Solutions 4 Advisors

Six Steps to Successful Follow-Up Calls

admin — Sat, 04 May 2013 16:13:22 +0000

You know follow-up calls to prospects are important, essential really, but you may be uncertain of how to go about it and what to say. Nothing is more demotivating than not knowing how to do something. It leads to procrastination and anxiety. Believe me, I know. I used to stare at my 500 pound telephone, knowing I should make those calls, but fearful I would screw it up. All that changed when my coach taught me the six steps for successful follow-up calls.

It goes like this.

Imagine you have a referral from your friend Steve. Steve told you that you might be able to help George with his retirement plans. Steve was unclear exactly what George wanted. Steve just knew George was complaining about trying to figure out his plans for retirement.

You try to have Steve introduce you, but he begs off and says, “Just tell him I thought maybe you could help him.” Sound familiar?

So George might be a real candidate for your services, or maybe not. You wonder what’s the best way to turn George into a hot lead. You’re wondering what to say when you call to move the conversation forward.

Here are six steps proven to work.

1. Do an attitude check

2. Prepare; do your homework and research your prospect

3. Reach out to connect

4. Follow up with an email

5. Conduct your first conversation

6. Have a call to action

1. Do an Attitude Check

If you’ve been reading my blog and reports, you know I strongly believe you have to have the right attitudes in mindset for any technique to work.

Make your calls with this mindset:

a) I have a lot to offer the right candidate (review all the people you have worked with and how they benefited)

b) I have no idea if I can help them until I know his opportunities, goals and challenges.

c) I need to be interested in him more than I am about explaining my services. Listen 80% of the time and talk about 20%.

d) I’m exploring if there is a need. Only offer a consultation if he has a need I can fulfill.

e) time talking to a human being like myself who has desires and challenges and wants to be heard.

Now you’re ready to proceed. Your attitude will color everything you say and how you come across.

2. Prepare for your call

Learn as much about your suspect as you can, the more the better. Talk to your friend and learn what he knows about George what is his business or occupation, his hobbies, his education, wife and kids, clubs, organizations and awards. Then Google him

Knowing a lot about him helps you feel more connected and more comfortable making that call. Look for things you have in common so you can establish deeper rapport.

3. Reach out with your initial call

You’re probably used to finding people very busy and hard-to-reach. Prepare a voicemail script. Practice it until it’s in your bones. Have a follow-up email ready.

Your voicemail message

“Hi George, Steve Brown recommended I give you a call because you said you might want help with your retirement plans. I work with (insert your core marketing message here. This core message is essential. You can read more about crafting effective marketing messages here.)

“I don’t know whether I can help you or not, but I’d be happy to have a brief talk. This is Bill Smith 555-9216. You can reach me at 555-9216. I’ll also email you my online calendar where you can choose a time that’s good for you.

“I look forward to see if I can help you with your retirement plans.”

Note: you must have a compelling core marketing message. It is not only important for these calls; it is the heart of your marketing. Again, you can learn more here.

4. Follow-Up Email Message

“Hi George,

“I left you a voicemail about Steve Brown recommending that I contact you and set up a time for a brief talk. I work with (name of his company) executives like yourself who want to make the most of their retirement options. I don’t know if I can help you or not, but I enjoyed learning more about you and see if I help.

“You can learn more about me by going to my website www.website.com.

“I also have a report Steve found valuable. You might find it worthwhile too. It’s called, “How to Plan for the Retirement You Really Want.” Here’s the link www.website/article

“The best way to arrange our talk and avoid phone tag is choose a time you like from my online calendar www.timetrade wxp

“If I don’t hear from you in a few days, I’ll reach out again. Steve says you’re very busy.

“Best wishes,

Bill Smith

Retirement Solutions, LLC.”

To make the system work, you need to be persistent in a friendly manner. It may take five or six tries to connect.

