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We’re already halfway through Endless Referrals Now program! The pace is fast. The expectations are aggressive. And the results are already measurable and impressive.
We’ve reviewed the Essential Elements of Asking for and Gaining High Quality Referrals.
All participants have learned where their own beliefs have been getting in their way and preventing them from asking for referrals. In each case, participants can now see how they can ask for referrals much more EFFECTIVELY. Read More
A recording of the Endless Referrals Now webinar with Nancy Imholte. Learn about the myths of referrals and the Endless Referrals Now coaching program. Register for the program here: http://riacentral.com/endless-referrals-now
It’s not rocket science. We intuitively know that collecting referrals and converting them to clients is the most effective way to grow our business.
Studies show that financial advisors who have learned how to acquire a large number of high quality referrals earn four to five times more than the industry average. So why don’t we all do it? Why don’t we do MORE of it than we do? Why don’t we spend considerable time studying and learning how to do it more effectively? Because, while it’s important, there are many other things that are URGENT.
Reality is, as humans we are all guilty of sometimes thinking we want something, when actually we don’t. We think we want to be in better shape. So we join the health club. We go a few times – maybe even consistently for the entire month. And then we stop. Is it because we’re too weak and undisciplined to go? Is it that we’re “not good enough” to go consistently? Are we lazy? No!! Rather, we don’t want it badly enough in the first place. We haven’t really identified and bought into the results and the benefits of being in better shape. Read More
This morning I received an email sent to several hundred parents in our school, looking for co-volunteers for an event for new families in our city who are new to our school.The email had this nifty little link you can click on if you’re interested in volunteering. You can sign up, and you’re ready to go. No emailing back and forth. No phone calls. Just clackety-clack, click, and you’re a volunteer.I clicked on the link. It opened. And this friendly little box looked at me with four simple questions. 1. Your name. 2. Your email. 3. Your phone number. 4. Best time to reach you.Fill it out, and away you go. Committed. Signed up. Off to the races.[No, I didn’t post the wrong article. Yes, this is the article for RIA Central, not for my school. <smirk> Read More
While a majority of responses to RIA Central’s recent survey indicated “comfort” at the prospect of asking for referrals, only 12% indicated receiving an average of at least eight per year.
This leaves us wondering how effective those “referral requesting conversations” are. And, is it possible the advisor is comfortable asking, but the client is NOT comfortable giving?! Where is the disconnect between what we think, and what others perceive???
This morning I awoke at the crack o’ pre-dawn to write an article, with a deadline of midday today. (That’s often when my most creative writing juices get flowing!)
I crafted what I thought was a well written article. I was about 80% done. Then my computer did one of those funky, unexplainable lockup things. Read More
Put ‘em up, put ‘em up!
Which one of you first? I’ll fight you both together if you want.
I’ll fight you with one paw tied behind my back.
I’ll fight you standing on one foot.
I’ll fight you with my eyes closed.
Ohh, pullin’ an axe on me, eh?
Sneaking up on me, eh?
Why, I’ll… Ruff!
‘Sounds pretty tough, doesn’t he?
He sounds fearless, right?
And he looked pretty scary, too!
When I was growing up in the 60s and 70s I used to listen to my cassette player and my recording of The Wizard of Oz. And by “recording,” I mean just that: we used to put the cassette recorder on the floor in front of the TV and hit “Record.” You could hear the wheels of the player turning and churning, as it recorded what was on the TV. You could hear my brother as he started chomping on popcorn while he watched the movie. How times have changed.
“Stop! I can’t handle any more clients!!”
Sounds like a good problem to have, doesn’t it?
…Or does it?
Be honest with yourself: do you really want more clients? Or does that just sound like more work?
In the world of metabolism, calorie consumption and weight loss, there’s a concept of a built in “set-point” where one naturally hits a plateau once they’ve been losing weight. At this point, it seems as if we could starve ourselves, and we still wouldn’t lose weight. It’s as if our body is telling us, “Woa, there, Plumpy. Slow down. We’re just fine right where we are.”
Try as we might, no more weight can be lost.
As we begin to peel back the layers of what prevents us from asking for referrals more often and more effectively, I invite you to think of it in the context of “asking for a favor,” rather than purely as “asking for a referral.”
Those who easily ask for favors, ask for help, ask to borrow things, ask for resources and ideas – are the same people who reflexively, easily, confidently and effectively ask for referrals.
Think about it: how do you ask for a favor?
I’ve made a little bit of an odd hobby, of sorts, out of observing how people ask for favors. In my experience, most people DON’T ask for favors. And often, those who do, do it uncomfortably and reluctantly.
I also like to observe the “askee”, and see how he/she responds when asked to do a favor, or help a friend.
You?ve heard it many times over the last couple of years: we?re in a new economy.
And it?s scary!
At dinner with friends Saturday night, my friend, a wealthy and brilliant scientist and philanthropist, was humbly sharing his lack of knowledge when it comes to investment management and ability to manage his own fortune. He was expressing his desperate need to find someone new, whom he trusts and has more knowledge than his last financial advisor.
He and his wife are well aware they need help. And they fear ?getting taken? by someone else. They are not the only people out there looking for a new, trusted, financial advisor.
I had an idea yesterday for an article while I was building a “quarter-pipe ramp” for my 6-year-old son. (In case, you don’t know what a “quarter pipe ramp” is…think Shaun White and the winter Olympics. If that doesn’t help, then think of the last thing you’d want to see a 6-year-old boy who just bought a skateboard on (especially YOUR OWN).
Why did I think about an article for financial advisors when I was building this ramp? Because several hours into the project, knee deep into plywood and jigsaws and power drills, I took a step back and wondered how this happened. Where did I get the plans to build this thing? How much research had I done on the internet? How many people had I asked?
