Referrals from other advisors are the marketing equivalent of Willy Wonka's golden ticket. They convert strangers who might not otherwise give you the time of day to qualified prospects that meet you with positive expectations. The challenge is developing mutually beneficial alliances with other professionals. But remember, it's not just about getting referrals. The goal is to serve your senior clients more effectively, and to do that you need a network of advisors whose expertise complements your own. Consider these strategies for building your alliances.
Let's help each other
Iris Mack Dayoub, Ph.D., AIF, president of Alpha Financial Management in Savannah, Ga., estimates that 70 percent of her new clients come from other professionals' referrals, primarily CPAs and attorneys. Dayoub admits her initial efforts at forming alliances were "hit-or-miss," and she soon realized she needed a more organized process. Now she has an exploratory meeting—usually for breakfast or morning coffee—with a potential strategic partner because those settings are less formal than a business lunch. But she doesn't just ask for referrals—she makes it clear that she wants to help grow the other professional's business as well. "I tell them that I want to do this so that we can develop additional business for both firms," Dayoub explains. "I think that is really the key. We are out here to help them as much as they are going to help us."
When new clients arrive without advisors in other fields, Dayoub often refers them to the accountants and lawyers with whom she works. She endeavors to get a good fit between the other professional and the clients she sends them. "When we look at our clients we try to determine whether they would be comfortable with a CPA that is very chatty or would they rather meet with someone that's just going to say, OK, here are the numbers," she says. "I think matching personalities is maybe more important than whether [the other advisor is] competent or not because I think they all are."
We have a client connection
At PartnersInWealth in Houston, founder James Waters, CFP, says many of his new clients are referrals from existing clients. If a new client works with other advisors whom Waters doesn't know, he uses the shared client connection to initiate contact with the other professionals. "We reach out to the other advisors and really try to get them to collaborate with us, to put their egos aside, if you will, and realize we all can learn from one another," he explains. "We all have different perspectives and different educational expertise and all that synergy will ultimately benefit everyone. It's a win for the other advisors, it's a win for the client and it's a win for PartnersInWealth."
Some advisors don't respond well to Waters' initiative, however. They react defensively in an effort to protect their professional turf. When that happens, Waters tells his clients about the experience. "Affluent people want advisors that will work together, that are open to not always being right and different ways of doing things," he says. "I think most people want the answer and they're not so concerned about labeling who came up with it. They value the synergy of the sharing of the ideas among advisors. So, when other advisors reject us without good cause simply because we sense they're trying to protect their turf or feel threatened, we view that as a real disappointment and we communicate that in some way to the client."