5. First conversation when you finally connect

During your initial call talk about him draw upon your research and start out mentioning things you have in common. Compliment him on awards he may have received, his website and LinkedIn profile. You’re there to talk about him and to learn about his business – especially if he has any needs for your services. If you find no opportunity, close gracefully and thank him for his time.

6. Call to action. If you see where you might help him, say:

“There’s a possibility I could help you out with (mention the challenges and concerns he shared with you. Tell a story when you help somebody else out with similar issues. Then give your marketing message.) Say something like, “I help executives at (his company) choose their retirement options wisely and reach their retirement goals.

“I offer a free financial review session where we’ll explore your retirement needs in more depth. Would you like to take advantage of that?”

If you followed all the steps up to this point, established rapport, were truly interested in him and sounded like you know what you are doing, he very likely will say yes.

What happens to you when making follow-up calls? What works and what doesn’t? Feel free to comment on this blog by clicking on the comments link below.

You can learn techniques and strategies up to your eyeballs and they won’t work unless you have this

admin — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:30:35 +0000

I’m really good at learning things. I aced almost every course I took at the University of Michigan. I learned a lot. Know what was the biggest learning tool? Getting the answer wrong and having a teacher tell me so. Sometimes the professor just said I was wrong and I had to find the right answer. Sometimes, he simply gave me the right answer.

No matter, I learned what was right and I learned what was wrong.

After starting my coaching business I gobbled up every technique and strategy about coaching, marketing and selling my services. But my business was going down the tube. I had no one to tell me when I was right and when I was wrong.

So I hired a coach to be my teacher and this helped enormously. He did much more than tell me what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong, he told me when I was thinking right or thinking wrong.

I had some negative beliefs that were hurting my business. I didn’t realize I had them There is absolutely no way someone can figure this out on their own, no matter who you are, no matter how smart. You need an outside observer.

The reason you need an outside observer is that negative beliefs and habits are part of the unconscious. Only 10% of our mind is conscious. A whopping 90% is unconscious. By definition, it’s impossible to understand your unconscious mind. A trained observer can help you make your negative unconscious beliefs conscious, so you can change them.

Of course I knew this. I was a trained clinical social worker before I got into coaching. I simply couldn’t figure it out on my own. I had mysteriously “forgot.” Everybody is that way. It’s part of being human. That’s why teachers, professors and therapists are so revered. They teach us to understand our inner wisdom to which we have been blind.

If this is beginning to sound too theoretical without practical benefits, just the opposite is true.

The lesson is this. You must have the right mindset to make all those sophisticated plans and strategies work for you. You can learn them and practice them until you’re blue in the face and they won’t work for you without the right mindset.

You can improve your mindset by reading, but only a little because you, I and everybody else are blind to our blind spots. (That’s why they’re called blind spots – duh!) Only a trained and skilled professional can shine the light of knowledge and let you see what you need to see to achieve your true potential.

The lesson is obvious. Find a talented teacher, coach or mentor to help you. A word of caution about mentors; they know how to use techniques and have used them very successfully in their own lives, but only an exceptional mentor knows how to help you with your negative thinking and other self-defeating habits.

To learn more about mindset subscribe to my online community, if you haven’t done so already. You’ll get my blog with really eye-opening ideas and my free six week online ecourse.

Wishing you the very best,
~Stan

P. S. Want to learn how to make another $250 K per year? Register for my free online training.

Read this, or suffer like I did.

admin — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 22:32:57 +0000

I’m a big believer in NOT reinventing the wheel. So when I started my practice I simply did my advertising and marketing like all the other coaches.

BIG MISTAKE! Little did I realize 99.8% of businesses’ approach to marketing is all wrong. That goes for financial advisors too.

Here’s what I learned by trial and error in the school of hard knocks.

Mistake #1. Talking about myself instead of my target market (or worse, not having a target market at all).

When I started my advertising and website I talked about the schools I attended, my certifications and my coaching process. I never got around to explaining what results they would get from my coaching.

