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The Practice Doctor is IN
The Tip of the Referral Iceberg
In April’s newsletter, we continued our examination of best practices concerning the referral process. Two questions were posed and discussed:
The primary concept to keep in mind when answering these questions is that you are asking to be brought into an existing relationship that your client (or center-of-influence) has with a friend, relative, or business associate.
Your client is consciously and subconsciously evaluating the potential impact you will have on that relationship. In addition, you should explore your client’s experience with referrals in order to understand why he or she might be reluctant to provide you with names.
Both of the above questions uncover your client’s biases. These are preexisting conditions in the referral process and are not likely to change until you have had a chance to prove yourself as a trustworthy, mindful, and courteous handler of referrals.
This month, we consider two questions that can have an immediate impact on you and your business:
Am I referable?
Much of the work around this question has already been done, for better or worse. When you sit down with a top client or center-of-influence and prepare to ask for introductions, the experiences you both share have a direct impact on the referral discussion. Your client, understandably, will project his or her own history with you on any name he or she might divulge.
Based on my interviews with advisors, external factors are important to consider. For example, did you consistently respect your client’s time? An advisor who keeps his cell phone on or checks text messages constantly while in a meeting with a client shows little respect for that client’s time. Your client will remember that, and assume you will treat any referrals the same way. What are the chances of obtaining a referral in this case? Slim to none.
How do you present yourself? Your image is another critical factor in being refer-able. How you dress, the jewelry you wear, grooming, makeup, manners, and sense of humor all have a bearing on a client’s decision to introduce you to someone.
If you are serious about referrals, there are three steps you can take to get an objective sense of your professional image:
What value do I bring that is sufficiently unique to warrant an introduction?
The following instance is taken from my case files:
Tricia is a sharp, confident advisor. She feels good about her image and her practice. She’s meeting with April Burgess, a top client. April owns an architecture firm in Menlo Park and has been a client of Tricia’s for more than five years. They meet formally once a year for a full review; it is during this meeting that Tricia asks for introductions.
April has provided Tricia with a few referrals over the years, but Tricia knows they are not her top-shelf relationships. Today, April suggested Tricia call two building contractors she works with. These are medium-tier referrals that will result in medium-level clients. Tricia would like to be referred upward to April’s peers in the architecture world:
“April, I appreciate the names. As usual, I will let you know what happens with them. But I did have someone else I’d like to ask about.”
“Sure, Trish, who is it?”
“A.J. Ostenberg. The owner of O&S Realty. He’s the kind of businessperson I’ve been targeting this year and think he’d be a great addition to my practice.” April thought for a moment. “I do know A.J. through our community work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.” She paused. “But I know he’s got someone he works with. So I don’t think it would work.”
Tricia backed off, not wanting to seem pushy.
What happened here? Everything was going well, but Tricia couldn’t get the upward-referral. Why not?
The tell-tale sentence uttered by April is the core issue: “I know he’s got someone he works with.” What she is actually saying is: “He’s got somebody he’s working with who I assume is doing the same job for him as you are doing for me.”
April sees all advisors as bringing the same value to their clients. In her mind, all advisors are the same. Tricia hasn’t brought anything unique to the table, at least as far as April can see. Tricia hasn’t provided a compelling reason to be introduced to A.J. Ostenberg.
Having worked with Tricia, I know she brings a unique perspective to her financial planning. She has a CPA background and a great presentation on the tax climate that looks back 30 years and forward 30 years. This is a very effective tool in providing a perspective for those about to retire. In the context of the presentation, she introduces various products that provide possible tax-free, tax-deferred, and taxable income streams.
We worked on helping Tricia see that this is a fresh view on traditional retirement planning. She not only needed to realize her presentation was unique but also required the language to articulate it. Tricia must be able to demonstrate to April that an introduction to A.J. would be a good thing, whether or not he chooses to take advantage of it.
We played it out all the way: if April gives an introduction to A.J., what should April say? Here’s what we came up with:
“A.J., you’ll be getting a call from Tricia Carpenter. She’s my advisor and has a really good perspective on tax planning for retirement that I thought you would appreciate. I think it would be worth 15 minutes to check it out. She’ll even buy the cup of coffee.”
If A.J. balks and says, “Thanks, but I already have a person I work with,” April needs to be confident enough recommending Tricia to reply, “I thought you might. What Tricia brings to the table is a great complement to what you are already doing. I know you’re always looking for new perspectives. A.J., I think it would be worth a few minutes.”
Tricia couldn’t ask for much more!
What is your unique perspective that warrants the client or center-of-influence to go that extra step and really recommend you after the initial knee-jerk reaction?
As you might have realized from this month and last month’s columns, the referral process has many components. It’s a combination of art and science. Hopefully, I’ve distilled the best practice elements for you to study, craft, and embrace in your business.
Your comments and questions are always welcome.
Until next month, the Doctor is OUT.
Al Depman , CLU, ChFC, CMFC, BH, a.k.a. “The Practice Doctor”, is mitchanthony.com’s Business Practice Consultant. He is the creator of “The Practice Management Assessment” tool and materials and has authored numerous articles in professional publications on practice management. Al combined his Liberal Arts studies with 10 years of management experience with McDonald’s Corporation to enter the financial services world 22 years ago. Since then, Al has evolved from an MDRT-level sales rep into a full-time consultant specializing in helping others engineer their business practices to the next level. Contact him at al@mitchanthony.com . © 2008 Al Depman |
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Al Depman, CLU ChFC CMFC BH |
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