In the heart of Overland Park, Kansas, there’s a successful financial advisor who has quietly revolutionized the referral process. Bryan Sarff, CFP® is not your typical advisor. As a cherished client of ours at Bill Good Marketing, he recently graced us with his presence on a webinar that had everyone leaning in closer…
The original version of this story was published on ThinkAdvisor®
Should you prospect during the COVID-19 pandemic? Of course you should, but you need the right strategy.
In this article series, we’ll discuss four campaigns you can run from home with just a few resources. Let’s start with a question you may think is obvious. Should you ever ask for referrals?
You say, “Of course. I just don’t do it.”
I say, “No.” Listen to your gut. It’s telling you the truth.
Asking for referrals does not work because it generates names, not referrals. Rarely do these names become clients.
Asking for referrals puts clients on the spot and makes them feel uncomfortable.
Advisors hate it and won’t do it. If you were doing it all, knock it off.
Instead, I’m going to show you how to promote referrals.
I define “promoting referrals” as “gently and persistently reminding your clients that you value and accept their referrals.”
Say this: Bob, if someone new joins your Rotary Club, and if they might need a local financial advisor, would you feel comfortable in suggesting they give me a call? I would love to have some more clients just like you.
Not this: Bob, who do you know in your Rotary Club I could call?
There is some magic in this approach. Bob may never call you about a new member of the Rotary Club.
But three weeks later, he may call you to suggest you call one the engineers he has just hired.
When you promote referrals, you are planting seeds. They can spout in surprising places.
“Promoting referrals” needs to become a habit. Here’s how.
I call it the “neighbors referral procedure.” Once you are comfortable with it, go to my “Referrals without Asking” site and review “Referral Conversations.” Practice these conversations as well.
As a side benefit of learning how to promote referrals, you will develop a great prospecting list. Without even knowing it, you are deploying the “look-alike principle,” which states, “Your best prospect is someone who looks just like a good client.”
Next-door neighbors are about as “look-alike” as you can get.
The process is simple:
Script: Hello, Bob/Sally. A couple of your neighbors came up on one of my market lists. I thought I would check with you and see if either or even both would not make good clients.
I don’t want to call people my current clients would not recommend. Do you have just a second for me to run these names by you?
At (address), my information shows (neighbor name). In your opinion, is s/he someone kind of like you who I might enjoy doing business with? And what about (neighbor name) at (address)?
If neither name is accurate: I’m glad to know my information is not correct. That’s why I wanted to check with you first.
If either of your real neighbors ever do mention they might not be happy with their advisor, would you mention my name?
Response: May I drop a couple of my business cards in the mail to you just in case?
If one or both names are accurate and might be worth contacting: Thanks so much for this info. Of course, I would never mention our relationship without your permission.
By the way, if either of your neighbors ever does say they might not be happy with their advisor, would you mention my name?
Response: May I drop a couple of my business cards in the mail to you just in case?
Next, enter valid names into your CRM. When this COVID mess is over, invite your clients to attend an event.
Call your client and ask, “Do you think this might be something your neighbor Fred might like to attend?”
Earlier this year, when business as we knew it changed, Chad adapted. He tested different approaches to growth by leveraging technology. He learned from the changes 2020 brought. He adjusted his approach to marketing in the new environment. He continued to grow. In fact, he has grown as much in 2020 as in years past while also dramatically reducing costs…
You have had countless clients tell you, “I referred you to a friend.” But the friend never called. That’s the referral gap, the difference between the number of clients who refer you and the number of referrals you actually receive. The gap is staggering– as many as 20% of your clients, when surveyed, say they have provided a referral…
If 20% or more of your clients are over the age of 75, you have a problem. In the next few years, if a significant percentage of your client assets will be owned by clients who will be over the age of 75, you have a problem.
Several years ago, I researched what happens to assets when clients die…
