Double Your Business: Actively Ask for Referrals

Referrals aren't given easily. If you don't take the time to establish credibility, you're not going to get the referral. People have to get to know you. They have to feel comfortable with who you are and what you do.? Ivan Misner (Founder BNI)

Getting referrals is one of the most effective ways for finance professionals to grow their client base. Asking for referrals from existing clients can be a great way to generate word-of-mouth marketing and expand your business’s reach.

Additionally, actively seeking referrals from other professionals in the field can help you establish a network of contacts and build relationships with potential leads. Let’s explore why asking for referrals is so important.

The Power of Word-of-Mouth Referrals: Asking your existing clients to refer others to your services is one of the oldest and most effective forms of marketing. People are more likely to trust recommendations from people they know, which makes word-of-mouth referrals incredibly powerful.

Even if someone isn’t ready to become a client right away, they will remember your name when they need financial advice in the future. This kind of informal marketing can often be more effective than traditional advertising because it is based on personal connections.

Referrals From Other Professionals: Reaching out to other professionals can be a great way to expand your referral network and build relationships with potential leads.

For example, if you specialise in retirement planning, you could contact local estate planners or accountants who might have clients looking for similar services.

Or if you provide tax and advisory services, you could reach out to small business owners who may need assistance with business advisory and taxes each year. If these professionals are willing to refer their clients or customers to you, it could lead to both short-term and long-term gains for your business.

Referral Marketing is Cost-Effective: Asking for referrals from current clients is an easy way to get the word out about your services without having to spend a lot of money on advertising and marketing campaigns. By leveraging the relationships you already have, you can quickly and cost-effectively increase your visibility with potential customers.

Builds Trust and Credibility: Word of mouth has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to build trust between consumers and businesses. When someone is recommended by a friend or family member, there is an immediate level of trust that goes along with that recommendation that cannot be replicated by other forms of marketing. This trust can go a long way in helping potential customers feel confident in choosing you as their financial adviser.

Increases Client Retention Rates: Having a steady stream of new clients coming into your business is great, but it’s also important to keep the ones who are already there happy.

By asking for referrals, you show existing clients that they are valued members of your network and that their opinion matters. This helps build loyalty towards your business and increases client retention rates over time.

Tools That Can Help With Referral Generation. Generating referrals doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming; there are several tools that make it easy for financial advisers and accountants alike to ask for referrals from their current clients and other professionals in the industry.

For instance, referral tracking software (and there are a lot of solutions out there) can help financial professionals keep track of all their referral sources in one place while automating thank you emails after each successful referral!

Additionally, some software programs allow advisers and accountants alike to measure ROI on their referral efforts by tracking how many appointments are scheduled as a result of each successful referral request sent out!

Sample script that can be used by anyone

Hi [Client] OR [Other Professional} , I'm reaching out today to ask for your help in growing my business. If you could think of anyone who might benefit from my services, I would greatly appreciate it if you could refer them to me. I want to assure you that I will treat anyone you refer to me with the same level of care and professionalism that I've shown to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

OR

We would love it if you know someone or business who needs our services to kindly give them our details. Thanks so much.

GOLDEN RULE

The devil is in the details. ALWAYS follow up the referral. Contact the referral within 24 to 48 hours of being given the referral. A phone call is best because you can have a quality conversation in 10 minutes or email them to book 15 minutes with that person.

Accountants are notoriously poor at following up referrals. If someone has taken the time to send you a referral please do them the honour to show that you value their relationship by following up the referral.

Asking for referrals can be an effective way for finance professionals to grow their business quickly, cost-effectively, and with maximum impact. By leveraging the relationships you already have with existing clients and other professionals, you can increase trust and credibility among potential customers while also building loyalty with current ones.

Word-of-mouth referrals are incredibly powerful because they come from people who already trust you, while reaching out directly to other professionals allows you build relationships with potential leads before they even become clients!

Taking the time to actively solicit referrals will help ensure that your business continues to thrive in today’s competitive market environment.