I recently visited with a prospect who was referred to me by a young Trust & Estate attorney from the largest law firm in Bflo. I visited w the prospect at her home and I thought I developed decent rapport with her. She absolutely meets my optimal client profile.

The prospect told me that she was meeting with one other advisor and we agreed to speak the week following that meeting. I got a voice mail from her over the weekend that she has decided to select the other advisor as he works on an hourly, fee-only basis and will teach her how to do the investing, etc on her own.

I charge a fee for investment management but it is 1% of AUM in perpetuity.

What would you do in follow up if you were me?

Thanks,

Will

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Will, 

I think I’d wish her well, let your referral source know, and then maybe check in with her in 4-6 months (or sooner if you think that makes sense).  You might see what the attorney has learned and what he advises – based on what he knows about her. I wouldn’t totally let go of her – yet – but I wouldn’t spend too much time on her either.  Things change, and it would be good for her to remember a very favorable impression of you. 

Make sense?  Bill

   If you’ve heard me speak, then you know that the underlying theme in all my programs is “courage” -the courage to overcome every day fears, doubts, uncertainties, and mistaken assumptions that keep people from mastering the referral process.

  In my interviews with hundreds of top performers, there seem to be a few “common denominators” of success. When I ask a top producer about their “secret”to success, they invariably say, “There is no secret. I just have a good work ethic.”  A good work ethic is truly one of the common denominators of success.

  But, I believe, there IS a “secret” to success that most people know about - on some level - but very few people talk about. I think one of the most fundamental differences between top producers and the pack of wanna be’s, is their relationship to fear.  Let me explain…

We have client surveys that are filled out and returned by our clients. One them they ask whether or not they would be willing to give a referral. For the ones that said yes how would you bring that up in a thank you letter? 

 - JB

This is a very good question! Perhaps the best way to answer your question is with a sample “script.” Of course, you need to make this your words, not mine.

“George, I want to thank you for completing the client survey our company sent to you. Your feedback is very important to us. And thank you for the kind words and high ratings. I have a question. I noticed that you checked ‘yes’ to the question that you’d be willing to refer me to others. I’m wondering. When you said ‘yes’ to that question, did you have a specific person or people in mind, or was it more of a general vote of confidence?” Now… you’ll get one of two responses:

1. They have one or more people in mind. If so, you talk about them and go for introductions.

2. It was more a vote of confidence. If this is their response, proceed with the “script” below.  

“Well, I appreciate that. You should know that I’m never too busy to see if I can be of service to others you care about. Would you be open to brainstorming a little to see if we can identify some people you care about who should really know about what I do?”

Finally, if you can’t bring yourself to asking for referrals in this context, your alternate response could be:

“Well, I appreciate that. It’s important that you know that I’m never too busy to see if I can be of service to others you care about. You should also know, that our processes and systems are geared toward working with successful people just like yourself. We do our best work for folks who have substantial assets - as you do - and who have slightly complicated financial scenarios.” (You can substitute whatever “profile” you want to here.)   

Here’s a great client gift idea I learned from one of our recent Referral Boot Camp Participants.  When you want to say “thank you” to a client who owns their own business, consider buying them some nice indoor plants along with a maintenance plan for 1 year.

There is no better way to get to know prospects than in a social setting. Your clients will appreciate being treated to a night on the town (or wine tasting, or chocolate tasting, or golf swing analysis, etc.) and their friends (your prospects) will too! This will also give your clients and prospects a chance to see more than just you as their financial professional, but as their business friend. If you’re married or have a partner, see if they’ll be part of this with you. In some cases, you might even have your children there. For more advice on referral events, check out the Referral Minute archives at: http://www.referralcoach.com/newsletter/ref-min-archives

If you have any Social Prospecting strategies and techniques that have worked for you, please contact me directly. I’d like to interview you for my book on the subject. Send your message to: Bill (at) ReferralCoach (dot) com.

Today: Plan a referral event for the next quarter. Don’t plan too big of an event. First, you want maximum time with your clients and prospects, to create a solid connections. Plus, if you create something too daunting, you’ll never get to it.

Get your new referral clients to thank your referral source.

Here’s a tactic that most financial professionals never think about. The ones who do, make sure they do it every time. When Client A gives you a referral to Prospect B, you need to thank Client A. When Prospect B becomes Client B, you want Client B to thank Client A. How do you think Client A will feel? You become more referable, so this stimulates more referrals.

You can just ask the new client to thank the old client (or Center of Influence). Or, you can take the two of them out to lunch together. Try this! You’ll get more referrals from both clients.

Today: Think of some new clients who have come to you through a referral. Make sure they thank the referral source or you do it together.