From Connection to Referrals and Partnerships: The ASCEND Collaboration Ladder | 043

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Welcome to the Grand Connection podcast, where we explore how

entrepreneurs can grow through meaningful connections, grand

giving, and collaboration. I'm Susan Jarima, co-founder of the

Grand Connection. In episode 39, we explored what it means to be

R-ready or referral-ready, because even when people know,

like, and trust us, they can't refer us if they don't clearly

understand who we help, the value we provide, and when to

think of us. But being referral ready is only part of the

journey. What happens after we make a connection? How does

someone move from being a person we met at a networking event to

someone we trust, refer, collaborate with, or perhaps

even build something with? That's where the Ascend

collaboration ladder comes in. Today, we're going to walk

through the stages of Ascend and look at how relationships can

naturally grow from a first connection into referrals,

opportunities, and deeper collaborations, and most

importantly, I'll give you a simple action you can take with

you today to work on the relationships already in your

network. So let's get going. Have you ever met someone at a

networking event and thought, "This is a great person. We

should collaborate, but collaborate on what? It might

not come to you right away, or perhaps you've had someone you

just met immediately ask you for a referral, or ask for an

introduction, or even suggest creating and doing something

together. And sometimes it's just too soon.

One of the things I've learned through the years of networking

and building the grand connection is that the strong

collaborations rarely begin with a big proposal, right? You're

not going to get married on the first date. You've heard that

before. They grow through relationships, and that's what

the Ascend collaboration ladder is designed to help us

understand, are ready referral ready asks, am I clear,

credible, and prepared enough that someone can confidently

refer me? Ascend asks, where is this relationship right now, and

what is the next natural step? They both need to be aligned,

right? Because not every connection is ready for a

referral, and not every referral relationship is ready for a

collaboration. So it's time to climb the ladder. A is the first

in our in our acronym because you know I love acronyms, and A

stands for authentic connection. Everything begins with an

authentic connection. Maybe you met someone at a grand

connection event in a breakout room through LinkedIn. Maybe it

was at a conference. Maybe you met them on a podcast or through

an introduction. At this stage, you don't need to figure out how

you're going to do business together. This is the time to

get curious. Let's say I meet a leadership coach at a grand

mixer.

We have a great conversation and discover that we both work with

entrepreneurs and business leaders. That's interesting, but

I don't know enough about this person yet to introduce them to

someone I care about. So the next step might simply be, would

you like to have a one-on-one and learn a little more about

each other? That's it. We don't need to climb the whole ladder

in one conversation. S stands for strengthen, trust, and

alignment. This is where that one-on-one conversation becomes

so valuable. What do they really do? Who do they serve? What do

they value? What are they trying to create? How do they show up?

Do they follow through? And importantly, is there enough

alignment to continue developing the relationship further?

Perhaps that leadership coach and I are having our one-on-one

and discover that we both believe strongly in

relationship-based business rather than high-pressure

selling. I mean, that's a lot of people in our community. There's

value alignment right away, and maybe I go and I attend one of

their workshops. Maybe they come to one of my events. We stay in

touch. Little by little, trust develops.

Notice that nothing has been sold. C stands for create

referral readiness. This is where our R ready referral ready

work connects directly with Ascend. I might really like you.

I might trust you. I might genuinely want to help you, and

this happens a lot of the time, but that doesn't necessarily

mean I know how to refer you. I can't tell you how many times

I've heard someone say, "Oh, she's really great. You should

talk to her. And then I ask, "Well, what does she do? Well,

I'm not quite sure. Go talk to her yourself, or they know what

she does, but they don't know who really needs her. That's a

referral-ready problem. Before I can confidently introduce that

leadership coach, I need to understand who specifically do

they help. What is usually happening when someone needs

them? What problem do they solve? What results are they

helping people work towards what evidence gives me confidence in

recommending them, and what should I actually say when I

make the introduction? This is why clarity and credibility

matter so much.

Already helps you become easier to refer. Ascend the ascend

ladder helps us recognize when the relationship is ready for

the referral. E stands for exchange referrals and

opportunities. Now we can begin opening doors for one another.

