We all heard the old phrase: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

But in today’s referral-driven world, the real advantage comes from understanding what you know about the people you already know.

Anyone can collect business cards, attend events, or stack up LinkedIn connections. But the people who consistently generate meaningful referrals are the ones who take the time to understand their network — beyond job titles and logos.

For example, a tradie I know once told me, “I don’t really have anyone to refer to the mortgage broker in my network.” He genuinely believed it. He thought referrals meant knowing someone actively searching for a home loan right now.

But then he took the time to build a relationship with the broker and learned who the broker served best, what a perfect client looked like, what life events usually triggered the need and the key phrases people casually say when they’re starting to think about finance.

A few weeks later, on a job, he overheard his customer say “We’re running out of space — we might need a bigger house next year.”

Before this, he would’ve brushed it off as small talk. But now he recognised it as a perfect early-stage referral opportunity and he made the introduction.

That one moment turned into a major win for the broker — and a stronger relationship for the tradie, who the client praised for being “a genuinely helpful person” beyond the job he was hired for.

He didn’t suddenly grow his network. He simply started understanding it better.

Your network’s value doesn’t come from the number of people in it, it comes from how well you understand:

✔ what they actually do
✔ who they serve best
✔ what problems they solve
✔ what buying signals to listen for
✔ how they prefer to be introduced

Opportunities don’t appear because you know more people. They appear because you understand the people you already know.

If you want better referrals, don’t just grow your network — learn it.

When you are ready to build a referral network that works even when you’re not in the room, create a free Local Recommend profile and experience the power of Smarter Connections and Stronger Referrals for yourself.