I like the fact that you are still willing to provide value to his referrals who do not the geographic component of your profile. This demonstrates excellent Trusted Advisor Way of Being™. And I encourage you to adhere to your Ideal Client Profile and provide value to them, but do not do business with them. Your situation illustrates several things:
1. This is normal. We all lead busy lives and if you expect to connect with the people you have been referred you will have to be proactive.
2. When you follow the process as we teach it, you get your client involved a few weeks into the follow-up process when you are having this kind experience having a challenge connecting with people. So, your next step is to call your client who provided these referrals in the first place, tell them the truth about what’s happening, and ask for help.
3. Another thing it illustrates is that building a business requires diligent and consistent effort over time. As long as you are being professional and courteous, it is appropriate to continue to follow up on a regular basis until you reach the people to whom you have been referred. One of the advisors in a recent Being Done Study Group Webinar™ accepted a challenge from me to NOT make stuff up in your head about what people are thinking and do NOT allow these made up images in your head to influence your behavior - in others don’t stop making your follow-up calls because you think people think you are being a pest. He took my advice and continued to call many times beyond his own comfort zone. On one particular day he reached 3 of the people he had been calling many, many, many more times than he had felt comfortable. He was certain they were going to get mad at him. Instead, all 3 of them, complimented him on his professional follow through, expressed appreciation for taking the time to do so, apologized for not doing their part to call him back, and scheduled appointments. Remember, the images you make up in your head are just that – made up images.
4. My next point is: don’t count on a small number of referrals
5. We promise that the Values Based Financial Planning™ book and News Letter referral system is the best way for a Values Based Financial Planning™ Trusted Advisor to build a community of Ideal Clients. It is more productive and cost-effective than cold-calling, direct mail, seminars or any other so-called “traditional” form of prospecting and marketing in the Financial Services Industry. If only 1 of 20 referrals became a client, this would still be the most cost-effective way to acquire Ideal Clients. (and I’ve never seen stats that bad.)
However, it’s not magic. It requires consistent execution over time to produce the desired results of consistently adding Ideal Clients.
There is no silver bullet, so keep up the good work. Continue to ask for referrals, send the books and Newsletters, make follow calls, schedule book phone consultations, and track your numbers in the Being Done Study Group™ so you know what you can expect from your effort.
Here is an example from one of our Committed Advisors:
Bill,
You may remember that I asked you how many times should I be calling a person before I stop calling them.
I knew what your answer would be, since I had heard it before at the academies, but it was good to hear it again.
I have been calling a person, let’s call her Cheryl, on my referral list since May 2, 2014. Leaving messages each time, up to a couple times each week.
Today, I FINALLY reached Cheryl.
Cheryl’s response to me when I reached her was, “Hi Chad. I have been out of town for the last few months taking care of my mother. I wasn’t ignoring your messages, I just only got them when I returned home. What can I help you with?”
There were a number of times over the last few weeks, including today, when I thought, “Don’t waste your time. If they wanted to talk, they would have reached out to me by now.”
Cheryl had gone through the Phone Consultation about ____ years ago. She never wanted to get together to do her Financial Road Map®. But today, we scheduled her Financial Road Map® with her and her husband.
