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Printing Services: Best Referral Sources

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

Your top referral sources
  1. 01 Digital Marketing Agency 74
  2. 02 Sign Company 74
  3. 03 Merchant Services / Payment Processing 72
  4. 04 Graphic Designer 69
  5. 05 Videographer 68
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 printers 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 printers, who else gets a call that same week?

Printers sell to other businesses, and most of the work starts when a business launches or rebrands. 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
  • Rebrand or launchwhen a business launches or rebrands
  • Business formationwhen somebody starts a company
  • New lease or locationwhen a business signs a lease or opens a location
  • Wedding or major eventwhen a family plans a wedding or milestone event
Block one

Who should be sending you clients

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

  1. 01

    Digital Marketing Agency

    They send you work
    74

    Trigger: a business launches or rebrands

    Digital marketing agencies hear about it when a business launches or rebrands, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  2. 02

    Sign Company

    They send you work
    74

    Trigger: a business launches or rebrands

    Sign companies hear about it when a business launches or rebrands, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  3. 03

    Merchant Services / Payment Processing

    They send you work
    72

    Trigger: somebody starts a company

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

  4. 04

    Graphic Designer

    They send you work
    69

    Trigger: a business launches or rebrands

    Graphic designers hear about it when a business launches or rebrands, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  5. 05

    Videographer

    They send you work
    68

    Trigger: a business launches or rebrands

    Videographers hear about it when a business launches or rebrands, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  6. 06

    Radio / TV / Media Advertising

    Two-way
    67

    Trigger: a business launches or rebrands

    You and media and advertising reps both get the call when a business launches or rebrands, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.

  7. 07

    Attorney Intellectual Property

    They send you work
    67

    Trigger: a business launches or rebrands

    IP attorneys hear about it when a business launches or rebrands, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  8. 08

    Bookkeeper

    They send you work
    67

    Trigger: somebody starts a company

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

  9. 09

    Web Developer

    They send you work
    66

    Trigger: a business launches or rebrands

    Web developers hear about it when a business launches or rebrands, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  10. 10

    Payroll Services

    They send you work
    66

    Trigger: somebody starts a company

    Payroll providers hear about it when somebody starts a company, 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

Local business expo

Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, sign companies, and merchant services providers.

Usually run by the chamber. Each chat is short, but you can meet twenty nearby businesses in one morning. Good when you are starting from nothing.

Event or trade show Annual Under $500/yr ~1 hrs/month

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

  1. 01

    Local business expo

    Event or trade show

    Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, sign companies, and merchant services providers.

    Usually run by the chamber. Each chat is short, but you can meet twenty nearby businesses in one morning. Good when you are starting from nothing.

    Annual Under $500/yr ~1 hrs/month
  2. 02

    Industry Slack & Discord communities

    Online community

    Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, videographers, and IP attorneys.

    Where professional and technical trades actually talk now. Referrals happen in private messages, not in the channel.

    Always on Free ~2 hrs/month
  3. 03

    LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities

    Online community

    Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, merchant services providers, and graphic designers.

    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

    Your city or county chamber of commerce

    Chamber of commerce

    Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, sign companies, and merchant services providers.

    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 →
  5. 05

    NAWBO (women business owners)

    Chamber of commerce

    Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, graphic designers, and videographers.

    Chapters built on relationships. Members say it turns into work more often than a regular chamber.

    Monthly Under $500/yr ~4 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  6. 06

    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 →
  7. 07

    LeTip International

    Structured referral group

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

    Weekly referral chapters. One person per job. Strong with trades and home services.

    Weekly $500–$2,000/yr ~7 hrs/month One seat per category
    Chapter finder →
  8. 08

    Network In Action

    Structured referral group

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

    Referral groups that meet once a month. Good if you cannot give up a morning every week.

    Monthly $500–$2,000/yr ~3 hrs/month One seat per category
    Chapter finder →
The competitor trap

Sign, print & promotional industry associations

Most printers join this room first. It is also the one most likely to be the wrong pick. Equipment, materials, and suppliers. Competitors. Everyone in it does what you do. Join it for the training, the licences, and the ties to manufacturers. Do not join it for referrals, and do not join it instead of the rooms above.

Sign, print & promotional industry associations →

Let us be straight with you. For printers, 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 printing 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 printers, 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: Printing Services

The five people who should be sending you clients

  1. Digital Marketing Agency (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a business launches or rebrands
  2. Sign Company (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a business launches or rebrands
  3. Merchant Services / Payment Processing (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: somebody starts a company
  4. Graphic Designer (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a business launches or rebrands
  5. Videographer (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a business launches or rebrands

The three rooms to be in

  1. Local business expo: Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, sign companies, and merchant services providers.
  2. Industry Slack & Discord communities: Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, videographers, and IP attorneys.
  3. LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities: Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, merchant services providers, and graphic designers.

Don't confuse this with networking: Sign, print & promotional industry associations. Learning and supplier access, not referrals.