How about you? Does your promotional material, like your brochure, website and LinkedIn profile start out with your title? Does it go on with what you do and how you do it? Do you list your products using terms only you, other advisors, and savvier clients can understand?

That’s how mine were. I told how our coaching relationship would create “synergy.” Doesn’t that grab you? Who wants synergy and what the heck is it? Only other coaches know. I also said that I acted like a sounding board. I don’t think many people were wild about investing in getting a sounding board. I wasn’t getting many clients.

I see the majority of financial advisors make the same mistakes. Take a random tour of financial advisor websites and you will see advisors talking about themselves with barely a nod to their audience. They will talk about their own training and certifications, awards and commendations. They’ll have a long list of their services and products – nothing about benefits or results.

Some will do a little better with a mission statement that tells what they want for their clients – better, but no cigar.

These are all the mistakes I was making until my coach wised me up. He helped me choose business owners as my target market so I knew whom I was talking to. My website now started with asking, “Are you a business owner looking to grow your business faster?” A business owner would know that he was in the right place. Someone wanting to lose weight could leave.

I corrected two important mistakes…

1. I chose a target market to sell my services to.

2. I started addressing this specific market – business owners. Your message is much more appealing than just talking to anyone. It’s like the difference between, “hey you,” and “hello Mr. Businessman.” My advertising material became even stronger when I was able to say, “Hello Mr. Financial Advisor.”

If you’re a financial advisor, you will grab the reader’s attention if you are able to say something like, “I help Boeing executives with their plans to retire,” as opposed to, “I help people with their plans to retire.”

Let’s take a look at how this works. Just for the sake of illustration, we’ll assume that you have some Boeing executives as clients and understand the ins and outs of their retirement packages. We’ll start out with the weakest message and keep making it stronger. I’ll put a prospect’s probable thoughts in parentheses.

1. “I do retirement planning.” (Who for? Are talking about your own retirement?)

2. “I help people plan their retirement.” (Oh, you’d help me with my retirement)

3. “I help executives plan their retirement.” (I’m an executive. You must be better than the guy who just helps people)

4. “I help executives at Boeing aircraft plan their retirement.” (I’m a Boeing executive. I might talk to you.)

5. “I help Boeing executives choose their retirement options wisely and reach their retirement goals.” (Sounds like you really knows your stuff. I’ve got so many choices I’m not sure what to do. Let’s talk.)

A Boeing executive will ignore the first three messages. You can see how he would get interested in 4 and really be grabbed by 5. If you specialize in working with Boeing executives, you have a killer marketing message with something like 5.

I know you’re worried that a Ford Motor Company executive might read numbers 4 or 5 and move on to somebody else. I guarantee you he won’t move on to somebody who has a generic message like the first three.

Using message 5, you’re way ahead of the game. You gain a Boeing executive and lose a Ford Motor executive (who you would not have gotten anyway using a generic message.) The generalist gains nobody.

You also can see how much easier it is to focus your advertising more sharply. It makes all your writing much easier.

I know having financial advisors like you as a target market makes it easier for me. I know some of your code words and can talk your language. You use “practice building” in place of prospecting and selling. I learned that AUM was not a word use repeatedly to induce a meditative state.

If you have a niche or target market, you, too, can learn how your prospects talk. When you use some of their private language, they are attracted to you.

I hope you learn from my mistakes and save yourself years of struggle.

Have questions or comments? Join the discussion and I’ll reply.

To your success,

~Stan

P.S. if you’d like to learn how one client skyrocketed sales 147% in four months and another increased his revenue from 1 million to 4.5 million using these ideas, click here.

If you specialize in a narrow niche, you’ll lose prospects

admin — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 22:08:10 +0000

“You’ll lose prospects.”

Rid yourself of this myth and start getting another $2 million of assets a month.

