(I’m going to give you a formula, and a link to a short audio using the script, that guarantees you’ll get tons of referrals… but first let me vent.)
Everything you’ve ever read or heard about referrals is B.S. You know this… if any of it actually worked… we’d all be rolling in the dough! Referrals are free. Referrals are easy to sell. So, if we could get referrals coming in regularly, we’d all be doing it.
Don’t get me wrong, we all DO get referrals… but it’s only when somebody a client knows, says to your client, “Hey, I need an advisor. Do you know anybody that’s good?”
When that happens, our clients will refer. BUT HOW OFTEN DOES THAT HAPPEN? Once or twice a year?
So, what can we do to get referrals happening whenever we want them, instead of waiting for this “miracle” to happen?
First, let’s dissect the advice Referral Gurus give us, broken down into two general categories…
- Do your job well and your clients will refer to you—B.S.! Either we are all horrible at our jobs… or we’d all be getting a ton of referrals if this was the case.
- You need to ask for them more often—REALLY? How did you feel the last time a car salesman or house siding salesperson asked you for a referral? We know this and DON’T want to make our clients uncomfortable. Why does this make clients feel uncomfortable? Two reasons:
a. If the client goes to their friend to sing your praises… 9 times out of 10 their friend is going to say, “Thanks, but I got a guy.” This makes your client feel rejected and they don’t want to take the risk of this happening.
b. If they give you the name of their friend so that you can call… how do you think that is going to go? Is their friend going to say, “Say, thanks for having that advisor call me! I really needed the additional pressure in my life!” NOBODY wants their personal information handed out.
Okay. That’s why getting referrals the old-fashioned way does not work. But don’t give up, there is a way that is proven to work.
The first thing you need to do is find some problem… that has NOTHING to do with investments or what you sell… and figure out a way to fix it. This is the key to getting a referral script to work. You can’t have your client thinking that the reason you are looking for a referral is to sell, or make money, off their referral. If they think this, the number of your referrals will be miniscule.
I teach advisors about 7 different non-financial things that they can do for a client… for free… that have a huge impact on the client’s life. As an example, we have a way to show 100% of clients, age 62 and up, that their Power of Attorney is wrong. And that this problem with their Power of Attorney, could turn their spouse’s life into a nightmare if it doesn’t get fixed.
This brings up a problem, and a fix that has nothing to do with you getting paid. The fix, by the way, is simply downloading a form off a U.S. Government website… and has nothing to do with you practicing law.
(The explanation for all of this is actually a whole article in and of itself… but the main thing you should take from this is that it is identifying… and fixing… a problem for which you don’t get paid.)
Now you use that non-financial problem and put it into this referral template (you can see how we do this in the link to the short audio, below).
Referral Script Template:
- Have them understand the non-financial problem and how it will negatively affect them if it is not fixed. It will cost them lots of money, time and hassle.
- Then fix it for them.
- Then ask, “Do you have anyone in your life that looks to you for advice… or comes to you for help… runs things by you?”
- “Would you like me to do these NON-financial things for them too… because if we don’t, who are they going to ask for help and drag into their problems… all the time, money and hassle problems? Who would they look to for help?”
- “Would you like me to take care of these NON-financial things for them… so that their problems… don’t become YOUR problems?”
This template works because now the client is referring… not to help you… not even to help their family or friend… they are referring to help themselves. They don’t want to find themselves in a situation where they must help “Mom” untangle herself from a crappy situation. When you offer to fix it, so they are never in a situation like that, they’ll jump at getting you and “Mom” together.
The reason they feel this is a “safe” referral is that,
- It has nothing to do with you trying to get at Mom’s money
- It is a one-time thing you are fixing… it does not suggest that you are looking for a long-term relationship with Mom.
- It can be done quickly for Mom at no cost
You’ve not only removed the threat of “siccing a salesperson” on Mom… but you’ve fixed a problem for them, your client, that they will not have to deal with in the future.
When you approach referrals this way… you’ll FINALLY be in control of getting more referrals on a regular basis. And don’t worry, after you fix the problem for the referral, guess what their next natural question is? Now, what else do you do? And presto, we are now in the process of bringing on a new client!
You can listen to how it is done on this 5-minute audio. 2 minutes of the actual script… and 3 minutes explaining why it works.