Part 2: Developing profitable professional connections (centres of influence)

Getting great referrals from other trusted advisors is seldom easy. What if you had five more quality professionals making referrals to you? It’s not a fantasy when you have a clear process and tangible steps to take.

?Here's the second half of my process:

7.??? Seeking intros to other professional connections (centres of influence):?

Asking people to introduce you to other professionals is a much lower risk ask than requesting to meet someone’s best clients, so it’s a good place to start.

?“What accountants are you grabbing a drink with?”

“Who’s the greatest philanthropist you know?”

“Of all the estate planning lawyers you know, who do you think does the best job that you’d be most comfortable introducing me to?”

“Who’s recently made partner and is building their book?”

Established professionals over 40 also often have associates they’re grooming. Grow your practice with younger COIs and build a friendship.

8.??? Teaching them what you’re looking for

This is when it pays to have a target market. Either way modify your ask to be about 1-2 people/situations/businesses:

“Think of me for” OR “I can help the most with…

Doctors, dentists, pharmacists, Deloitte partners, consumer packaged goods companies, healthcare tech, disability insurance, business sales, lakefront property, fast food franchise owners, car collectors, female executives, Sikh business owners over 45, M&A transactions.”?

9.??? HOW TO ASK

How can you ask with words and intent such that it is coming confidently from your life experience, company’s expertise, and preferably from your heart (versus your need for money)??

You really only need one way to ask that feels congruent for you and gets you the meetings you need. I know this sounds obvious, but I’ve coached people in the past over several months who did ask but didn’t get many meetings.

We are a whole package deal that includes how confidently we talk about the ways we help people, to our authenticity level, what we wear, our body language, and our energy/enthusiasm level. What you project has to be congruent - compelling and/or confident enough to move the ball forward. And since we’re not living in a perfect world free of bias, sometimes depending on your race, faith, gender, age or orientation, you might have to play twice as hard to earn what you want. Fortunately, this is where referrals are great because you are also leveraging someone else’s endorsement and reputation, so you don’t have to be superhuman.

*“Would you be comfortable introducing me/us in this area? What do you think would be the best way to do this?”

*“It sounds like there’s quite a bit of synergy between what we do. The people you work with are definitely right in our wheelhouse. What would make sense next is to...”

*I’ve got to ask: Can I introduce you to our Wealth Strategies Team/my MD? They could show you….”

*“Would you be open to a next step of….?”

*“Would you be comfortable introducing me to the next rising star on your M&A team?”

*“I’ve got to ask: I know I can help. We may not be the right fit for everyone, but it’s definitely worth a meeting. Do you mind making the introduction? I can send you some introductory language to share with them.”

*“From your perspective, given everything we’ve discussed, what would be a helpful follow-up to this meeting?”

*If the other person says: ‘I might have someone in mind.’

You ask: “Who are they? When do you think we can meet? What should I know about them so they have a good experience?”?

10. Meeting Tips?

Teach them something they don’t know or teach them about the problems of tomorrow that they don’t know about: Jay, one of my past clients, told me: “I never have a meeting without sharing something useful to them (except with those who are the best of friends)”

Another past client, Clare, once shared with one of my coaching groups: “Don’t try to force relationships with some COIs. At first, I was not forthright enough with those who were never going to refer me. Then I started asking: who do you refer to and why?”?

11. TESTING THE WATERS!?

This has been a favourite suggestion of mine for over two decades. It’s really wise to find out early on if the person you’ve just met is genuinely interested in building a more meaningful relationship with you. You learn this (80% of the time) by asking them for something small to see how they respond.

It’s not a trick. Almost everyone you meet is quite nice, trustworthy, and competent at what they do. The problem is that almost everyone puts on their best face for a meeting and talks their best game – it’s human nature. People show their true colours afterwards in how they do (and often do not) follow through on what they said. Wouldn’t you rather learn this quickly? Even them taking three weeks to get back to you often tells you something less encouraging versus a prompt response.?

Making a simpler ask helps you see who’s truly interested in (hopefully) referring you as they get to know you better. It also makes it easier in the future to make a bigger ask.

Add these five strategies to the other six and you have a robust and clear way to develop more profitable professional relationships that will help you grow.

To profitable professional connections!

Matt

Copyright Matt Anderson, 2024.