It’s the most common self-defeating fear that holds advisors back from attracting at least two or three profitable referrals a month so they are able to add $2 million of assets a month. They fear a niche will cost them business because they narrowed their pool of prospects.

I know how you feel. I used be scared to death of that tiger. I used to work so hard trying to find prospects for my coaching business. I tried to coach anybody. And my business was going down the tank. I was able to turn my business around when I discovered… that fear is a paper tiger.

You will not lose business, you’ll gain business. Let me quote. “Specialists have more profitable businesses than generalists in virtually every profession. The brain surgeon or kidney specialist makes more than the general practitioner. The divorce attorney or mergers + acquisitions lawyer makes more than the generalist attorney. Etc., etc.

“Why would this not be equally relevant for financial advisors? Radiologists, executives in computers, plastic surgeons, etc., all have ample income and wealth to be good clients for advisors. Most advisors need no more than 100 clients to have a wildly successful business. The categories we just listed have thousands if not 10s of thousands of people in each. You’ll generate significantly more profitable referrals by clearly defining a niche and conveying it to clients and affiliated professionals.” by Michael Kitces, Noted thought leader in the financial industry.

Having a Niche enables you to…

Position yourself as the expert
Create a compelling value proposition
Be top of mind
Strongly bond and engage your clients
Makes you highly referable

For this system to work, you have to put all the ingredients together. It’s like baking a loaf of bread. You have to use all the ingredients. Some of you already have all or most of the ingredients you need. Most of you have ideal clients. Some of these ideal clients congregate in easy to find groups. Some of you focus on prospecting to those groups. Most of you have a value proposition. And some of you boldly proclaim you specialize in certain types of clients, such as top executives in a specific company.

Do you have everything in place so you attract at least two or three profitable referrals a month so you are able to add $2 million of assets a month?

Or do you only have some of these things in place?

I started a series of blogs covering everything you need to have such a practice. If you missed them, click here.

Let me know if you have any comments or questions.

Wishing you a rich and rewarding business and life,

~Stan Mann

If you’re a financial planner who is struggling to get more profitable clients and would love to make another $250 K starting this month, check this out.

Blog: Coaching For Financial Advisors and Planners

admin — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 07:05:24 +0000

Personal life and business coaching for financial advisors and planners who want to grow their business faster.

You come to the right place if you’re looking for solutions to again start adding three or $4 million in assets each month. You’ll find resources to help you reach such goals here.

Is this you?

You’re a financial advisor hungry for more assets. You have between $20 million and $100 million in assets. You have hit the wall because you can’t figure out how to service all your clients, run the office, manage your staff, make sure you’re compliant and still have time to grow. You’re working way too hard and stealing time from your family.

Do you know you can double or triple your revenue? I helped Chris Arnold skyrocket his sales 147% in four months, another client in California increase his revenue from 1 million to 4.5 million in one year. If you’d like to discover how to do that, let’s work together for 30 minutes to an hour to see if this will work for you. Get a free serious working on your business session. Email me to arrange a time to talk.

What You’ll Find on My Blog

On these blog posts you’ll find solutions to start growing again and start adding another one or $2 million of assets a month. Add another two additional productive hours a day. Gain the time to start enjoying your family again.

I have a record of motivating my clients to achieve outstanding results by taking effective action; action that not only gets you more assets under management, but action that gives you a rich, rewarding and deeply satisfying life. I even wrote a book about it, TRIGGERS: A New Approach to Self-Motivation, published by Prentice Hall, the world’s leading educational publisher. It has 12 chapters of how to move yourself into effective action that gets results.

Come back again and again to learn how to get three or four more referrals a month, add one or $2 million of new assets a month, double your income and have more time to spend with your family. If you’re not subscribed be sure to do so, so you won’t miss an important practice building blog. Spread the word. Ask your friends to join.

If you’re a financial planner who is struggling to get more profitable clients and would love to make another $250 K starting this month, check this out.

