I have read all the FAQ's on the Centers of Influence. I did, however, have an additional question. When do we use the Business Plan? It seems like a valuable tool in this situation. Do we try to schedule a Financial Road Map® or a Phone Consultation™ first, and then resort to the Business Plan? We may have outworn our welcome by this time.

Article ID: 512

Last updated: 20 Nov, 2019

I'm not sure what you mean by "Centers of Influence" or your objective. If you are referring to working with accountants or lawyers you approach them about being vetted for your Deliverables Team, not as referral sources. In which case, you follow the process delineated by Mark Little for building your team. We do not believe in cultivating accountants and lawyers solely as referral sources. They can become Ideal Clients and then refer... just like all Ideal Clients. Or they can become Best In Class Subject Matter Experts on your Deliverables Team and based on how impressed they are with what you do for clients they might want to refer and / or become a client and refer.

The 2-page business plan is mainly for your use, but might be used to further communicate with an Ideal Client who is struggling to understand how referring is in their best interest. This is not quite a last resort, but it's close.

The webinars about "Cracking the Referral Code" that have been conducted over the past couple of years might be helpful in this area. They are archived on the Committed Advisor site.

Let me know if this doesn't scratch your itch.

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During the Referral Conversation™, I am frequently met with the... »

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What do you think of looking at potential clients Linked In/fFacebook profiles to come up with some names ahead of the conversation to put in front of them to consider if they can't think of anybody?

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.

When I am trying to go DEEP in the Referral Conversation and the client is explaining their feeling of comfort, security etc, and I am asking how does this effect you day to day etc, sometimes the clients start asking questions that take me out of the Referral Conversation. What is the best way to get back into the conversation without being rude or ignoring their questions?

I wanted to get your feedback please on this email I received from the Chamber of Commerce, where I am a relatively new member. The Chamber sent me a letter inviting me to a Trade Show. The invitation noted that the Trade Show was a great opportunity to display products or services, discover new businesses and network with other business people. My questions to you are: 1. Would you attend this event? 2. If you did, would you attend it exclusively to complete Self-Referral Conversations™? 3. The invitation mentioned renting a booth to showcase your business – what is your take on this? I was thinking of going to the Trade Show for the purpose of conducting Self-Referral Conversations™ with business people. I am not sure, however, about the idea of having a booth at an event like this.

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’?

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