Robb's Blog:
Tools, Tips and Techniques for Serious Financial Advisors
Do your referral conversations produce meaningful results?
Posted By :Rob Brown
Posted On : Friday, Nov 06, 2009
Last month, I had the opportunity to lead a study group of five highly successful sales managers. We shared a number of ideas for helping advisors grow their practices in the current environment. Gathering meaningful referrals was a frequent topic of conversation. One of the best observations of our half-day session related to the need to make the referral process easier for the person GIVING the referral. All too often, clients and connections greet the referral question with a blank stare. They're caught off guard because they don't have a specific point of reference. They would like to help, but they don't know where to begin. I believe it's because advisors allow their referral strategies to become cumbersome and clunky. For some unknown reason, we overcomplicate them. We forget the value of the work we do for our clients, so apologetically stumble through the referral conversation. Or we don't have one at all. If your approach to referrals needs some fine-tuning, ask yourself these four important questions: 1. Do your clients and your connections REALLY know that you're open for new business? Unless you regularly promote referrals, your best referral sources may be unaware of your plans for professionally growing your practice. Sure, they might offer your name to a friend who is looking for an advisor, but they aren't on the lookout for opportunities to proactively make introductions. They don't see the "Open for Business" sign hanging on your door. 2. Do your referrers really understand what you do? Most of the folks you know have a simplified understanding of your business. They don't see the full picture of what you do on a daily basis. Even your best clients may be biased by a single element of the most recent work you've done on their behalf. You'll receive the highest quality referrals when your referral sources clearly understand what you do and how you do it. 3. Do you take time to research potential referrals? A great way to eliminate blank stares when you're seeking referrals is to plant seeds in your referrers' minds. Before you meet with your clients and connections, identify a few folks they may know. This way you're giving them a frame of reference for offering you their best referral advice. This takes a little advance homework, but it is well worth the time. 4. Do you build referral-gathering opportunities into your daily routines? Any meaningful business growth activity that is not practiced consistently can go stale. This is particularly true of referrals. When you build referral-gathering into your daily routines your chance of success grows immeasurably. Need more referral strategies? I recently added a video Web Class on advocacy-based referrals to my website. This 30-minute program covers a step-by-step strategy for reenergizing your referral efforts. · If you're a member of EncoreAdvisor.com, you can click this link to launch the program - Building Advocacy: The Key to Finding More Clients Who Look Like Your Ideal Clients. · If you're not a member, consider a 14-day trial - it's only $5.00. You'll be able to view my new advocacy Web Class as well as our other referral resources. Click here to get started right away.
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Virtual marketing summit begins today...
Posted By :Rob Brown
Posted On : Tuesday, Oct 13, 2009
I have been asked to lead a discussion during the upcoming Insurance Selling Summit. Whether insurance is part of your practice or not, this promises to be a terrific "virtual" event. If you're looking to: * Breathe new life into your business * Generate more referrals * Find better quality clients Then, you really owe it to yourself to register (it starts today) by going to www.insurancesellingsummit.com. The whole program will be conducted over the web, and there's no charge to attend. I think they've put together a line-up of some of the best and brightest financial services marketing experts in the world. Some of the names you've heard of (like me),but there are a number of experts who many people haven't even heard of before. Our goal is to get as many new, innovative ideas in your hands as possible. Don't miss this event; it's filling up fast. You can check it out for yourself by visiting www.insurancesellingsummit.com.
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Thank goodness I backed up my computer...
Posted By :Rob Brown
Posted On : Friday, Oct 09, 2009
I'm mainly writing this blog post to let you know that I added a couple new coaching sessions to EncoreAdvisor.com. - The first is a series of letters to add to your client and prospects "touches"
- The second is a 30-minute video on advocacy-based referrals
But before I give you the details, please allow me to share a quick story... I turned on my computer this morning and almost everything was wiped out - files, programs, emails... Now it's in the shop being diagnosed. I've been using personal computers for close to 20 years (I think) and this is a first. So I'm probably pretty lucky. Initially, I felt anxious. A lot of the stuff I do to keep my business running requires a computer. I can't count the number of hours I spend on my computer each week -- managing my website, writing blog posts, creating new coaching sessions and researching. Fortunately, I have everything backed-up using both an external hard drive and an online service. After I got back from the repair shop, I dusted off my old laptop, logged onto my Carbonite (www.carbonite.com) account and went back to work. So I'm able to keep things running with just the hassle of having to use an old computer. This is not a commercial for Carbonite. It's a great service, but there are a lot of other ways to perform back-ups. My bottom line - make sure you're backing up your computer. Don't assume you'll never have a hardware problem (or a nasty virus). This is one item on my "to-do" list that I'm glad I didn't put off for another day. And I think I'll still be able to play some golf this afternoon. Okay…please excuse my rambling. Here's a quick summary of the new coaching session: Year-end tax planning "touches" for your clients and prospects... The first post is a series of year-end tax planning letters that you can use with your clients and your prospects. It's a great "touch" as part of your ongoing client communications as well as your efforts to treat your top prospects like clients. And based on the feedback I've received from members who have used previous years' versions of these letters, I know they produce some great opportunities for new business and referrals. http://www.encoreadvisor.com/members/369.cfm Referrals through advocacy... I also updated my "Building Advocacy" web class; it's a 30 minute video. This approach to increasing client loyalty and developing referrals is consistently one of the most well-received topics on EncoreAdvisor.com and in my coaching work. If you haven't taken some time to study this approach, this video is a great place to start. Even if you're already familiar with my advocacy concepts, it's a great refresher. http://www.encoreadvisor.com/members/370.cfm I hope you have a great weekend!
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