Most advisers know that high quality referrals from people who love you and your work are one of the best ways to grow your practice.
And in order to create a regular and increasing flow of quality referrals there is something that MUST happen first.
I was recently speaking with a successful coach I know about referrals, and he told me about his own previous financial adviser.
He had been entirely happy with the work they were doing together. So, he passed him several referrals.
However, soon after he began to get feedback from some of his referrals that they had not had a good experience with the adviser. He relayed this back to the adviser, and the adviser got defensive and, unfortunately, that was the end of their relationship.
What kind of business is financial planning?
Financial Planning, just like coaching, is not a sales and marketing business. It is a relationship business and all clients are created within conversations.
So, when we meet with a potential client the conversations must be all about them. If we put any kind of pressure upon ourselves to make a favourable impression, prove our expertise, or make it about us in any way this is a sure way to compromise their experience.
The experience that the referral has is EVERYTHING
If the person has a great experience of you, regardless of whether they become a client or not, then they will report this back to the referrer. This creates positive reinforcement. The referrer will be happy to have been of help, so they are more likely to continue to refer you.
Anything less than this and future referrals will probably not be forthcoming.
Serving people right from the get-go
One of the most valuable things I learned from being coached was to avoid talking to potential clients about what I can do and what it would be like to work together (unless specifically asked, of course).
Yet this is what most people do.
Instead, start creating value from the very first moment. What is it that makes a conversation valuable to someone?
It exceeds their expectations. It causes them to pause, think, and reflect. They may see something in a new and completely different way, have a light-bulb moment, epiphany, or revelation. They might get more clarity about an important goal or stop worrying about something that has bugged them for years.
The possibilities are endless.
The only way that conversations like this can happen is that we take ourselves and our imaginary needs out of the picture. When we do this, we can put our full and undivided attention upon serving the person in front of us.
Want more financial planning referrals? This MUST happen first
I used to mistakenly think there must be some secret to getting more referrals. Yet through working with my own coach, I learned that there are no magic phrases, tricks, or incentives needed to encourage people to refer me.
Explore these if you want to but your greatest leverage point is summed up perfectly by Doug Carter in his book ‘Clients forever’:
“Your business and results change when you stop worrying about what you’re doing in the sales process and start working on who you’re being.”
P.S. The way we listen can have a massive impact upon the quality of our client conversations. Click here to read ‘5 Steps financial planners can take to becoming a better listener’.
