When it comes to attracting new clients , there's no substitute for professional referrals. In fact, in the most recent poll of advisors visiting www.investmentadvisor.com, more advisors opted for that choice than all others combined. A full 69% of participants indicated that referrals from other professionals, including attorneys and accountants, have brought them more new business than any other method. Far back from the lead in second and third places were Web sites (8%), direct mail (6%), and indirect marketing (4%).
A recent AdvisorBenchmarking study also found referrals to be highly important to advisors in building their practices. That survey found that referrals from existing clients (98%) and other professionals (75%) were among the most widely used business-building tools. (More information on that study is available here.
