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 April 10, 2017
The Magic 6 process for acquiring more ideal clients in 2017!
How do I acquire more ideal clients starting today? What is an easy way to implement immediately, to grow my business? What is the best process to find more ideal clients? Monday morning when you go to your call list, database or calendar and you don’t see a lot of potential new ideal clients, what do you do? In a study by Russ Alan Price (Russ Alan Prince and David Geracioti Cultivating the middle-class millionaires 2005) among 1,417 millionaire investors with at least $1 million of invested assets, 54.2% named favorable introductions ( referrals) from professionals such as lawyers and accountants as a critical way to find their financial advisor.
The Magic 6
Build a process of working with these professionals I call the magic 6. The magic 6 is the 6 potential professionals or influencers in a client’s financial life.
The Magic six may include 1. Accountant 2. Lawyer 3. Realtor 4. Mortgage broker 5. Insurance agency and 6. Others or connectors. Other may include a commercial realtor, commercial mortgage specialist or commercial insurance agency (money in motion) or a connector. A connector is a person who is good at connecting people. We all know someone who is a good connector. This may be association managers (people who lead industry associations you may be involved in such as dentists, farmers, construction association, chamber of commerce etc.)
A database of referral sources
The magic six strategy works this way. Every client you have in your contact manager (CRM system) should have the names of six people who they work with related to their financial future. These are key business relationships that every person has. You can tackle the magic six process in two unique ways. First ask your assistant or receptionist to fill in the magic six when they come into your office, or alternatively, ask your clients about these people when you do your next financial review (progress update meeting). Either way, you are discussing referrals. If the client does not have six business contacts (which they should, hey everyone needs a good tax advisor) then you have the ability to give out referrals in those missing areas. If you get the names of six new people, then you can ask the client if they would refer them and if they think they are excellent professionals. Two things will happen first, if they say they are excellent professionals, then you can call those professionals, introduce yourself and say, I am always looking for excellent professionals to refer my clients to. You got their name from a mutual client. Any professional will want to meet with you if it is a mutual client, otherwise, jeopardize the relationship. Or second, the client says they are not happy with that service from that professional and it gives you an opportunity to provide a referral to help serve that client better. Either way you are discussing referrals and that is a good time to use your favorable introduction talk or referral talk (which you should have and know stone cold).
Having a team of professionals behind you makes you look increasingly valuable to a client with large investment, estate, or tax problems. Build a network of professionals to help your client’s overall financial plan. Have a list handy to give to clients.
What is the process?
If you meet with 5 ideal clients next week, and ask the about the magic six, that is 30 potential centers of influence to meet, have a coffee with and possible favorable introductions or referrals. Always find your best centers of influence through your clients and keep a record of them on your CRM. Why not have a team of 10, 20, 30 centers of influence to give and get referrals from. Make it a rule of thumb that you try to give out one referral per day. You are filling in six people on your quarterbacking team for every client. There should be at least one potential referral and one potential centers of influence to meet! That can add up to a lot of referrals in one year!
Show your centers of influence your value promise document
The most interesting thing happened to me when I shared my value promise document and client stories of some of my top clients to a group of centers of influence. I wanted to showcase our value. I invited a dozen centers of influence to a luncheon. At the end of the luncheon five of the twelve centers of influence came up to me and wanted to become my client. That was not the goal, it was better than the goal, which was to build a referral team. Treat your referral team like your ideal client, through communication, referrals and appreciation. This week, start asking for the magic six from your ideal clients and collecting the information. It is a process and the top advisors always have a process. The easiest way to make it a process is to put "quarterbacking" discussion on your agendas with clients and have a worksheet attached called, "The Quarterbacking worksheet" with the six fields listed. Now you have a simple yet, executable process.
The outcome of creating your quarterback service
A sure-fire way to help your clients’ overall quality financial planning and advice needs and gain referrals by referring your clients to your external team of professionals. It will also illustrate the strength, size and power of you team. Most importantly, you become a connector and it makes you more referable.
Get started!
Speak to your clients and develop a process of getting the Magic 6 in place, and a process for acquiring more ideal clients this year. Use the strength of cooperation to drive your financial advisory practice forward.
Written by Grant Hicks, CIM, President, Advisor Practice Management and co-author of “Guerrilla Marketing For Financial Advisors” 1st and 2nd edition www.advisorpracticemanagement.com
For a copy of our guide the" Future Ready Financial Advisor" go to http://www.advisorpracticemanagement.com/resources or http://futurereadyfinancialadvisor.subscribemenow.com/
Advisor Practice Management’s goal is
“ Helping Financial Advisors take action, to create 100 quality financial plans for their clients”. My mission if you choose to accept it is “ To help advisors to create 1 million quality financial plans for people”. Ask your clients and prospects this question " What does a quality financial plan mean to you ? Let me know if I can help you grow your practice.
Let’s work on your business. Start by emailing us. Why not?
Enthusiastically yours,
Grant Hicks, CIM, National Director Practice Management
Advisor Practice Management
www.advisorpracticemanagement.com
909-17th Ave SW, 4th Floor
Calgary, Alberta T2T 0A4
Tel 587 390 3148
Cell 403 970 8895
Email grant@ghicks.com
PS Where do you want to be in 3 years?
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