Wishing you a rich and rewarding business and life,

~Stan

Getting a Steady Flow of Profitable Referrals: Part Three

admin — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 23:19:47 +0000

Target a unique audience to build loyalty, longevity and referrals. When you define your ideal client the way I have directed you in part two, you’ll find that your ideal client belongs to particular groups. For instance, the top engineers at Boeing aircraft belong to the Aerospace Industries Association, the radiologists at your local hospitals will have their local and national associations. Whatever this group is, this is your target market. You want to find an identifiable target population with similar interests and needs. It should be easy to find what groups they belong to. If you target 1, 2 or 3 unique audiences, give yourself two stars! You are now two steps closer to getting two or three more referrals each month and doubling your income. Before I figured this out for my own practice, I really was struggling. I started out trying to coach everybody and anybody. Then I chose …

small business owners as my niche – better
independent financial advisors – much, much better.

The Most Powerful Way to Make Yourself Highly Referable

Be known as a specialist in two areas…

Your financial expertise
Who you serve

These two components make up a niche. Most financial advisors I know only get half of this equation. They have a financial specialty, 401(k)s, Social Security, 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity or account, etc. But most of them don’t specialize in a specific target market. When you combine the two, you have what is called a niche. A niche includes…

what problems you solve
who has these problems
qualities of an ideal client

Having a niche is a third star in this five-star program. Do you have 3 stars? I wonder if you’re like many advisors and you fear narrowing your pool of prospects to a

“You’ll lose prospects”

specific niche. Your thinking, “but I’ll lose prospects.” You’re working so hard now trying to find prospects, you fear you would be reducing your odds. That fear is a paper tiger. The opposite is true. This is most common self-defeating fear that holds advisors back from getting a steady “Why would this not be equally relevant for financial advisors? Radiologists, executives in computers, plastic surgeons, etc., all have ample income and wealth to be good clients for advisors. Most advisors need no more than 100 clients to have a wildly successful business. The categories we just listed have thousands if not 10s of thousands of people in each. You’ll generate significantly more profitable referrals by clearly defining a niche and conveying it to clients and affiliated professionals.” by Michael Kitces, noted thought leader in the financial industry. Having a Niche enables you to…

Position yourself as the expert
Create a compelling value proposition
Be top of mind
Strongly bond and engage your clients

And this makes you highly referrable. When you have three stars in place, you’ll find marketing is easier and you start getting more referrals. In the following issues I will tell you how to create the full five-star referral system. Put all five stars in place and you’ll start getting more referrals each month. I’ve had clients get between two and four additional referrals every month. How many stars do you have right now? How many referrals a month are you getting? I’d love to hear from you and answer any of your questions.

Want to get two or three more referrals every month and double your income? Attend my March 3 webinar workshop. You will not only be given the information, you will be helped to implement it. Watch for upcoming announcement.

Getting a Steady Flow of Profitable Referrals: Part Two

admin — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:10:38 +0000

Getting a Steady Flow of Profitable Referrals: Part Two

This blog continues with how to get a steady flow of profitable referrals. The keywords are “steady flow.” If you’re getting a referral only now and then, this five-star system will give you a steady flow, about three or four more every month.(Read Part One)

You may be feeling frustrated because you’re flow isn’t steady or your referrals aren’t very good. They’re not profitable. You want higher fees and commissions and to market less.

You may be in a quandary of whether to ask for referrals are not. You probably heard that some gurus say that asking for referrals is the wrong thing to do. They say, “You’ll put pressure on your clients. You’ll hurt the relationship.” And more than anything else you want to have great relationships and highly satisfied clients.

Like most advisors, you get a kick out of helping your clients reach their goals. You really want to make a difference. You want to reach more people.

You’re working really hard, networking (live and on social media) giving talks and presentations, cold calling and all the while making sure you’re not breaking any compliance rules. You have to run the business side of your office, manage your staff, service your clients and, of course, manage their finances.

