Can you go through what a compelling Referral Conversation™ sounds like?
It’s very much a function of your genuine belief that it’s in their best interest to refer their friends to you. Follow the scripts as they are written. Just like everything we teach you to do, you record your conversation and listen to those recordings so you can hear for yourself in the real world. Other than that, you will get lots of practice at any Academy 2 and have the opportunity to connect with other advisors who are ahead of you on this same learning curve.
I have been feeling and expressing more conviction in my Referral Conversations™ with those who have provided referrals in the past, and either less conviction or sometimes skipping the conversation altogether with those who have not. Other than "perfect the conversation, and do the conversation the same way, every time, similar to the analogy of great athletes perfecting their swings and repeating it the same way every time", do you have any other suggestions?
Yes, absolutely, I have some ideas for you. We discuss this very subject at our Academy's. The answer to your question is ENERGY! More energy! – “This is cool!” – Your friends are going to get a copy of this book! – 8 issues of the Values-Based Quality of Life Newsletters, - 32 articles, any number of which can transform their life in a positive way. – Phone Consultation™ with me personally to help them get value from the book in a way that’s in alignment with their goals and their values – Financial Road Map®. All of this with no strings attached. Lay it out for them with enthusiasm and energy. It’s genuinely very hard for me to accept that most of your clients, especially your best clients, would ever be reluctant to share the value you offer with people they care about.
How would you respond to Friends and Family who respond at the end of the Financial Road Map Interview™, after I have had the Being Done™ Referral Conversation™ with them, who say “Yeah, I really think this is cool. If I come across anyone I would definitely refer them to you”.
Would you just let it go at that or would you pursue it further and how would you pursue it?
I don’t have any family who could refer me to anyone who would remotely meet my Ideal Client Profile, so I could only do this with my friends. And I would definitely pursue it further. As you know, I’m a big fan of telling the truth. So, let’s say the truth is that I’m going to fail in my career as a Financial Advisor if some of my friends don’t step up and help me implement my process for acquiring clients. I’m going to tell them that and be very candid about how soon I’ll be moving my family into their spare bedroom if they don’t do more, right now, than tell me they’ll refer people to me if they happen to run across someone in the future. If I’m implementing Values-Based Financial Planning™ I would have a hard time believing that they don’t know anyone who might appreciate getting a free copy of Values-Based Financial Planning™, at least 8 Values-Based Quality of Life Newsletters, a complimentary phone consultation to discuss how the concepts in the book could have a positive...
When an existing Ideal Client is referring others to me how will they know if their referral meets my Predictable Minimum Annual Recurring Revenue?
One of the reasons you have an Ideal Client Profile is so you can show it to your existing clients during the Referral Conversation™ so they know who to refer you to. This is scripted in the Mastery Series™ 2 and demonstrated on the Mastery Series™ 2 reference the DVD.
How can I increase my referral ratio?
Ask your clients this direct question in your next Referral Conversation™: "Given the tremendous value of the four gifts of our Referral Process for your Family, Friends, and Community, I am surprised that you have not referred me to more people you know who get value from Values-Based Financial Planning™. What would you say is the reason for that?" Sit back and listen.
If you had to pick two ways to get new clients what would they be and why?
There is only one way to acquire clients: by referral. We train advisors who are virtually brand new to the Financial Service business and brand new to their community to get their first client by referral and every single one from there. Why? Because every other form of “prospecting and marketing” (cold-calling, direct mail, seminar marketing) is much more expensive, much more time consuming, and positions you in the mind of your prospective clients as a salesperson versus a person they can trust who is truly adding value.
If a client offers to contact people she has referred me to (she made out notes to 4 potential clients) should I accept? One client offered (after writing these notes) to contact each person by phone or email and tell them about me. What works best in this situation?
Absolutely. In fact, I encourage you to build that into to the process and ask your clients to contact their referrals and say something positive about the book that’s on the way and you.
When I do the Referral Conversation™ with clients, I'm often getting the response that they'd like to check with the people they want to refer first to get their "OK" to give me their contact info. What do you recommend I say when this comes up?
