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Payroll Services: Best Referral Sources

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

Get the networking events worth showing up to

Tell us where you are. We will send you the best rooms for payroll providers 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 payroll providers, who else gets a call that same week?

Payroll providers sell to other businesses, and most of the work starts when a business puts its first employee on payroll. It moves fast, so being the name already in hand matters more than being the cheapest. Clients come back, which makes one good introduction worth years.

What starts the work
  • First hire / payrollwhen a business puts its first employee on payroll
  • Business formationwhen somebody starts a company
  • Compliance deadline or inspectionwhen an inspection or compliance deadline lands
  • Sale of a businesswhen an owner sells the company
Block one

Who should be sending you clients

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

  1. 01

    CPA / Accountant

    They send you work
    71

    Trigger: a business puts its first employee on payroll

    CPAs hear about it when a business puts its first employee on payroll, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  2. 02

    Bookkeeper

    Two-way
    71

    Trigger: a business puts its first employee on payroll

    You and bookkeepers both get the call when a business puts its first employee on payroll, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.

  3. 03

    Attorney Business & Corporate

    They send you work
    69

    Trigger: somebody starts a company

    Business attorneys hear about it when somebody starts a company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  4. 04

    Restaurant / Food Service

    They send you work
    67

    Trigger: somebody starts a company

    Restaurants hear about it when somebody starts a company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  5. 05

    Medical Billing & Practice Management

    Two-way
    65

    Trigger: somebody starts a company

    You and medical billing companies both get the call when somebody starts a company, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.

  6. 06

    Attorney Intellectual Property

    They send you work
    64

    Trigger: somebody starts a company

    IP attorneys hear about it when somebody starts a company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  7. 07

    Insurance Property & Casualty

    Two-way
    63

    Trigger: somebody starts a company

    You and P&C insurance agents both get the call when somebody starts a company, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.

  8. 08

    Staffing / Recruiting

    You send them work
    63

    Trigger: a business puts its first employee on payroll

    You hear about it when a business puts its first employee on payroll, before staffing and recruiting firms do. Expect to give more than you get back here.

  9. 09

    Community Association Manager (HOA / Condo)

    They send you work
    63

    Trigger: an inspection or compliance deadline lands

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

  10. 10

    Commercial Property Manager

    They send you work
    63

    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.

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

LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities

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

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

Online community Always on Free ~3 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

    LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities

    Online community

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

    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 →
  2. 02

    Your city or county chamber of commerce

    Chamber of commerce

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

    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

    State CPA society

    Your partners' association

    Your partners are in this room: CPAs and bookkeepers.

    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 →
  4. 04

    Software & platform user groups

    Vendor & supply chain

    Your partners are in this room: bookkeepers and medical billing companies.

    Groups for the software your customers use, like practice management, property management, and accounting. You meet people in the middle of a problem.

    Quarterly Free ~2 hrs/month
  5. 05

    Vistage

    Paid peer group

    Your partners are in this room: CPAs, business attorneys, and staffing and recruiting firms.

    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 →
  6. 06

    State bar practice sections

    Your partners' association

    Your partners are in this room: business attorneys and IP attorneys.

    Classes, standards, and lawyers who share cases. The exception is across practice areas. Estate and family lawyers refer to each other all the time.

    Quarterly Under $500/yr ~2 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  7. 07

    EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization)

    Paid peer group

    Your partners are in this room: business attorneys and IP attorneys.

    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 →
  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 payroll providers, 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 payroll services 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 payroll providers, 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: Payroll Services

The five people who should be sending you clients

  1. CPA / Accountant (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a business puts its first employee on payroll
  2. Bookkeeper (Two-way)
    Shared trigger: a business puts its first employee on payroll
  3. Attorney Business & Corporate (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: somebody starts a company
  4. Restaurant / Food Service (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: somebody starts a company
  5. Medical Billing & Practice Management (Two-way)
    Shared trigger: somebody starts a company

The three rooms to be in

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