Let me introduce you to my clients

Jim Hill, an independent financial advisor with Investors Capital, suggests that you can never be too scrupulous when evaluating a potential professional affiliate. "One must be careful with whom they align since the client they gain through that referral will tend to view them similarly to the one who referred them," he says.

Hill's point should be well taken. In essence, your affiliate's reputation becomes your reputation, so choose wisely.

Fitzgerald, who prefers to work with women partners since her practice is focused on financial planning for women, uses the Yellow Pages, but only as a platform to see who the professional women in her area are and what they do. From there she checks out the Chamber of Commerce membership directory and the directory for the National Association of Women Business Owners. Based on her research, she creates a prospective list of potential alliance partners and invites the most appealing prospects to join her for coffee, a drink or lunch to discuss how they could help leverage each other's businesses.

During this discussion, whether it be over a drink or at the office, both you and your prospective affiliate will evaluate each other to determine, first and foremost, if trust can be established and if working together can work. To be perceived as a trusted companion and advisor, Hyder says, you must show that you are an expert in your field. He suggests providing testimonials from other professionals you work with or from satisfied clients, who are witnesses to your expertise and your character. He also suggests that – despite the cost – marketing materials are an absolute necessity.

"In today's market, you have to invest in the tools to reap the benefits," he says.

Part of presenting yourself in a professional way is through having professional materials and tools, from quality brochures and supporting materials to technologies and advertising firms, he explains. "I feel that without a commitment and expenditure to these important sales and marketing tools, it becomes very tough to differentiate yourself from the countless others who want nothing better than to get at the same database that you are trying to utilize with this companion marketing campaign," Hyder says.

It is equally important during the initial meeting to explain your approach to planning to help your prospect get a better idea of how you conduct your business.

"They want to see that you have a system and process for identifying the needs of the client," Wertheim says.

Her take on the matter: "They do not want to affiliate with a product salesperson."

She suggests using questionnaires, agendas and a financial planning software package as presentation tools to help explain the planning process. From this point on, the discussion is open to how you and your new affiliate will go forward with the relationship.

The way
The big question is: Do you work on commissions or fees? As you would probably guess, there is no concrete answer. Every advisor deals with this matter in his own way, based on the relationship with his affiliates.

At Securities America, Wertheim explains that the process is somewhat informal. In situations where a professional contact refers a client to an advisor, the professional will generally receive 20 percent of the advisory fee. In more formal relationships, where the professional schedules meetings for the advisor and client at the professional's office, generally there is a 50-50 split.

Marc Sussman, president of M.H. Sussman and Associates looks at it differently. He calls finder's fees a "gray area." Sussman says that many professionals feel uncomfortable with the idea of fees or commissions – him being one of them. Rather, he prefers to refer clients to the appropriate parties and call it good.

Many advisors agree.