Let's say I'm talking with a business owner who says, "Hey,

my company's growing, but I'm really struggling with my new

manager, he can't seem to motivate the staff. Now I have a

trigger. I know someone in my network that is great at helping

leaders learn the skills to motivate teams. So I think I

know someone you should meet, and that's a referral. But

opportunities don't always mean clients. Maybe I say to someone,

I know a podcast looking for someone who speaks about your

topic or expertise, or you'd be a great speaker for an event I'm

speaking at. I'll introduce you to the host, or there's someone

in my network that I think you should know, or maybe I see

something they posted and I share it with someone who could

benefit from it. I could be referring that way. At the Grand

Connection, we talk a lot about grand giving. This is where

grand giving becomes very practical. We're asking, what

door could I open for this person? And we're doing it

because there's a genuine alignment and an opportunity to

help, not because we're keeping score. N stands for navigate a

collaboration, sometimes a relationship has the potential

to become something more.

Now we can explore working together, but I don't think that

necessarily means creating something huge. Start small.

Let's say you're a business coach and you've developed a

relationship with a marketing strategist. You serve similar

audiences, but you have complementary expertise. Instead

of saying, "Let's create a six months program together, what if

you said, "Why don't we co-host a one-hour workshop? Now you're

testing the collaboration. Do your audiences respond? Do your

teaching styles complement each other. Does the other person

promote the event? Do they communicate well? Do they follow

through? And here's another important question: Do you

actually enjoy working together? A small collaboration gives you

information that another coffee conversation simply can't. It

allows you to experience the partnership, and last in the

ascend model is D, deepen the partnership.

Finally, when something works, deepen it. I think this is

something entrepreneurs sometimes miss. We're often so

busy looking for the next connection that we don't fully

explore the relationships that were already working really

well. Suppose that workshop with the marketing strategist was a

big success. People loved it. You enjoyed working together.

Your audiences complemented each other. And instead of

immediately moving on, ask yourselves what else could we do

together? Maybe the workshop becomes a series. Maybe you

become ongoing referral partners. That happens a lot.

Maybe you create a bundle. Maybe you become affiliates for each

other's programs. Maybe you develop a shared offer, or

perhaps that relationship eventually becomes a much deeper

strategic partnership. This is where collaboration can begin

creating opportunities neither of you could have created quite

as easily alone. Now you don't have to ascend with everyone.

Here's something really important: you don't have to

climb the entire ascend collaboration ladder with

everyone you meet, and you probably shouldn't because

you're. Get pretty darn tired. One person might become an

incredible referral partner, but never a business collaborator.

Someone else might be a wonderful podcast guest or

speaker. Another person might become a trusted resource you

regularly introduce to your clients, and another might

simply be someone you enjoy connecting with and supporting.

Those are all valuable relationships. Ascend isn't

about pushing people toward the top of the ladder. It's about

recognizing where the relationship naturally belongs

and what the next appropriate step might be. Sometimes the

right next step is moving forward. Sometimes it's

continuing to nurture the relationship, and sometimes you

discover there isn't enough alignment to go any further, and

that's okay too. So here's your grand action for this episode:

choose five people already in your network who have the

potential to become stronger referral or collaboration

partners, and think about this intentionally. Look for a

natural business fit. Could be similar audiences. Your

expertise complements each other. They provide something

your clients need.

Of course, you're going to share values, and maybe there's some

opportunity where you can genuinely open the doors for

each other. Now place each person somewhere on your

A for authentic connection, S for

strength and trust and alignment, C for create referral

readiness, E for exchange referrals and opportunities, N

for navigate a collaboration, and D for deepen the

partnership. Then ask yourself one simple question: What is the

next natural step for this relationship? It could be

scheduling a one-on-one. Maybe you need to learn more about

what they do so you can look for referral opportunities. That

could just be researching online. Maybe it's making an

introduction. Maybe it's inviting them into your podcast.

Maybe you're going to test something small, or perhaps

you've already successfully worked together, and it's time

to ask, "What else could we create together? Don't try to

jump to the top of the ladder. Take the next right step and

nurture the relationship from there.

Now, one final thought: you don't necessarily need another

100 connections. Sometimes grand growth comes from looking at the

relationships you already have and asking what's possible from

here. Get clear about where the relationship is take the next

appropriate step, give it time, build trust, create value for

one another, and when the alignment is there, ascend

together. If you'd like to meet more heart-centered

entrepreneurs and potential referral and collaboration

partners, we invite you to join us at an upcoming Grand Mixer or

any of our other Edu networking events. Grab your guest pass and

Grand Growth Bundle at GrandConnection.ca/gifts, and

please subscribe to the Grand Connection podcast and share

this episode with someone you'd love to ascend with. In fact,

sharing this episode might be a wonderful way to start the next

conversation. Until next time, keep connecting, keep creating,

and collaborate.