Tip of the Month Newsletter November, 2006 In this issue: The $65 Million Dollar Referral It's a Process, NOT an Event How to Use the Thanksgiving Holiday to Advance Your Referral Objective How to Make December Productive When NOT to Hire a Coach Free Assessment Tool The $65 Million Dollar Referral Congratulations to our coaching client Will F. who used The Referral Mastery System to secure a $65 Million dollar individual account. This is a new first-year record for one of our clients using The Referral Mastery System. The exciting news is that is just the beginning. The new client told Will, "And I can introduce you to many more people like me." Will has learned that securing powerful introductions to investors at this level takes more than just asking (see article below). Will has done a great job in weaving The Referral Mastery System into his service delivery and overall marketing. In our coaching, Will made sure to have his staff participate in the coaching sessions and in the execution of the system. He is truly committed to providing exceptional service and systemizing his business. I expect Will to use the referral system to add assets at this rate for several more years. I get excited thinking about how high his business will soar. Back to top It's a Process, NOT an Event Many advisors mistakenly think that they can turn on the referral machine just by saying something clever at the end of a meeting or phone call. It is true that simply asking more consistently will generate more names. However, if you want strong introductions to high quality prospects, you need a thoughtful strategy and a process. The process of systematically generating referrals from clients has DEFINED STAGES and each stage of the process requires a STRATEGY THAT IS SPECIFIC TO THAT STAGE. Few clients are willing to introduce you to multiple high-powered prospects simply because you ask. The higher the quality of desired referral, the more you need to develop a compelling reason for the client to play an active role in the introduction. When you develop that strategy and follow the process, "It's a beautiful thing." The highest level prospects will make time in their calendar for you and will engage in candid and meaningful dialogue. When you effectively qualify the referral, you will know what questions to ask and how to present your service in a way that resonates with the prospect. An effective referral system does more than generate names. It creates HIGH QUALITY MEETINGS WITH EXACTLY THE PROSPECTS YOU WANT. To help you identify where your referral system is strong and where it needs refinement, we created a Referral System Assessment. The answers will show you where to focus your development so you get much better results. It's yours FREE just for the asking. Email your request to info@referralmastery.com. If you have a colleague who may want to assess his or her referral system, let us know their contact information and we will be happy to send it to them for free. We will also send them the special report, "5 Principles to More and Better Referrals" Back to top How to Use the Thanksgiving Holiday to Advance Your Referral Objective Thanksgiving presents a wonderful time to learn more about your clients' family traditions and about their networks. Ask every client this week, "What are you plans for the holidays? Who will you get to see?" Next week ask, "Who did you get to see over the holidays?" It is an enjoyable conversation and you will learn about many important relationships in your clients' lives. This is a simple, fun, and valuable step for you. Back to top How to Make December Productive The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas presents a terrific opportunity to demonstrate your value and generate referrals - provided you act quickly. It is difficult to get clients to commit to meetings during the holiday season. You need an urgent reason. Year-end tax planning provides such an urgent reason. There are many benefits to you from schedule these "tax planning" reviews (or "year end adjustments") - whether in person or on the phone. First, you get an opportunity to demonstrate your value in a tangible way. Clients appreciate this because of the direct, tangible benefits they receive. You can actually calculate the benefits in the meeting. At the very least, you demonstrate another way they receive value from paying your fee. The second reason is that you get a chance to review assets held elsewhere. This presents a wonderful opportunity for you to secure these assets. The third reason is referrals. What better time to ask for referrals than when you have just delivered value that the client can see documented in dollars and cents? It is a perfect setting to generate referrals. "It's that time of the year when we need to review your accounts to see what steps you can take take before year-end to minimize the tax bite. Which afternoons look good for you to stop by? Remember to bring in the statements from all your accounts including those you self-manage and may have elsewhere. With all the statements, we can see which steps can save you the most on your taxes." When you have reviewed their accounts and identified strategies for lowering taxes, secure their feedback on how helpful this has been for them. If they have an account elsewhere, you can ask, "I wonder why your other advisor hasn't done this for you?" And now the referral step. "Do you know for sure if your (children, parents, brother...) is meeting this month with a financial advisor to identify what steps they should take to lower their tax bill this year?........ Let's make sure." At a minimum, be sure to schedule year-end phone reviews with your A and B clients. Where possible, schedule the face-to-face with your A's and those B's with whom you feel there is much more potential business and who can be strong referral generators. More Ways to Make December Productive Examine insurance policies for anniversary dates and deadlines for upgrading insurance coverages. The potential savings from taking action before the deadline may provide the urgency to agree to a meeting. Be sure to examine the beneficiary statements to make sure they are current AND identify the heirs. For clients and prospects who don't want to meet during these two weeks, go ahead and schedule the meetings for January. Start next year off strong. Use this period to secure background information on clients and prospects. Take the time to learn about holiday traditions, travel plans, and WHO they will see over the holidays. You can learn important information about your clients' history, values, and NETWORKS. (See quick and easy method above.) Make a special effort to contact the hard-to-reach people like those that travel a lot for business. Their travel schedules typically slow down during this period. The intensity of work projects is slowing down. Many are more available. Take advantage of the holiday parties to network and meet interesting prospects. Evaluate the gatherings of target groups such as the trade organizations or country clubs where you belong and see what oppo Back to top When NOT to Hire a Coach You may soon begin preparations for your 2007 business plans. As you assess your business and where you want to get stronger, you may ask, "Is this a good time to leverage the expertise of a business coach?" Frequently, the answer is NO. Here are situations when hiring a coach is NOT the right step. When the advisor or manager is unclear on what he or she wants to accomplish. Without clear objectives, you can't determine which coach or coaching process is a good fit. Before considering a performance coach, identify specifically the areas you want to strengthen. Then prioritize those in the order of potential payback. While you are in the middle of an intensive skill-building program from the home office. You can't effectively execute several change initiatives at the same time. Advisors, who are in the first year or two in a new career and involved in an intensive training program, should look first to maximize what is being offered by the home office program. When you are undergoing significant personal change or trauma. If your family member is facing a serious medical challenge or dealing with an issue like divorce, it is extremely difficult to focus your energies on making habit or systems changes in your business. Implementing change and driving business growth require focus and energy. A performance or business coach is not the right resource during times of personal trauma. At these times, a psychologist or family counselor is a better fit. "To Fix Your Business" or to "Fix The Advisor". No coach can force an advisor to make changes. No one coaching organization is the TOTAL answer. You need to approach working with a coach with a sincere desire to improve, a willingness to change, and a commitment to address specific skill or business areas. When looking for a miracle to save a sinking career. Coaches are not miracle workers. Some coaches have strong processes and systems that can upgrade performance. They can teach skills and help develop effective marketing strategies. However, coaches can not save someone who is not a good fit for the business. When Hiring a Coach Can Be Profitable When you are clear about the areas you want to strengthen. At this point, you can better assess which coaching process and organization is a good fit for your needs. When you are ready to make a commitment to upgrade. Timing is a legitimate factor. To get maximum value from a development process, you must be ready to commit time, and energy - not just money. When you feel that the coach's process fits how you learn and change. If you are a person who prefers to implement things one-step-at-a-time, do NOT select a boot camp program where you attend for several days and then are left on your own to execute. If on-going accountability is helpful to you, select a coaching process with frequent meetings on a regular schedule. When you want specific expertise in a priority skill or business area (e.g. marketing or selling skills or technology) When you skills or results are not improving at the rate you desire - despite self-study. When you feel a need for accountability to someone outside your organization. When you want an independent assessment of your business or skills or feel the need for a different perspective than what is offered internally. For a free checklist to identify and prioritize areas to strengthen, checklist@referralmastery.com or call 800-865-2867. Back to top Free Assessment Tool Reminder: If you or a colleague wants to see how your referral system stacks up against the best practice in the industry, just ask us for our Referral System Assessment. It's free. Just e-mail to info@referralmastery.com. Back to top