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Promotional Products: 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 77
  2. 02 Sign Company 76
  3. 03 IT Services / Managed IT 72
  4. 04 Business Coach 71
  5. 05 Web Developer 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 promotional products distributors 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 promotional products distributors, who else gets a call that same week?

Promotional products distributors sell to other businesses, and most of the work starts when a business launches or rebrands. People take their time deciding, so a recommendation carries most of the weight. 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
  • First hire / payrollwhen a business puts its first employee on payroll
  • New lease or locationwhen a business signs a lease or opens a location
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
    77

    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
    76

    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

    IT Services / Managed IT

    They send you work
    72

    Trigger: a business signs a lease or opens a location

    IT and managed service providers hear about it when a business signs a lease or opens a location, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  4. 04

    Business Coach

    They send you work
    71

    Trigger: a business launches or rebrands

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

  5. 05

    Web Developer

    They send you work
    68

    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.

  6. 06

    Radio / TV / Media Advertising

    Two-way
    68

    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

    Staffing / Recruiting

    They send you work
    67

    Trigger: a business puts its first employee on payroll

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

  8. 08

    Business Banker

    They send you work
    66

    Trigger: somebody starts a company

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

  9. 09

    Graphic Designer

    They send you work
    66

    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.

  10. 10

    Public Relations

    They send you work
    66

    Trigger: a business launches or rebrands

    PR firms hear about it when a business launches or rebrands, 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: digital marketing agencies, IT and managed service providers, and business coaches.

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: digital marketing agencies, IT and managed service providers, and business coaches.

    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

    Local business expo

    Event or trade show

    Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, sign companies, and web developers.

    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
  3. 03

    Your city or county chamber of commerce

    Chamber of commerce

    Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, sign companies, and IT and managed service 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 →
  4. 04

    Vistage

    Paid peer group

    Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, IT and managed service providers, and business coaches.

    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 →
  5. 05

    Industry Slack & Discord communities

    Online community

    Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies and web developers.

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

    Always on Free ~2 hrs/month
  6. 06

    Software & platform user groups

    Vendor & supply chain

    Your partners are in this room: IT and managed service providers and web developers.

    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
  7. 07

    EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization)

    Paid peer group

    Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, business coaches, and PR firms.

    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

    NAWBO (women business owners)

    Chamber of commerce

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

    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 →
The competitor trap

Sign, print & promotional industry associations

Most promotional products distributors 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 promotional products distributors, 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 promotional products 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 promotional products distributors, 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: Promotional Products

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. IT Services / Managed IT (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a business signs a lease or opens a location
  4. Business Coach (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a business launches or rebrands
  5. Web Developer (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a business launches or rebrands

The three rooms to be in

  1. LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities: Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, IT and managed service providers, and business coaches.
  2. Local business expo: Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, sign companies, and web developers.
  3. Your city or county chamber of commerce: Your partners are in this room: digital marketing agencies, sign companies, and IT and managed service providers.

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