Client Driven Practice Blog

What Hugely Successful Firms Have In Common With Kleenex

2012-02-09T14:20:51Z

When you can make your firm synonymous with the solution clients are looking for, new business arrives automatically.

A “Wow” Experience Is Not Enough

2012-01-26T15:27:32Z

Summary: We have been told that to attract referrals and clients, we have to provide a “wow” experience. But that’s just not enough on which to base a business development or referral marketing plan.

Looking for advisors and clients to interview for book about referrals. Know anyone in Boston?

2012-01-20T15:13:40Z

I am doing research for a book on attracting referrals, and am looking to interview advisors who have had success in referral marketing. I would also like to interview some clients of advisors who have provided referrals to find out how and why they provided them.

If you have done well attracting referrals and would like to be included, please let me know. Also, I will be in Boston, Wednesday, January 25. If you know of anyone who you think would make a good interview, let me know and I will try to get them on video while I'm there!

Please repost and help spread the word!

Five Things You Can Do To Attract Referrals In 2012

2012-01-13T15:56:49Z

To help you get started on your referral marketing plan, here are five things you can include in your plan that will help you attract referrals.

Do you have the guts to set yourself apart?

2012-01-06T20:34:00Z

In a recent post, Seth Godin points out that creating a competitive advantage takes guts.

Don't Ask For Referrals – Ask For Advice

2011-12-20T20:50:59Z

Let me introduce you to the most powerful business building question I ever learned.

For More Business, Prospect Fewer Clients

2011-12-16T14:58:59Z

It is utterly against the DNA of most advisors, but if you want to be a success at attracting referrals you must choose not to pursue good prospects.

Do You Ask For Referrals? Would You Hire A Plumber That Randomly Showed Up At Your Door?

2011-12-09T13:45:01Z

I am opposed to asking for referrals. For all kinds of reasons.

I do not believe in asking primarily because it attempts to hijack the natural way referrals happen. But also because we are an event driven business. And when we ask for referrals, we won’t meet the prospects when they need us.

Clients typically seek out and advisor because something happened or something changed. Very few people wake up in the morning thinking "I think I will find a new financial advisor today." It happens, and sometimes a change of attitude can be the trigger. But most often it is because a situation arises that requires a client find advice.

I was reminded of this the other day as I was working with the client on his value proposition. Like so many advisors, he told me he works with clients who are in "transition." We may be an event driven business partly because we have designed it that way. Money in motion, changing life circumstances, retirement distributions, sudden money. So many of the things we tell people we specialize in involve an event.

Regardless of where it comes from, it is clear that good referrals are defined partly by being introduced at the right time for the prospect. And the probability that when you ask your client for a referral will turn out to be just the right time for the prospect is miniscule. Odds are that if you ask for referrals you will be calling those prospects at time when they are just not receptive to your message. I think of it this way: from the prospect’s perspective you are like a great plumber that shows up unannounced and unexpected on someone's doorstep. If a plumber came to visit you out of the blue, would you hire him? Right then?

I recently hired a plumbing company to come pump out my septic tank. Not something I do very often. In fact, I have been in this house for almost 20 years and have not had it pumped once. (I know, bad idea. Like many people, I procrastinate on the preventative maintenance stuff.) But, I had a remodeling project going on and needed an inspection. The inspection required that the tank be pumped. I mentioned it to people. I asked around. A friend suggested a company, and they turned out to be great.

And that's how referrals happen. If that company had called me a year ago and told me they were experts at pumping septic tanks, I would have replied "not now, thanks." (Even though I should have thought about it. But I was, I don’t know, packing for vacation or cutting the lawn or something.) But, now I needed one. And because my friend knew this company was good at cleaning septic systems he mentioned them to me when I described my predicament.

What we must focus on is making sure our clients understand what particular solutions we can deliver or what experiences we can provide. If we can make that easy to recall, they will remember us when they hear someone describe a need for what we do. In the end, we don't really want our clients to share with us the names of their friends. We want our clients to share our names with their friends at the right time.

Get help designing your own referral marketing strategy with our Referral Marketing Plan Template. Find out about it here.

The Two Times Clients Refer You

2011-11-30T16:16:44Z

Two times people refer you and when you ask is not one of them. Just after they meet with you and when a friend expresses a need.

CLient Advisory Board Article in Journal of Financial Planning

2011-11-16T15:48:39Z

I have a new article in the Practice Management Solutions supplement to the Journal of Finanical Planning.

It is "Secrets of Client Advisory Boards" and you can link to it on-line here.

If the information in this article is valuable to you, you can also download my free white paper on advisory boards here. If you need more information on creating a referral marketing strategy, and how an advisory board plays a vital role in that strategy, you can buy my Referral Marketing Template here.