What to Do When a Referred Lead Doesn't Call You Back
Just back from Toronto and the Dundee Wealth Management annual advisor conference, where I delivered a referral anxiety breakout session. It was standing-room only in the 200-seat room—once again demonstrating how pervasive and common this issue is!
An attendee asked a great question during the Q&A that we hear often from advisors: What do you do when a client gives you a name and number, but you get no response when you call the referral, even when you leave multiple messages?
First answer: prevent the problem altogether by focusing as much as humanly possible on introductions rather than referrals. Not only will this help you avoid having to track down the referred prospect, introductions are much more potent and effective anyway.
That said, if you do find yourself in this situation, your best bet is to go back to the referral source. You certainly don't want to whine or act as though you expect them to fix the problem. What you can do, though, is call to update them on the status of the referral (this is something you should consider doing as a matter of routine; many clients like to be kept in the loop, and the more you keep them informed, the more they will view themselves as partners in your success).
You can say something like this: "Hi, Joe. You were so nice to refer Dan Rogers to me last week, and I just wanted to keep you in the loop on what's happening. I've left Dan a couple of messages and haven't heard back from him, but I'm hoping to make contact soon."
One of two things can happen at this point. The best-case scenario is that Joe will proactively say something like, "Oh, really, Dan hasn't called you back? I'm surprised, I think he would really be interested in [product or service you offer]. You know what, let me give him a call and suggest he get in touch with you."
Bingo.
On the other hand, Joe might say, "Oh, ok, well, thanks for the update." In this case, put in a few more calls to the referral, making sure that they are well spread out—no closer than a week apart. The last thing you want is to be seen as a "stalker" and have that get back to your client. If your calls still go unanswered, you can get in touch with your referring client again. "Joe, I wanted to thank you again for your referral to Dan Rogers. Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to get in touch with him."
At this point, you can take the conversation in a few different directions based on how important this referral is to you, how strong you believe the referral was to begin with, your source's response when you first called him to update him, etc.
One direction: "I don't want to be a nuisance, so I won't be calling Dan for a while. I will plan to get in touch with him again in six months or so to see if the situation has changed at all. But I do very much appreciate the referral." Joe may shrug his shoulders and simply appreciate that you kept him updated on the situation. Remember, not every referral works out. It's always better to walk away than to risk hurting your relationship with the referral source.
Alternatively, if you believe the situation warrants it, you could actually ask Joe for a face-to-face introduction at this point, or ask if he has any ideas about how you might be able to reach the prospect, or if you can pick his brain about specific issues that might resonate with Dan. He might even offer help proactively because he thinks it's a shame that you haven't been able to connect with his referral. In this case, he might offer to make a call on your behalf, or introduce you to Dan personally.
But to reiterate, the best way to remedy the problem of unresponsive referrals is to avoid it altogether. Start asking for introductions instead of names and numbers. You'll get better results all around.
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