Maybe you’re one of those advisors who have “hit the wall” because when you approach 100+ clients, you can’t figure out how to manage the time to do all that and still have time to actually do any growth.

You’re spending way too much time marketing to find more people to help.

This five-star referral system will change all that. When you get it all in place, you’ll be getting one or two additional referrals a month.

And don’t bother yourself about whether to ask for referrals or not. If you hate asking for referrals, this system is for you.

Getting a steady stream of referrals is all about building a strong partnership with your clients. You need to keep them regularly engaged in your practice, because engaged clients are the ones who will refer to you.

Step One: Create Your Ideal Client Profile

It’s simpler and easier to engage with your clients if you have an ideal client profile. You should be crystal clear about who you want to offer your services for.

Your ideal client profile helps you focus and speak the language of a specific type of person. It helps you decide which networks to participate in and what marketing strategies you use. You’ll be able to structure your whole financial service to serve your ideal client. And your ideal client will listen to you. It’s like being able to call out to him/her by name in a crowded room. Your ideal client will be compelled to look at you and listen.

If you picture your ideal client in your mind’s eye when you’re writing your marketing material, it’s much easier. You can write about their specific needs and desires.

Define your ideal clients’…

Age, occupation or retirement status
Investable assets, socioeconomic group
Income
Education
Psychographics (Values, motivations, problems, issues and aspirations)
Groups they belong to

When you have this done, take a fresh look at your ideal client and think of it him/her as your ideal prospect. This is who you want to talk to. This is who you network with. This is who you educate. This is who you write your value proposition to. This is who you make your compelling offers to.

Later in this series, I’ll show you how your ideal client profile will help you get referrals – automatically!

Let’s play a little game here. If you already have an ideal client profile, give yourself one star. You are more referrable than most advisors out there. Four more stars to go and you’ll have a system that will keep your practice humming.

If you haven’t made your ideal client profile yet, do it now. You’ll be surprised how it helps you focus on the right prospects.

I’ll tell you how to get your second star in my next blog. Look for it. The sooner you get all five stars, the sooner the referrals will come rolling in.

I’d love to hear from you. What have been your experiences with getting referrals? If you have any questions, send them to me and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Warmly,

~Stan

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Getting a Steady Flow of Profitable Referrals: part one

admin — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:53:41 +0000

Only one thing is more exciting than getting a profitable referral. It’s getting a steady flow of them.

What would mean you would have to market less and have more time for things you’re truly love. You can spend more time in front of clients or prospects. You can spend more time with friends and family.

Sounds good doesn’t it?

This series of blogs will cover how to get a STEADY flow of profitable referrals.

This blog is for you if you’re a financial advisor and want…

• A steady flow of referrals
• More profitable referrals
• Higher fees and commissions
• To market less and do more of what you truly enjoy

If you’re like most advisors I know, you enjoy helping clients reach their goals. You want to make a difference. But many of you are frustrated because you’re not able to help enough people.

You have a lot of your plate. You’re networking, live and on social media, giving presentations, cold calling, making sure that you’re not breaking any compliance rules. You have to run the business side of your office, manage your staff, and service your clients and manage their finances. Some advisors have “hit the wall” because when they approach 100+ clients they can’t figure out how to manage the time/clients/business/staff and still have time to actually do any growth.

You have to spend a lot of time marketing to find more people to help – too much time.

This blog series will help you spend less time hunting for new clients because you’re getting more referrals. I’ll show you how to put in place my Five-Star Referral System that will get you a steady flow of profitable referrals.

It’s called a Five-Star Referral System because there are five pieces. You get a star for each piece you put in place. When you have all the pieces in place, you have a five-star system. This is the same strategy my clients used to achieve outstanding results.

You will learn…

• The surest way to get clients to refer to you
• How to position yourself to be the logical choice
• The four best times to “ask” for referrals
• How to educate referral sources
• How to maximize the quantity and quality of referrals
• Exactly what to say to get referrals without even having to ask

You’ll notice I put quotation marks around the word ask. That’s because there’s a way to ask for referrals without really asking. We’ll be talking about that.

