If you want more referrals, you need a plan. But most of what we have been told about how to get them is wrong. And the insistence that you have to ask more and ask better is the biggest mistake of all.
I’m Steve Wershing, CFP, and I have been in the investment advice business for 25 years. When I was new in the business, I was taught what a referral was and how important it was that I attract them. I have tried all the strategies:
“Who do you know that can use the kinds of services I have provided to you?”
“Can you think of three people who could use the kind of solutions I have provided to you?”
“Who else at work is going to receive an early retirement offer like the one you just received?”
“I get paid three ways…”
“Can we agree that if I do a good job you will recommend me to other people you know?”
I got names. I got clients. But it was always uncomfortable—for me and, more important, for the client. And the prospects I got this way were rarely the ones I most wanted and who became my best clients. Maybe I wasn’t doing it right. Funny thing, though—there were times when I received a phone call, out of the blue, from a client who wanted me to call someone he knew, or from a friend of a client wanting to retain me. And some of those people became great clients.
Fourteen years ago, I moved into the role of broker dealer executive. Since then I have worked with hundreds of financial advisors. To my relief, I found I was not alone in my experience of asking for referrals. To my frustration, I realized that most of what is written about getting referrals is wrong. Yes, referrals are the lifeblood of most successful practices. And asking is a lousy way to get them. To perfect your skill at asking for referrals is to master a crude, outdated tool. It is the marketing equivalent of cold calling. If you make more cold calls, will you get more clients? You bet. Is cold calling at the center of your marketing plan? Has it propelled you to superstardom in the advisory business? I thought not.
So, two years ago I started researching everything I could find on the art of referral marketing. I found that a lot of great work has been done that shows us what really works, and how we can create referral marketing strategies that will bring in plenty of new clients. I have been working with advisors all over the country implementing these strategies. And now you can learn them, too, and start building the practice you have always wanted.
In this breakthrough book, you will learn:
- How and why clients refer
- How to engage your clients to teach you what they find most valuable
- How to prepare your clients for the opportunity to refer you
- How to be the advisor clients naturally think of when they meet a good prospect
- How to turn a bad referral into a great opportunity
- How to use LinkedIn to identify people your clients can refer
- How to have the “New Referral Conversation” with clients
- How to create a referral marketing strategy that works
Praise for Stop Asking for Referrals –
“…will almost certainly become the best book on marketing in the financial planning/independent RIA world. Best of all, the book will feature some great advice that you probably haven’t heard before.” – Bob Veres
“For years, the industry has looked at the fact that most firms grow via referrals and concluded that therefore, the way to grow more is to ask more, no matter how uncomfortable it may feel. Steve Wershing’s book shatters that delusion! ‘Stop Asking For Referrals’ instead demonstrates the real reasons clients refer, providing very actionable steps to capitalize on the opportunity in a manner that eliminates all the pressure and social awkwardness, and produces even better results because of it! Reading this book will revolutionize how you think about growing your business.” – Michael E. Kitces, MSFS, MTAX, CFP, Partner, Pinnacle Advisory Group & Blogger, Nerd’s Eye View, www.Kitces.com
“Steve Wershing delivers great insight on the marketing of financial advice in this concise yet thorough book. Successful advisors report that they get a lot of new business from client referrals. However, the conventional ways of obtaining referrals leave clients, and often their advisors, feeling awkward at the least. Many of us are uncomfortable selling our services, yet we know that we provide significant value. This book will help you overcome this discomfort and show you how to engage your clients so that they will proudly help you build your business. Kudos for this powerful, one-stop marketing resource!” – Sheryl Garrett, CFP®, AIF®, Award winning author, advisor and founder of the Garrett Planning Network
“Stephen Wershing’s wonderful book, “Stop! Asking for Referrals”, is the most comprehensive, practical and engaging guide I know to strengthening existing client connections and cultivating new ones in a way that is experience-based, respectful and long-lasting. Enjoy this terrific new resource!” – Olivia Mellan, psychotherapist, money coach, author of The Client Connection, and Investment Advisor (www.advisorone.com) columnist
“STOP! Asking for Referrals brings refreshing insight into what has historically been the number one way a financial advisor grows his or her business. Stephen backs up his innovative concepts and ideas with facts and the data is clear; what may have worked in the past, just doesn’t cut it anymore. Stephen’s insight into how an advisor can differentiate him/herself so clients understand how to refer—and even want to refer their family members, colleagues and friends—is so very necessary in today’s commoditized world. When an advisor has a clearly articulated value proposition that clients can repeat, almost magically referrals come to the advisor. It’s a simple idea, yet very complicated to execute. The brilliance of STOP! Asking for Referrals is Stephen give you the HOW to do it.” – Sam Richter SVP/Chief Marketing Officer, ActiFi, Best-Selling Author, Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling, winner, 2012 Sales Book of the Year
“Wershing’s book provides a sensible and thorough explanation of why clients actually refer, and how becoming a ‘trusted advisor’ requires an all-out assault on conventional referral wisdom.” – Waldemar R. Kohl CFP®, Vice President, Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services
“As I was reading this book I found myself saying more than once, ‘ooh – that is really good.’ Steve has found a way to provide practical and very useful advice in such a warm, conversational manner. Advisors find marketing to be such a tough wall to scale yet I believe this book will give them the confidence they need. If you struggle with obtaining referrals or any aspect of marketing – buy this book. You will be glad you did.” -Diane MacPhee, CFP®, Business Coach, DMAC Consulting Services, LLC
“A compilation of the best ideas I’ve ever seen, this book is worth its weight in gold. Perfect for the busy advisor that demands excellence and cut to the chase ideas.” – Mark Colgan, CFP, Chief Legacy Planning Officer, Colgan Capital
“First Stephen really understands the business which I have found most marketing individuals don’t. Second he understands how the passion associated with certain subjects (fiduciary) can guide people down paths that aren’t that important to others. In short he gets it. This industry is desperate for a broader group of thought leaders who can dispassionately opine on subjects that are necessary to keep this business on a truly professional platform. Marketing is one of the most difficult and important tasks to imbed successfully in the culture of the independent financial advisor business. Stephen leaves no stone left unturned in his refreshingly holistic view of the subject and rightfully shoots down old saws and imbedded belief structures.” – Richard Lee, CFA, CFP®, CEO & Founder, Lee Financial
Stop Asking for Referrals will give you the insight and strategies to solve your problems attracting referrals. Click the button below and order your copy today!