Lesson 2 | Referral Plan Walkthrough
Transcript: The big takeaway from our updated advisor referral research, which examined the referral tactics from over 250 advisors in 2022, was the importance of having a plan. The most Referable firms had a defined process or plan to generate and manage referrals. We decided to help you define your referral plan with a tool guided by referral best practices. Start at the top with your why. Define the specific activities you'll commit to drive your desired results. An important first step is committing to develop a plan and taking the actions outlined in your plan. Referral seeds are how you will talk about who you serve, how you service them, how to best make an introduction plus more. Review the build your referral seed tool for more on best practices and to build your go-to language to set yourself up for referrals. For benchmarking purposes, the most referable firms convert 75% or more of the referrals given to them by clients and centers of influence. The next step is to define who do you want to get referrals of and from? Are you looking to generate referrals from clients and or centers of influence? Who are you looking to target as referral partners is important to the tactics you use? You can choose one or multiple targets. The more targets you choose, the more tactics you will need to manage. Based on our advisor referral research, the most referable firm's client base is made up of 75% or more of their ideal clients. So if you're looking to gain referrals through your clients, you'll increase your likelihood of success if your current clients look like the referrals you want to get. If you don't have a relationship with an accountant, attorney, or other professional partner, you may be missing out on an important source of referrals. Start to build these professional relationships by getting to know your clients professional partners, especially those who your best clients highly value. Get specific, write down names of desired or targeted referees to focus your efforts. The most important step is next, it's time to define your referral process. Start by defining how you will train or approach your key stakeholders, which are your team and COIs. In our advisor referral research, we found that the most referable advisors invested time with their team and COIs to help them understand who they serve and the unique value they provide to those clients. These two groups can be powerful drivers of referrals. Having go-to language that you, your team and professional partners are comfortable and confident using can help you communicate the right information effectively and often. A strong referral seed highlights five key things. First, who you ideally serve. Second, why you love to serve them. Third, how you uniquely serve them. Fourth, when they may need your help. And finally, how to make an introduction. Use the design and referral seed tool to define the language you will use to plant referral seeds. Finally, when attracting referrals, make sure that your digital footprint and marketing supports your referral goals and process. This means that you have a website that makes it easy for referrals to find and connect with you. Make sure that your social media profiles are up to date and accurate and in include an up-to-date picture. Also, register your advisory business with Google Business so it's easy to find you and your firm online. The most referable firms convert 75% or more of their referrals. They do this by being intentional on how to manage the referral to client process, also known as their sales process. We have an entire toolkit dedicated to defining your sales process. In the Growth lab. According to our advisor referral research, we found that the most referable firms track their referrals, including the source in their CRM. They also have a systematic follow-up process. 90% of the most referable firms reported contacting referrals directly to confirm if they would like to meet. When it comes to the initial meetings, over half of the most referable firms use a formal predefined experience with prospects, including a defined set of questions they always ask during their meetings. They also have a defined process or workflow to keep referees in the loop and thank them. And finally, they're intentional about how they communicate with their clients. How will you be intentional about how you develop and nurture advocates, those that are actively referring? Once you've completed your referral process, use the third tool to activate your referral plan and develop a referral habit. Be patient, stick to your plan and keep planting referral seeds. The funny thing about referrals is that referrals beget referrals. Once you figure it out, there's no turning back.