There are five parts to this system. For this system to work, you have to put all the ingredients together. It’s like baking a loaf of bread. If you don’t put in salt, it will taste flat. If you don’t put in yeast and let the loaf rise, you bread will be really flat. You have to use all the ingredients.

The Referral Conundrum

For years the gurus have said to get referrals you must ask for them. A lot of planners were reluctant to ask (and I think with good reason). There were programs to help you overcome your reluctance. They outline systems and scripts.

In 2012 there was 180 degree reversal and a new mantra: “Don’t ask! If you ask, you’re hurting your relationship with your clients and doing more harm than good. It’s unprofessional. It doesn’t work. Instead they propose you romance your clients so thoroughly, when a friend needs an advisor, they send him/her to you.

I lead a discussion on LinkedIn about whether to ask or don’t ask for referrals. It was a lively discussion. A small majority were in the “ask” camp. What both sides agreed is … You have to be referable.

So whether to ask or don’t ask is NOT the question. The better question is: How will you make yourself referable to your clients?

I used to struggle getting referrals. Then I learned a strategic secret I’ll pass on to you:

Here’s how referrals work in the real world.

Clients did not give a referral because they were asked by the adviser. They referred because their friend described a financial need or their friend asked for someone. (Source “Anatomy of a Referral,” Julie Littlechild at Advisor Impact.)

98% of clients found their advisor by referral from a friend, colleague, or center of influence. Only 2% make a referral when asked. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask. If asking is working for you, by all means keep doing it. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

What those statistics mean is something else is far more important than whether you ask or how you ask. What’s more important is…Your client has to think of you when someone she knows needs your services.

All your efforts have to be geared towards making this happen. Using the Five-Star Referral system I’m giving you, you can train her and condition her to do this. Here’s the first step.

Getting a steady stream of referrals is all about building a strong partnership with your clients from the get go in keeping them engaged. Engaged clients are the ones who will refer to you.

The next blog in this Five-Star Referral System series will spell out for you this first step to get your referrals engaged so you will be top of mind and they will naturally refer to you.

I would really love to hear from everyone what has been your experience. What have you done, how has it worked for you?

P.S. I’m having a webinar about this January 23. Why not attend to learn all five secrets?
You can have all your questions about referrals answered. Look for the registration
announcement.

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The surprising secret to getting a steady flow of profitable referrals

admin — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 19:51:01 +0000

Nothing feels better than getting a new ideal client from one of your current clients or a colleague. It’s a confirmation that you are recognized as a valuable service professional.

A steady flow of profitable referrals means:

• No more cold calling!
• Your prospects are pre-sold and ready to engage.
• Your close ratio goes up.
• You have more time to do what you truly love.

Essentially, you earn more and market less. Sounds good doesn’t it?

While a perfect referral now and then is exciting, how can you get a steady flow of profitable referrals?

For years the gurus have said to get referrals you must ask for them. A lot of planners were reluctant to ask (and I think with good reason). So there were programs to help you overcome your reluctance. But this idea alone wasn’t working very well.

In 2012 there was 180 degree reversal and a new mantra: “Don’t ask! If you ask, you’re hurting your relationship with your clients and doing more harm than good”. Hmm?

To Ask or Not to Ask?

You see, whether to ask for referrals or not is circumstantial. The better question is: How will you make yourself referrable to your clients?

I used to struggle getting referrals. Then I learned a simple secret that I’d like to pass on to you:

Getting a steady stream of referrals is all about building a strong partnership with your clients from the get go.

An effective referral building strategy begins with clearly defining the specific characteristics and circumstances that make up your ideal client profile. Think about it… who do you love to work with? Who are you in sync with? And how are your unique services geared to that type of client?

