Growing Your Financial Advisory Business Through Referrals
Obtaining new business is a no-brainer as one of the key ways to keep your operation successful. No matter if you are just starting out or are established with a comfortable book of business, it’s important to utilize your network to help generate new business via referrals.
There are so many different ways to obtain referrals that it may seem overwhelming. Where do you even start? What is the most successful way of getting a solid referral? The answer is, it depends on YOU and your business model. What works well for one financial advisor may not work for another. It may take some trial and error on your part to see where you end up with the most success. We’ve highlighted some of the most popular methods that we suggest you focus on.
Use your existing clients
Who better than someone who knows and approves of you and your business practices than existing clients! They are with you for a reason, and it’s likely because they trust you. Providing your clients with superb customer service is the first step in the process of utilizing their network to obtain business referrals. Making sure they are comfortable with your service model and have a consistently positive experience is what will drive them to recommend your business to others.
Consider asking clients in a meeting how satisfied they are and if they would recommend you to their friends and family. Have a referral postcard ready for them to fill out and/or provide them with sample text to email. You can also do something similar when doing client surveys by including a section to collect referrals at the end. Be sure you also provide clear guidance on the types of services you provide and who you typically service so they know who to send your way.
Offering a small incentive (like a gift card, etc.) for referrals is always popular and gives your clients a reason to share the names of people they think may be interested in meeting with you. Rotating through different incentives may entice clients to provide additional referrals as the reward changes. Just be sure to confirm that you are in compliance with regulations when you do offer gifts to clients.
Use social media
Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter all provide a great way to connect with potential new business. As you probably know by now social media is viral and the more you start connecting with your clients through social media, the better chance your page/profile has an opportunity to reach their friends. Create a Facebook page and invite your current clients to “like” it, and then ask them if they wouldn’t mind recommending it to their network. Remember to remind them about the ways in which your financial services have been beneficial to them so they can use those examples when talking to their contacts.
LinkedIn is another great way to find referrals. You can use the advanced search function to search 2nd-degree connections and narrow down by industry, title, keywords, etc. Once you find someone you’d like to connect with, hover over the arrow next to the ‘Connect’ button and select ‘Get Introduced’ from the menu. Now you can select the first-degree connection you want to make the introduction, and write them a message that explains why you’d like to be introduced.
Include forwarding links in your email and website
Adding a “Share this with a friend” link is something that takes a little effort on your part but may help you generate solid referrals! How many times do you see something that your friend was just talking about and you copy and paste the link into a text or email to them? Give your clients, potential clients and others that may just stumble upon your website or receive an email from you the opportunity to easily share your content with others. Using a tool like “mailto” Code Generator Tool is a quick way you can create a link that can be added to a line of text on your page or email.
Professional networking
Connecting with local business organizations and societies will give you an entirely new audience of individuals. You can consider offering your time by giving a presentation at an event the group may be hosting. This is an excellent way to showcase what you offer. Be sure to bring business cards and any other materials you have on hand for potential new business.
Develop a partnership and stay connected with valuable business contacts that you have worked with in the past so that you can work with them to create a comprehensive flow for clients. Make sure you stay in touch with these Centers of Influence, by connecting once a month through email, meeting for a cup of coffee, or lunch. Get to know them on a personal and professional level as you want to make sure you know them well so that they can send you referrals, and you can do the same.
Thank you notes
Sending an acknowledgment of gratitude is basic but should not be overlooked. Make sure you are not only properly thanking your clients who make referrals but also new clients for their business. A handwritten thank you note goes a long way and who doesn’t appreciate getting one? Don’t forget to include business cards to continue the referral process!
Growing your list of referrals does not have to be a daunting thing that hangs over your head and is a looming item on your “to do list.” It’s something that should be worked into your existing processes so that you are constantly giving the opportunity for potential clients to know about you. Taking some or all of these steps should help you enhance your existing processes and contribute to further business growth.
