If you’ve been reading my articles over the last few years, you know that I’m a huge advocate of asking for referrals.  While I don’t teach an aggressive approach, I do advocate finding ways to be appropriately proactive.  Sometimes, it’s appropriate to promote the referral process by planting referral seeds. One of my favorites is, “Don’t keep me a secret,” …

Why don’t reps ask for referrals more often? Mistaken assumptions! Producers make certain assumptions about the referral process that often hold them back from fully leveraging their client relationships. A few weeks ago, I was having a very interesting conversation with Phil Simonides, a successful manager in the financial services industry.   In teaching my referral system to both new and …

Would you like to get referrals without even asking for them?  Would you like to get referrals much sooner in your new client relationships?  If so, then you need to think “process” over “products.”  Just selling a product or signing someone up will make you some money, but it’s unlikely to make your referable and create word of mouth … …

So how do you approach friends and others about the work you do with the goal of getting referrals? One of the major challenges is that they haven’t directly experienced the value of your work. So basically, you are not yet “referable” in their eyes. How do you become referable with them? Obviously, it would be great if they became …

Targeting an industry niche is a very effective, yet underused marketing strategy in the financial services industry. It can be hard to create a reputation for yourself when your marketing approach is “shotgun.” On the other hand, when you target a very specific industry niche, it’s fairly easy to elevate yourself to “celebrity status.” Let’s start out with a definition. …

Even though I speak to groups of financial professionals ranging from 20 people to 5,000 strong, I’m a pretty shy person when it comes to networking events. Over the years, I have learned to get pretty good at these types of business-building events. In this article, I’d like to tell you what I’ve learned, so you can turn networking events …

You know that to attract high-net-worth individuals and high-income earners, you have to be a little more creative and sophisticated with your approach to the referral process. One powerful strategy in my referral system is hosting client-appreciation events. Client-appreciation events help you grow business friendships with your clients. As your business friendships grow, so does client loyalty and the amount …

In my last article, I showed you a safe and effective way to ask for referrals. As promised, here’s what you can do when you have a client who isn’t comfortable with your request—or just doesn’t want to have a referral conversation. I was coaching a top producer the other day, and he was frustrated, because one of his top …

Why do the affluent want to meet a financial advisor like you? One recent study surveyed over 4,000 affluent individuals. It determined that the affluent would prefer to meet you either: 1) through a referral from a friend or colleague, or 2) through a referral from a CPA or other trusted advisor. This article will give you my proven strategy …

As you move higher up the ladder of affluence (high net worth and high income), your referral strategies must become a bit more sophisticated.  Here are a few ideas to help you reach these types of people.   Strengthen Your Centers of Influence One of the best ways to meet affluent individuals is through Certified Public Accountants (CPAs). Okay, you …