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Question, have you ever received a new piece of business and thought
afterwards, oops I forgot to thank the person who referred these people to
me?
The goal is to get the communication flowing
between yourself, your new client and the referrer. Once they
sign on as a client, I would ask if they can call the referrer to
thank them for introducing myself to them. Then I would send a
thank you card or letter and gift.
If this is a first time referral
from somebody, you should make it so that it appears as if this is
the biggest thing they have ever done for you. Then a phone call
after they would have received the gift to touch base with them
and than them again for the referral. At that time you may ask if
there may be anyone else if you are comfortable asking. The
referrer received two phone calls and a gift, just for referring
one person.
The gift must be approved by your compliance department as
always. One idea is to send a lunch gift certificate, and possibly
the referrer may take your new client and the person who was
referred to lunch. A second idea is to thank them both, your new
client and the referrer, take both of them out for lunch.
It’s
important that both people understand the system of
appreciation for referrals, and that you appreciate these referral.
I always tell my sister who is an actress. 'Its not what they say
about you that’s important, it’s important that they're talking
about you.'
Grant's Tip: The follow up system or process is the key. If I send you a
referral, make sure that for the first referral a gift is sent. You don’t
have to send a gift every time, however the first one should receive a
thank you note and gift. The follow up to the referrer letting them know
if the people the referred became a client or not is also very important.
If I sent you three referrals and none of them became clients, then I
would start to wonder why. But if you called me back and explained that
these three people are in the process of becoming clients, then I would
feel more comfortable. Feedback and tracking is key to all referrals.
I use a referral worksheet in several ways.
First, to record the referral and the referrer, and the type of referral.
Second, to make sure that the
referrer was send a thank you card and or gift. Third, to track in
a calendar year where and type of business was generated.
I can
go back each year and look at the referral sheets to see how many
referrals and the type and from whom I am generating from. For
example, I may be receiving a lot from accountants, but not
lawyers for example, and I may want to pay more attention to
the lawyers.
If your receive several referrals from one individual or source,
such as an accountant, then track the referrals received as well as
the referrals sent on the referral worksheet. It is also very
important to receive feedback from the person you sent the
referral to, to make sure you are helping reach your clients goals
in a satisfactory way with referral sources.
On the form you
would keep track of this, and periodically check back if you have
not heard what happened with your referral. With referrals, If
you give them, then you get them. Make it a goal in your client
review planning and interviews to try to generate at least one
referral. Imagine if you sent out 200 referrals this year. Do you
think you might get a few back in return?
Copyright 2003 By: Jay Conrad Levinson and Grant W. Hicks, C.I.M.,FCSI - Co-author of "Guerrilla
Marketing For Financial Advisors
", Trafford Publishing 2003.
You may use these articles in your
marketing, newsletters and web sites as long as you retain the copyright
information at the bottom, including the link to our web
site and inform us where it is being used as well as sending us a copy of
the publication.
Always check with
your compliance office and or branch manager before implementing any
marketing idea. The information does not constitute a recommendation for
the sale or purchase of any securities or insurance. |