“I’d like to send your friends a $5,000 cashiers check with absolutely no strings attached; do you think you’d have to call to get their permission to do that?” I didn’t think so. If you don’t need to get their permission to send a $5,000 gift, what makes you think you’ll need permission to send these gifts? The actual problem is that they don’t view your gifts as gifts. They view it as a solicitation. Which means, you probably view it as a solicitation. It is key to shift their thinking from referring you as a solicitation versus 4 gifts. It’s vital that you and they remember this is gift process, not a solicitation. As long as they think it’s a solicitation they will throw up obstacles like this.
How should I handle an existing Ideal Client who refuses to give me referrals during an Implementation Meeting? I am anticipating they will not give me referrals because they have not done so in the past.
Try not to project how people might respond to a Referral Conversation™ in the future based on your past experience. In the past, you also had not done their Financial Road Map® and were not implementing more comprehensive Financial Services as you are now. Now that the quality of the experience is better their enthusiasm to introduce to others may also be better. Click on Play button to start listening to this recording
The Referral Conversations™ imply that my current Ideal (or near Ideal) clients have previously received a copy of the Values-Based Financial Planning™ book. None of them have.
They have experienced Values-Based Financial Planning™ . And experiencing Values-Based Financial Planning™ “for real” is better than reading about it in the book. Just leave out the last sentence on the bottom of page 26 of Module 5 from Mastery Series™ 2.
What should I do when I call a referral to schedule a Phone Appointment and that person is not there? Should I leave a message with a miscellaneous person, call back later to talk to the person, or leave a voice message?
Do whatever you have to do so the referred person either a) answers the phone, or b) they can hear your voicemail message exuding your energy and good content.
When I conduct the Referral Conversation™, at what point do I discuss the results of previous referral telephone consultations? In this case, the referrals did not want to meet to have a complete Financial Road Map® done. I want to be honest with my Ideal Client, but don't want to make her feel badly because these referrals didn't gain as much value from the telephone process like she did.
In the beginning of every referral conversation in the Progress Meetings after you have had the first Referral Conversation™ and have updates about the people they referred.
For some clients the Referral Conversation™ at the end of the Implementation Meeting has been a long time ago and/or not executed well at that time. The result is that they have not heard or do not remember why providing referrals are a great win-win-win opportunity.
Since the following referral conversations builds on the first one, is it OK to repeat (once) part of this initial conversation after a Progress Meeting to help the client ‘get it’?
Yes, absolutely. If you need to do the entire referral conversation as it’s scripted for the Implementation Meeting again you should do that. The bottom line is that it’s your job to make an assessment to whatever is necessary for them to “get it.” Whatever that is, do it!
I have had the Referral Conversation™ at my last two Progress Meetings and the response has been positive both times…. “I will get a list of people to introduce Values Based Financial Planning™ to, for our next meeting”. What would you say to her when she has NOT provided the list of people to introduced Values Based Financial Planning™ to that she has mentioned she would bring now twice?
I would ask a good open-ended question to get the conversation started. Remember, at the heart of the issue of why people do not refer is usually one of two things. 1. They don’t think that what you do for them is all that impressive or they presume, wrongly, that every Financial Advisor does pretty much the same thing for their clients. 2. They don’t really believe that you will deliver all these gifts with no strings attached. You have to ask good questions, be a really good listener, and genuinely want to know the truth. The bottom line is that it’s your job to make an assessment to whatever is necessary for them to “get it.” Whatever that is, do it!
Had a Referral Conversation™ and the client provided great feedback on the process, the positive impact of having their Financial Road Map® etc. I addressed the question … “They already have an advisor”, I clarified this is not a solicitation, it is a gift and I explained the introduction process in detail. As I start to finish I asked if they have any questions about the process, they responded “No, it is clear." Again when I asked the question who’s first, they responded, “We don’t have a list of people to give you at the moment. We will keep it in mind; we don’t have a large circle of acquaintances.” What would you say?
