4 Simple Steps for Winning Referrals

We found this article from Charles Schwab to be interesting. Please feel free to view the whole article in it’s original format, in the meantime, here are some excerpts below as a preview…

It should come as no surprise that one of the most effective ways to grow your business is through referrals. Relationships that you build with your clients can result in personal referrals that reflect the trust you have built and results that you have been able to achieve for your clients.

But how do you “grow” your referral business? Isn’t this something that seems to happen organically?

To a degree, yes, the best kind of referrals will be provided by your clients without your encouragement or even involvement. But in this article, Maribeth Kuzmeski, walks you through how you can do a better job of communicating your value and helping prospects (and clients) see what’s different about your firm.

Her 4 key points to growing your business through referrals are:

1. Exploit Your Uniqueness
   Every Advisor is their own unique selling point – “80% of the reason that people do business with you is you. YOU are the lead story.”
2. Hone Your Niche Message
   In the elevator pitch, avoid starting the conversation with “I’m a financial advisor;” instead opt to start with what your prospective client wants that you offer and share how you are different than most in delivering it, be prepared to provide a story that proves it.
3. Create a Memorable Presentation of Value
   Be visual – this can increase retention from 30% to 70%. Express your value in a unique and memorable way; something specific to your experience. Example, “I’ve been in this business for 25 years. I’ve been through 13 major downturns of the market. There’s one thing that I do on this team, and I’ve been doing it for a long time: protect clients’ assets.”
4. Go Viral
   Condensing your memorable and unique value down to soundbites that can be easily conveyed by word of mouth allows clients and prospects to quickly and potently provide you as a referral. Reinforce this with your online presence, as Kuzmeski says, “9 out of 10 people will search for you online before coming to meet you. What are they searching for? A reason not to meet with you, she says. Don’t give them that reason.”

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