One of the primary ways wealthy people find financial advisors is through professional referrals, specifically CPA’s and attorneys. A survey of financial advisors revealed that referrals from outside professionals accounted for only 30 percent of their new clients. The numbers clearly indicate that most financial advisors fail to successfully develop a professional referral network.
Master Influencer Marketing
Affluent investors rely heavily on professional advisors referrals for one simple reason: trust. They already know their CPA or attorney so they logically trust their judgement regarding a financial advisor referral. It’s not surprising that these professional referral sources tend to proceed with great caution when making referrals to safeguard their own client relationships.
Educate and Differentiate
Charles is a top advisor who brings in $25M+ in new assets annually with over $500M in total assets under management. A major reason for his success is influencer education. He made a concerted effort to market to professional referral sources and positioned the appointments as educational sessions rather than selling opportunities. By presenting himself as a “teacher” instead of a salesman, he was able to set himself up as a valuable resource for his professional alliances. Charles’ deep level of financial expertise differentiated him from other advisors and gave his referral sources confidence in his ability to expertly manage their clients’ financial affairs.
Nurture the Relationship
Keeping in regular contact with professional referral sources and providing them with useful information applicable to their practice can create a close, personal bond that builds trust and confidence in your capabilities. Mutually beneficial referral relationships take time to develop, so be patient. In Charles case, it typically took 12 months before the referrals began to flow. Just remember that the more effort you put into building your professional relationships, the more you will get out of them in the long term.
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