We have to start somewhere, there has to be at least one person you can think of off the top of your head to introduce Values Based Financial Planning™ to. If we only send one book to one friend today who will it be? If they still are not participating, I would say something like, “I’m going to excuse myself and go to the men’s room. While I’m gone you two talk it over. You both have cell phones with names of people you think highly enough to put them on speed dial in your cell phone. ONE of them has to be someone who would get values. We just need to break the ice with one person or couple today. When I get back we can either talk about whom the lucky person is we send presents to or we can talk about the real reason you don’t want to introduce Values Based Financial Planning™ to. The bottom line is that it’s your job to make an assessment to whatever is necessary for them to “get it.” Whatever that is, do it! You have to “crack the referral code” with every one of your...
A client reluctant to give referrals says, “I am the supervisor of everyone I with whom I work. I am uncomfortable with introducing these folks given the potential for people to see it as me using my position to influence my staff.” That one was new for me. Suggestions?
That would make a lot of sense if this was a solicitation of some kind. It’s not. Who’s first? Or, maybe I’ll buy that excuse… for now. So let’s talk about giving these gifts to everyone you know who doesn’t work for you. Who’s first?
I am beginning to see how very important the Meaningful, Important, Significant, & Compelling (MISC) information can be. So how do I put together a call when the client who gave me the name really had very little information for MISC, except she is a good teacher, is near retiring, and has a financial planner?
All you can do is use what you have. Maybe you’ll get lucky. Continue to get better and better at discovering MISC information. Listen to your recordings. Frequently they know more than they are telling you because you are not asking as effectively as you could. It’s a journey. You’re making progress.
How do I handle clients who promise to give the name of a referral and call with the address, and then don’t?
Make a follow up call and ask for the address. Next time, schedule a phone appointment with them to give you the addresses of the referrals. Do everything by appointment only. Hire competent staff to whom you can delegate these tasks to.
What language do you use to set up a Financial Road Map® with prospects?
That could vary depending on how you are finding your prospects. When you and your Accountability Coach decide that you are ready for Mastery Series 2, which teaches our referral process, you will learn a complete system for filling your appointment calendar by referral. In the meantime, when you are scheduling appointments with your prospects it is important for them to come to your office with their spouse and bring their financial documents. This is so they can have the best experience possible. Communicate that they will get something, their Financial Road Map®, which will be valuable to them whether or not the two of you choose to do business together. They will experience a meeting where they will both have total clarity about what’s important to them, define all of their financial goals, and benchmark their current financial reality. This will help them to be in a position to align all of their financial decisions with their most important goals and their most deeply held...
At a Progress Meeting my client wrote 4 notes on books and agreed to supply the address and phone numbers the following week. This client experienced my first Financial Road Map® before any training. I called for the address and during the conversation I could sense tension. After I received the addresses I asked for M.I.S.C. information and she was very uncomfortable and didn't understand why I needed personal information to solicit business from her friends. She explained that she told the people about my services and the book. They all informed her that they were happy with the advice they were currently receiving. I tried to explain that the information was a gift with no obligation and that the personal information was helpful to connect concepts in the book with something that was meaningful in their lives. I said that I didn't want to introduce this information into their world if it wasn't relevant. I said that the Financial Road Map® would help them be more effective with their current advisor. I feel like I did a poor job of communicating and probably reacted in a defensive manner. Should I send the books without the M.I.S.C. information, should I wait until the next Progress Meeting, (to better explain the process), or should I do a new Financial Road Map® with them to get an emotional connection. My clients believe that I will be sending the books but I am not comfortable that they will not be perceived as gifts.
I would say, "let's hold off on sending the books until we have a chance to speak about this at our next Progress Meeting." Or: "For some reason you are viewing this as me soliciting your friends for business. I don't think I explained what we're doing very well, so let's hold off on sending the books to your friends until after we have to chance to clear up this misunderstanding at out next meeting." Your experience is all part of the learning curve when implementing in the real world. At the next Progress Meeting with this client, take your time, follow the process and the script, remember to go deep, and make the connection between their deep emotion and how great it will be to share that emotional gift with all of their friends, family, and colleagues.
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