Forget Referrals…Get Great Introductions

“You’ll never get a bill from me. All I ask is that you refer me to other people like yourselves. Here’s our referral sheet. Would you please list 10 names and phone numbers of people I can call.”

“I get paid in two ways. I get a small fee from the companies I do business with, and all my clients give me the names and phone numbers of at least three people they can refer me to.”

“I ask all my clients for referrals. Would you rather me spend my time out looking for business, or keeping an eye on your account?”

“All I need is two more new clients to win the office contest. Can you help me out by giving me some names and phone numbers of people I can call?”

Seriously?

It’s no wonder that many advisors who learned to ask for referrals something like this stopped asking altogether and find comfort in every article and book that says, “Don’t ever ask for referrals.”

And the ones who still do ask will tell you that clients almost never write down the names of someone they really care about, so most of the leads they obtain in this way are dead ends and deadbeats.

My advice:

If you’re still having referral conversations like this…STOP IT!

All these old-fashioned ways of asking for referrals have the same tragic flaw…they’re about YOU and how you build your business.

And most of your clients and connections don’t care about you or your business. Your mom—maybe. Clients who are or have become great friends, maybe.

What they DO care about is THEM and their families and friends, and asking for referrals to help you grow your business isn’t part of that world.

But getting introduced to clients’ friends and family is one of the best ways to build your business, isn’t it?

Introductions are free.

They come with a built-in testimonial from the client or influencer that connects you.

They have a better closing ratio than just about any other kind of prospecting.

They build a deeper relationship with clients, making it harder for them to leave you after they’ve brought friends and family into your world.

Studies show that new clients want to meet you through a referral.

And you want them, don’t you? At least from your best clients and connections?

It also happens that referrals are good for all parties. They’re good for you because you’ll get some easy business if you do it right. They’re good for the prospect because they get YOU as an advisor. And, believe it or not, they’re good for the client. Clients have the risk; you don’t. If they connect you with a friend or family and it doesn’t work out, it can damage their relationships. But if it DOES workout…they’re a Hero! And I really believe that if you’re not asking clients for introductions, you’re denying them the chance to be a hero among their peers.

So, you want to have a conversation with clients (and influencers) about connecting you with new clients, but it needs to be a different conversation.

It needs to be about introducing you to people in their lives that you might be able to help in the same way you’re helping them. A conversation that gets into their world—something like this:

“Is there someone you care about who might need this kind of help?” You won’t know for sure because we don’t usually talk about our finances, but IF they needed help, who would you want to talk about? Who comes to mind first?”

When you’re asking about helping the people they care about, you’re in their world. No one will ever reject you for offering to help friends and family. You won’t look needy. You won’t damage your relationship with them, and you won’t feel disloyal. And if they name someone, it will be someone closest to them, and not a throwaway.

I have a complete system for deserving and getting great introductions. If you’d like to learn more about it, contact me.

In the meantime, keep REACHING…

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16 Disciplines

I suppose it would have been more fun if I called them 16 “hot tubs” for advisors, or less intimidating if I called them “practices,” but after 17 years of working with and observing how the most successful advisors, it's clear that there are branches of knowledge involved. 

 

Practice these simple 16 disciplines daily and watch how quickly and easily your practice grows.

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