This is a good point and if you are not careful it could come across like a bait and switch. What makes doing a person’s Financial Road Map® in this situation NOT a bait and switch is that you are sincerely doing their Financial Road Map® to help them have a good Financial Road Map® experience, help them better understand who you are and / or what you do, or both. If, AFTER, you have done a good Financial Road Map® with them, another door NATURALLY opens, like the door that makes it logical to discuss being introduced this person’s clients or friends or family or colleagues, it’s okay to walk through it.
We know from experience that sometimes these doors naturally open and we teach you to be prepared for that in the event that it occurs. We do not recommend that you force a door open with your own agenda. That’s bait and switch. It’s only bait and switch if you had pre-determined that you want something from them and are using the Financial Road Map® as a tactic to manipulate their behavior, which, of course, is NOT what we are teaching you to do.
This question illustrates that being a Trusted Advisor is not just a matter of using Values-Based Financial Planning™ and the Financial Road Map®. It’s also about your Way of Being. This is why, at every Academy, we also help you develop your Trusted Advisor Way of Being™. Develop the right Way of Being™ so you never come across like a bait and switch salesperson.
My recommendation is that you only pursue a relationship with “Strategic Alliances” to find the best professionals to be on your Deliverables Team to help you serve your clients. These professionals will then experience, first hand, the quality of work you do. Not only on the front-end with the Financial Road Map®, but they will see that you really deliver on the Financial Road Map® promise by doing full-service Financial Planning and holding your clients accountable to fully implement the action items dictated by the planning process so they achieve their goals and fulfill their values.
We have found that advisors have an extremely poor track record when they try to convince attorneys and accountants to give them access to their client base. Most of the advisors we coach who have great relationships with accountants and attorneys that have developed into a nice referral flow began those relationships without referrals being the objective. Those advisors who are truly following Values-Based Financial Planning™ the way we teach it find that they don’t need referrals from SAs to consistently add Initial Contacts. The Initial Contacts in the community now provide them with introductions to everyone they need to meet. Referral Process/Questions related to using the Values-Based Financial Planning™ book and Newsletters as part of your process for filling your appointment calendar with potential Ideal Clients.