Once you understand and have crafted your ideal client profile, it’s easy to reinforce with your current clients how they ARE an ideal client for you. And it’s natural for your clients to then recognize what a good fit your services are for them. Tell them often that you want more clients like them and they will introduce you.

This system is so simple and powerful that you won’t always have to ask for referrals, but if you do, you’ll have built such a solid partnership with your client that they are eager to refer others to you.

Save the Date

Want to learn more about getting a steady flow of profitable referrals? Save this date in your schedule for my upcoming content rich no cost webinar:

“Getting a Steady Flow of Profitable Referrals”
Wednesday, January 23 at 12:30 PM ET

Your invitation to register for limited spaces in this training will be in your inbox January 17.

I look forward to hearing what challenges you’ve had with referrals, sharing my system and answering your questions so that you can make referrals you’re #1 business building strategy.

Wishing you a rich and rewarding business and life,
~Stan Mann

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Good news! You’re your own boss. Bad news! You’re your own boss.

admin — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:24:15 +0000

Good news! You’re your own boss. Isn’t it swell? You get paid by how much you work – how many great ideas you come up with. The more you work, the more money you make. No one is telling you what to do. No one is shooting down your ideas. You can do whatever you want. You can realize all your great ideas.

Bad news! You’re your own boss. Isn’t it hell? You get paid by how much you work. No one is telling what to do. You got more great ideas then you know what to do with, so, paralyzed by indecision, you do nothing. Or you start doing something that could have a high payoff, but another great idea strikes you and you don’t follow through. There is no one to help you sort out your options and keep you on track.

A prospect shoots down your big idea and you’re discouraged and lose motivation. There’s no one to encourage you.

You have a knotty problem and there is no one to talk to — at least no one you can fully trust not to have his/her own ax to grind. Or maybe there’s a group of people that might help, but you don’t want to show them your weaknesses.

Is this picture familiar to you? It certainly is to me. I struggled for years trying to run my business alone.

Early in my career I had a friend who is a psychologist. He was more experienced and more successful at running his counseling practice then I was.

I visited his office and discussed my practice. At first he was very forthcoming. Then one day, right in the middle of talking to him, he picked up his phone and dialed someone else to talk to.

Confused and hurt, I got the message and didn’t bother him again. He was a good friend who couldn’t bring himself to tell me directly that I was eating up too much of his time.

Without his support my practice began to flounder. It made me really realize the value of a thinking partner. I searched for someone else to support me.

This time I hired my own coach and being my own boss was swell.

I had someone in my corner, a trained professional committed to my success. I could confide in him and tell him anything I want. No repercussions, no one else had to know.

He helped me sort out my big ideas and decide which ones to pursue. He helped me make my own decisions, strategies and plans. When I promised to accomplish a goal by certain time, I’d do it, of course, because he held me accountable.

He helped me play to my strengths and work around any blocks standing in the way of my success.

I experienced the deep satisfaction of making my big ideas work. I made more money and worked less hours. Yes, being my own boss was swell.

Do you have any similar stories? I’d love to hear your experiences.

Wishing you a rich and rewarding business and life,

~Stan Mann

Solutions 4 Advisors

Six Steps to Successful Follow-Up Calls

You can learn techniques and strategies up to your eyeballs and they won’t work unless you have this

Read this, or suffer like I did.

If you specialize in a narrow niche, you’ll lose prospects

Blog: Coaching For Financial Advisors and Planners

Personal life and business coaching for financial advisors and planners who want to grow their business faster.

If you’re a financial planner who is struggling to get more profitable clients and would love to make another $250 K starting this month, check this out.

Getting a Steady Flow of Profitable Referrals: Part Three

Getting a Steady Flow of Profitable Referrals: Part Two

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Getting a Steady Flow of Profitable Referrals: part one

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The surprising secret to getting a steady flow of profitable referrals

Good news! You’re your own boss. Bad news! You’re your own boss.