Trading on our life experience
The following is based on one of The Covenant Group’s clients. All of the names and telling details have been changed.
Simon’s background and cultural experience gave him a great advantage in his chosen career as a financial advisor. Born and raised in Lebanon, Simon spoke English, French and Arabic. His clientele consisted primarily of people from his native country, a market he felt he had virtually tapped out. When we first started working together, it was clear that, although he didn’t realize it, one of Simon’s strengths was his network. In fact, the characteristics of the people in his natural market created the greatest opportunity to grow his business.
We teach advisors that the first step in marketing is to define an ideal client. An ideal client profile consists of demographic and psychographic characteristics. Often, advisors think in terms of demographics (e.g. age, income, net worth), and forget the psychographic characteristics of their clients. Psychographics are the attitudes, attributes and values of a group: some are solution seekers or opinion leaders for example, while others may value relationships and have strong family values.
The key to Simon’s success in growing his business was to leverage the psychographic characteristics of the people in his natural market. The people of Lebanon and the Middle East in general, place a high value on relationships and trust. In building his business, Simon spent countless hours drinking coffee with prospects and clients. Coffee is a staple of relationship-building in the Middle East. Before the people in his community would buy from him, Simon earned their trust over coffee, games of backgammon and chess. His investment in building relationships and establishing credibility paid off in spades as a significant number of friends and relatives became clients. His large network enabled him to increase his revenue to $250,000 in his fourth year as a financial advisor. Then, his income stopped growing.
The most important measure of the degree of trust or credibility in a client relationship is the extent to which people willingly introduce, recommend or refer their advisor to the people that are most important to them. When Simon learned to ask his clients and centers of influence for introductions, recommendations and referrals, his revenue doubled in the next year.
Obtaining Introductions
There is an art and a science to obtaining introductions, recommendations and referrals. One of the most important rules is that introductions are far more effective than referrals. When you obtain an introduction, the client provides the leverage by arranging the meeting with the prospect. In the case of a referral, you have to provide the leverage.
We teach a five-step process for obtaining introductions, recommendations, and referrals.
The first step is to confirm your relationship with the nominator. You may begin with something like this: “Sam, now that you have had a chance to see the type of work we do, how do you feel about it?” When the client responds positively, you affirm their confidence in you by repeating what you have heard and encouraging them to expand upon how you have made a difference in their lives.
The second step is to describe your ideal client. You might say the following: “That is good to hear, because you are the type of client that I want to work with. Let me be more specific…” Then, you summarize the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your ideal client.
The third step is to obtain from your client the names of people who fit these characteristics. If the person has difficulty coming up with a number of names, you can suggest categories such as, “Who is the most successful person you know?” “Which of your colleagues fit the client profile I just described?”
Once you have been given a number of names, the next step is to qualify the prospects and enlist the nominator’s help in meeting them. It is important to get six to ten names from your client or center of influence before you ask questions about each person in order to determine whom you will pursue. The key is to identify the people who most closely approximate your ideal client profile and then determine with the nominator the best way to obtain an introduction. Ideally, your nominator will arrange an introduction to two or three of the best prospects and provide recommendations and referrals to the rest.
The fifth step is to keep your nominator informed with regard to your experience in following up with these people. Keep in mind that you always respect the confidential nature of each relationship. However, your existing clients will want to know about people whom they introduce, recommend and refer who become clients. Your success with their network expands the equity in the relationship for them and for you.
In my next article, I will describe the science of introductions...
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The Covenant Group is referred to by many as the place entrepreneurs go to become Business Builders. They are considered to be thought leaders and have authored the best-selling books, The 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople, The Entrepreneurial Journey, and The Business Builder.