear about it when an owner sells the company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  4. 04

    Business Broker

    They send you work
    70

    Trigger: an owner sells the company

    Business brokers hear about it when an owner sells the company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  5. 05

    Commercial Real Estate Broker

    They send you work
    66

    Trigger: an owner sells the company

    Commercial real estate brokers hear about it when an owner sells the company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  6. 06

    Commercial Lender

    They send you work
    66

    Trigger: an owner sells the company

    Commercial lenders hear about it when an owner sells the company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  7. 07

    Bookkeeper

    Two-way
    64

    Trigger: an owner sells the company

    You and bookkeepers both get the call when an owner sells the company, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.

  8. 08

    Commercial Property Manager

    They send you work
    64

    Trigger: an inspection or compliance deadline lands

    Commercial property managers hear about it when an inspection or compliance deadline lands, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  9. 09

    HR Consulting / PEO

    They send you work
    63

    Trigger: an owner sells the company

    HR consultants and PEOs hear about it when an owner sells the company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  10. 10

    Financial Advisor

    Two-way
    63

    Trigger: an owner sells the company

    You and financial advisors both get the call when an owner sells the company, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.

Block two

Where those people actually are

Ranked by how many of your best partners are in the room, and how much work each one can send you.

Start here

Vistage

Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, CPAs, and business bankers.

Run CEO peer groups. You are buying advice, not leads, but the group turns into a warm list over time.

Paid peer group Monthly $2,000+/yr ~8 hrs/month
Find your local chapter →

Give someone nine choices and they pick none. If you do one thing from this page, do this.

  1. 01

    Vistage

    Paid peer group

    Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, CPAs, and business bankers.

    Run CEO peer groups. You are buying advice, not leads, but the group turns into a warm list over time.

    Monthly $2,000+/yr ~8 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  2. 02

    Your city or county chamber of commerce

    Chamber of commerce

    Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, CPAs, and business bankers.

    Too big and too broad on its own. The value is in one committee. Pick one and go every time. The same fifteen people show up, and they get to know you.

    Monthly Under $500/yr ~4 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  3. 03

    LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities

    Online community

    Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, CPAs, and business bankers.

    Works when your buyer has a job title. Useful comments on your partners' posts beat posting your own.

    Always on Free ~3 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  4. 04

    State CPA society

    Your partners' association

    Your partners are in this room: CPAs, bookkeepers, and financial advisors.

    A CPA is the person most business owners trust most. Sponsors can go to chapter meetings and classes.

    Monthly Under $500/yr ~3 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  5. 05

    EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization)

    Paid peer group

    Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, business brokers, and financial advisors.

    Owners above a revenue bar, meeting in private. Few referrals, but the ones that happen are big and close fast.

    Monthly $2,000+/yr ~8 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  6. 06

    Your local estate planning council

    Your partners' association

    Your partners are in this room: CPAs and financial advisors.

    Estate lawyers, CPAs, bankers, and insurance people in one room on purpose. It was built for this kind of referral.

    Monthly Under $500/yr ~3 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  7. 07

    BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association)

    Your partners' association

    Your partners are in this room: commercial real estate brokers and commercial property managers.

    People who own and run office buildings. Vendors can join, and the local chapters run events just for them.

    Monthly $500–$2,000/yr ~4 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  8. 08

    BNI

    Structured referral group

    One seat per category, so your competitors are excluded by rule and the seats around you are the partners above.

    The biggest referral group in the world. You meet every week. Only one person per job. They expect you to show up.

    Weekly $500–$2,000/yr ~8 hrs/month One seat per category
    Chapter finder →

Let us be straight with you. For business consultants, a weekly referral group is not the best pick. Your partners gather in professional groups instead, so spend your time there. We would rather say that than sell you a seat you do not need.

Block three

Is your seat open?

Prime Time takes one business consultant per chapter. Put in a South Florida ZIP above and we will show you which seats are open.

Add a ZIP code at the top of the page to see which seats are open.

Get the dates

Have the next meetings sent to you

The rooms above are the answer. This is when they meet. Tell us where to send it and we will email you the next dates for business consultants, with the one page plan.

We already know your trade and your area from this page, so there is nothing else to fill in. We do not ask for a phone number. Every email we send has an unsubscribe link.

Take this with you

Your one-page action plan

Five partners, five things to say, three rooms. Print it and keep it in the car.

Networking plan: Business Consultant

The five people who should be sending you clients

  1. Attorney Business & Corporate (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: an owner sells the company
  2. CPA / Accountant (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: an owner sells the company
  3. Business Banker (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: an owner sells the company
  4. Business Broker (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: an owner sells the company
  5. Commercial Real Estate Broker (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: an owner sells the company

The three rooms to be in

  1. Vistage: Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, CPAs, and business bankers.
  2. Your city or county chamber of commerce: Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, CPAs, and business bankers.
  3. LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities: Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, CPAs, and business bankers.