The Art of Obtaining Referrals - presentation to the Association of Financial Planners
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This document outlines a seven-step process for obtaining referrals from clients. The steps are: 1) get independent feedback from clients on your value proposition and service quality, 2) plant seeds to make your business referrable, 3) acknowledge client fears about referrals, 4) fish for compliments and brainstorm referral opportunities, 5) get in the right mindset to ask for referrals, 6) pick the right moments to ask clients for referrals, and 7) choose referral opportunities wisely based on client loyalty. The presentation emphasizes having a systematic referral process, expecting to get referrals, focusing on building a more referrable business, and having more referral conversations with clients.
The Art of Obtaining Referrals - presentation to the Association of Financial Planners
- 1. A talk for the AFATuesday March 29, 2011The Art of Obtaining Referrals
- 2. ¡®Why should you listen to me?¡¯IFA, AFA article ¨C ¡®How referrable is your business?¡¯ Advisory panels for Dealer GroupsDealer group & individual firm clientsPractice what we preach83% of my clients through referral, 17% through speaking
- 3. Calls, reports & pricing OverviewNeed a system & the right mindsetWhy, How, When & Who factors Yes, there will be an offer if you¡¯dlike to find out more ¨C lucky you!
- 4. Seven Steps to Referral Success - WhyReferrals are ____% of my business and I currently get _____ referrals per year from my top 100 clientsCurrent referral revenue = $_____Goal referral revenue = $______Do you have a system andthe right mindset to close the gap?
- 5. Seven Steps to Referral Success - How1Find out what your clients really think(via phone, not email or paper based)Independent feedback = value proposition, brand & your best marketing collateralComplaints represent a great opportunity to generate referrals The process will help you ¡®earn the right¡¯ for referralsSelling services (intangible) - need evidence of your service quality to counteract fearsIncreased retained, repeat & referral business
- 6. Seven Steps to Referral Success - How2Plant ¡®referrability seeds¡¯ ¡®Foreshadow¡¯ the conversation ¨C website, collateral, initial meetingsShare your vision of a referrals based business;¡®I¡¯m building a business based on providing so much value to my clients, they often want to tell others about me.¡¯¡®Please don¡¯t keep me a secret.¡¯Trust Marks ¨Cassociations, accreditations (quals), power clients, endorsements, guarantee
- 7. Seven Steps to Referral Success - How3Acknowledge your client¡¯s fearsMake it all about them ¨C ¡®We love making our clients look good by doing a great job with the contacts they refer us to.¡¯Explain your referral process and the outcomes of any introductions ¨C build their confidence in the processA successful outcome with a referred client strengthens the existing client relationship and should lead to more referralsIs an incentive enough to overcome referral fears?
- 8. Seven Steps to Referral Success - How4Fish for compliments & BrainstormGet clients to articulate your valueTreat your referral request with importanceBe confident & expect to get referralsIf you met your clients through referrals, remind them of thatGet permission to brainstormCategories & individuals ¨C ease tension & be aware of potential concerns
- 9. Seven Steps to Referral Success - How5Get your head in the gameOur findings ¨C 80% of clients would refer, only 20% of clients have the ¡®referral conversation¡¯ with their adviserOvercoming your own objections:¡°I often don¡¯t feel I¡¯ve served my clients enough yet to ask¡± ¨C listen to their comments¡°I don¡¯t want my clients to think I¡¯m not successful¡± ¨C if referrals are based on the value you have brought, the easier it will be to ask for referrals¡°I will look too aggressive and hurt the relationship¡± ¨C ask from a client centred point of view
- 10. Seven Steps to Referral Success - When6Pick your momentThe opportunities to become more referrable ¨C do you track this in your client contact process?Provide value ¨C memorable experience (early referrability ¨C high gain questions & unrelated value add) & strong client relationships (throughout client lifetime) ¡®Energy Map¡¯
- 11. Seven Steps to Referral Success - Who7Choose wiselyProspect for referrals using the ¡®Ladder of Loyalty¡¯ Start at Ambassadorand Terrorist and work in towards the middle
- 12. SummaryFind out what your clients really think & document itMake it easy for clients to complain Have a systematic referral process that your business is comfortable with and that your clients trustExpect to get referrals and have more referral conversationsSpend less effort telling people how good the client experience is and more focus on building a more referrable business
- 13. Offer ¨C Client Satisfaction& Referrability CampaignClient Satisfaction ResearchRetention & Referral indicators, Urgent & General business issues, Additional Business Leads Individual Client reports & Campaign Appraisal reports including Recommendations and Next StepsReferral programReferral Strategies for the ¡®Ladder of Loyalty¡¯ clientsThe ten opportunities to make your business more referrableTake home valueValue Proposition alignment, segmentation model (Loyalty Ladder)Referral strategies for Clients and Centre of Influence PartnersIncreases in New, Repeat, Retained and Referred businessRegister your interest today to receive one of threefree, in-depth referrability self-evaluations