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Grant Hicks, CIM
Favorable introductions are easier than referrals. After 30 years in the financial
industry in various roles including being a financial advisor, National
Director of Practice Management and financial advisor coach, I truly
believe that favorable introductions are easier for financial advisor
clients than referrals. Let me explain. When I was growing my financial
advisory practice, I was looking for more ideal clients, wealthy
individuals who needed complex planning and advice to help them reach all
of their goals. The financial industry and all top advisors said, grow your
business by referrals only. But, I did not buy it, there must be more to it
than sitting at your desk waiting for people to call you because they told
a friend how wonderful you are. I was looking for better and better
clients, not the same type of clients. I was also taught many years ago to
position referrals at every client meeting, usually at the end of the
meeting. It seemed so easy, just ask for a few names and away you go. Yet,
at the end of the meeting, compliance, and paperwork took control of the meeting,
and if I did not do the paperwork, referrals were useless. So with this
wonderful sage advice, I decided to find another way to acquire more ideal
clients. Favorable introductions.
Favorable introductions
What is the difference between a favorable introduction and a referral? I
truly believe that your best clients are 10 times more comfortable
introducing you to someone than giving you a referral or a specific name to
call. So how do you get introduced to people by your clients? Simple, go to
your client events, not your events. So how do you do that? Let me share a
story with you. One of my clients Bob was a retired pilot. In every meeting
with clients, I used an agenda. On the agenda was the word ”events”. It was
positioned at the beginning or middle of the meeting, NOT the end of a
meeting when the time is running short and paperwork is longer than
expected.
Ask the golden question
In the meeting, when it came to the word events, I would always ask one
golden question. “Bob, if I were to meet a group of retired pilots, where
would I go to meet them, how would I meet and connect with them? Are there
any events you are involved in with retired pilots”. Bob replied, “why yes,
there is a group of retired pilots at the small airport where I keep my
plane, why don’t we meet next week and I will introduce you to some of
them.” This is where Bob introduced me to Greg, another retired pilot. Greg
knew that Bob was successful, so being favorably introduced as his
financial advisor was all Greg needed to have confidence in talking to me.
And as simple as asking one question, I discovered that asking for
favorable introductions is easier than asking for referrals. The next week
at the hangar, Bob introduced me by saying” Hey Greg, I want you to meet a
friend of mine who happens to be my financial advisor, Grant”. Greg was
working on his airplane and jokingly said” nice to meet you, Grant, you
must be a great advisor since Bob has a better plane than mine. Let’s grab
a coffee sometime. “. That is all it took. There was no awkwardness in
meeting people and get favorably introduced, not making up an elevator
pitch of who you are and what you do. Your clients will be glad to
introduce you to anyone, given the opportunity.
You are vetted
How do you get vetted by ideal prospects/ The vetting part can
sometimes take a long time, several meetings and tons of questions. But
since Bob, the retired pilot is already successful when he favorable
introduces me, I am vetted in his friend's mind, as a qualified
professional. The meeting with Bob there, allows Bob to introduce me and
one sentence confirms I am a professional that you can trust. That sentence
looks something like" Hi Greg, I would like you to meet Grant, my
financial advisor".
Two simple steps
Make that opportunity happen in two simple steps. First, add the word
“events” into the top portion of your agenda. I recommend using agendas
with your ideal clients. Use it as a trigger to ask for favorable
introductions from ideal clients. Second, ask the question” If I were to
meet a group of successful people like you ( categorize the group, eg
retired pilots, surgeons, dentists, farmers etc.) how would I meet them?
You will be shocked by how helpful people will be with this question.
Charitable events
Every week, wealthy people attend charitable events. Another question if
people are having difficulty recognizing events in their group is to go to
charitable and community events by asking this question. “ Is there
anything near and dear to your heart you are involved in such as charities
or community events that you may need help with? We try to align our
interests with our client's interests.
Success stories
I can list countless stories of advisors I coach that have added two simple
steps to their process, and went to amazing events with their best clients,
and met a group of ideal prospects. Referrals are great, but favorable
introductions are easier and more comfortable with your ideal clients. If
you went to 10 client events this year and was favorably introduced by an influential
or ideal client at each event, do you think you will be introduced to your
next ideal clients? Favorable introductions have been a game changer for
some advisors trying to figure out how to meet more ideal prospects.
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