Networking with a Purpose

How much time does it take to build a referral network you can trust?

You clear a morning for a networking meeting. By the time you drive there, sit through the introductions and get back to work, you've lost hours you could have spent with clients. Now you've got a stack of names to follow up, coffee meetings to book and relationships to build. A month later, how many of those conversations have led to an introduction you can actually use?

Then a client asks you to recommend someone. Will that person respond promptly, do what they say and treat your client professionally? Will you hear what happened after you made the introduction? Your client is trusting your judgement. If the experience goes badly, your reputation goes with the referral.

ARC helps you find four businesses that serve the same clients and gives you time to get to know how they work. Your fractional BDM helps the hub agree what a good referral looks like, who will follow up and how to check that the client was looked after. At your monthly meeting, you can review what happened and decide which relationships are worth building further.

Meet people who can refer the right clients

Tell ARC who you want to reach. We look for four complementary businesses that already serve that market and have a reason to refer work to each other.

Share the work of generating leads

Five members share the cost of a fractional BDM. ARC handles outreach and introductions, then helps the group agree how to spot opportunities, make referrals and follow up. You meet with your BDM once a month to keep that work moving.

Make it easier to spot a good referral

Even people who know your business may be unsure when to recommend you. Your hub agrees on the types of clients each member wants to meet, the problems they solve and how to make an introduction with permission.

Keep introductions from going cold

Promising leads can disappear when everyone is busy. Your BDM helps the group agree who will follow up and when. Use the monthly meeting to review what moved forward and where someone needs a hand.

Give clients a reason to get in touch

Build a joint offer, workshop or campaign around a problem your shared customers need solved. Your hub can also tap into the wider ARC network for introductions and collaborations.

Networking with a Purpose

Join an online ARC session to meet business owners, talk about who you serve and find potential referral partners. Sessions run monthly on a Tuesday at 10 am and a Thursday at 7 pm, Melbourne time. See Calendly for upcoming dates.

Book a networking session

Register your interest

Tell us who your ideal clients are and which businesses you'd like as referral partners. ARC will review your brief and get in touch about building a five-member hub around your shared market.

Build a referral and lead generation programme with a fractional BDM.

Five businesses that serve the same customers share the cost of a fractional business development manager (BDM). ARC runs the networking programme for your hub and helps you connect with people who can become clients or send you relevant referrals.

Tell us who you want to reach

Describe your ideal clients and the industries you want to work alongside. A web designer serving local trades might look for an accountant, a marketer and a software specialist who already work with those businesses.

Your fractional BDM does the outreach

ARC looks for four complementary businesses through its network and targeted outreach. Your BDM coordinates introductions and helps the hub agree how to find leads, share referrals and follow up. Once your hub is running, the five members meet with their BDM once a month.

Build a programme your hub can run together

Agree what a good lead looks like, who will follow it up and what you can offer clients together. Your hub might run a workshop, create a joint offer or introduce clients to another member. As more hubs form within ARC, dozens of groups can share relevant introductions and collaborate across the network.

Membership and hub support

First 20 registrations at $19.90 AUD per month. ARC assigns starter pricing in the order registrations are received. Once the first 20 places are taken, the starter price goes up by $15 AUD per month for the next 20, with a further $15 increase for each group of 20 after that.

Every group of 20 adds more businesses to the network, giving members more potential referral partners, client introductions and opportunities to work together. Submit your interest form early to be in the running for the first 20 places.

Starter membership

$19.90 AUD / month

ARC membership is included. Your hub gives you a regular group to work with, and the wider ARC network gives you more people to meet and more ways to share what you do.

Get an onboarding call to explain who you serve and which clients and referral partners you want to meet.
Meet other ARC members and be considered for introductions to prospective clients and referral partners across the network.
List your workshops and events, share your podcast episodes and put forward social media content for ARC to share.
Access ARC member benefits and offers from participating businesses.
Get facilitated outreach to build your five-person hub, plus one monthly meeting with your fractional BDM once the hub is running.
Work with your hub on shared offers, workshops and referral programmes for the customers you serve.

Five-member hub

$249.50 AUD / month per hub

Your starter rate applies during formation while ARC finds your referral partners. Once all five members are confirmed, the hub moves to $249.50 AUD per month in total. Each member pays $49.90 AUD per month at that stage. ARC helps market the hub and its shared programme to your target market.

How referral fees work

When ARC brings a client to your business from its network, the agreed ARC referral fee applies. Referrals made directly by a fellow hub member carry no ARC referral fee.

Who would you like to work with?

Tell us who you serve and which businesses would make good referral partners. ARC will review your brief and get in touch about finding the right people for your hub.