Nicole Faid joined Fresh in 2017 – a decision that turned out to be a game-changer for her business, Accord Conveyancing. Referrals from the Fresh network now drive 15-20% of her overall revenue. Plus, she’s helped her clients with services beyond conveyancing, helped fellow members to thrive, found professionals to help her business and made valued friendships.
Nicole loved the concept of Fresh from her first meeting. She was introduced by an industry colleague and initially she went along just as a gesture of good faith, fully expecting to walk away at the end. ‘I’d only had minimal experience of networking, and that had been very negative. But Fresh was different – I loved it, and joined the St Kilda hub straight away.’
Nicole sees networking as a strategic approach to growth. ‘Networking is a long term play – you really need to build strong foundations before you can build trust, credibility, and genuine opportunities. It’s about what you put in first, and if you come with a take ‘take’ mentality you won’t last very long. You have to give without the expectation of getting. Do that and eventually it will come back to you tenfold.’
‘In my first year, I certainly received referrals that more than justified my membership fee. But that ‘foundational’ year was primarily about creating relationships and giving referrals. The approach paid off – in my second year, I referred $34000 of business to others and received $40000 myself.’
‘The longer you are in the Fresh network, the more it delivers’ believes Nicole. ‘Once you have done the groundwork, Fresh is like having a 24/7 billboard promoting your business, and it just keeps on giving back. Last year, I had a call from a lawyer and ex-Fresh member who wanted me to manage the conveyancing for the sale of her property. She said she’d met me at Fresh two years earlier. She remembered me from one visit to our hub. That’s the value I’m talking about.’
To this day, Nicole still tracks all her Fresh referrals, so she can see categorically what a difference Fresh has made to her business and the help she’s been able to give to others.
She has many examples of how the referrals she makes turn into long term clients for her fellow Fresh hub members:
- ‘Bertrand Buffet, St Kilda’s Mortgage Broker, recently reported closed business for a client I had referred to him 5 years ago.’
- ‘Another Freshie is still benefitting from a client I referred to her – also five years ago – who has become an ‘evergreen’ source of repeat business.’
- ‘David Patkin, the Wills and Probate solicitor at St Kilda often reports closed business from people I have referred to him, people who have now referred their families, creating fabulous ongoing business for David.’
It’s that long-term power of networking that Nicole values. She says: ‘When you hear the reported activity in meetings, you get a strong sense of how Fresh creates longstanding connections that really work.’
Referrals not only generates business for others, but helps Nicole add value to her clients by referring them to top notch professionals like David. They know she is thinking of their needs outside the realm of conveyancing.
Nicole also trusts Fresh as a source of professionals for her own business: ‘When I needed website support, the first person I spoke to was Darren and he gave me the names of several people in Fresh to contact.’
It’s not all business – there’s a strong social element to Fresh too. ‘For me, I really enjoy the company of a lot of the people I have met in Fresh’, says Nicole. ‘When you run your own business’, she adds, ‘you are the sum total of your business development department and your marketing team. It can be quite isolating. Fresh has introduced me to great people with amazing expertise and insights, and given me a whole new set of contacts outside my own business.’
