How to Avoid Sub-Par Referrals from Other Professionals

We're continuing to revisit some of the great questions we received during our Referral Clinic and Blogathon.

Today's question comes from Chris, an advisor in San Diego, and will be answered by Ginita Wall, co-founder of the non-profit Women's Institute for Financial Education and author of eight books, including The ABCs of Divorce for Women. We asked Ginita to respond to this question because she has long experience in co-marketing and collaborating with other professionals to conduct seminars for women who are going through divorce.

Chris' question: "How do you position yourself to ask politely for referrals from another professional (attorney, CPA) so that you are not in the uncomfortable position of turning away non-ideal prospects (i.e. too small, too conservative) that are referred to you?"

Ginita's answer: It’s kind of like training a dog, where you reinforce good behavior, and reprimand bad behavior.

Here’s what I mean—when you get a referral that’s wonderfully appropriate, call the professional and thank them right away. Tell them exactly what there was about the client that fit you to a T, and how specifically you are going to be able to help the new client.  Then you might even send a little gift to the referral source, just to thank them again.

When you get a referral that isn’t appropriate, make sure that you have a list of advisors who work with smaller clients so you can refer them on. Then call your referral source, and tell them, "Thank you for sending the client.  He/she wasn’t quite right for me and I referred them to so and so." Then say, "I am always happy to be a resource to help your clients find what they need, but let me tell you about the type of client that fits my practice, just so you know for the future."

When you are asking for referrals from someone who has referred good clients to you before, begin by thanking them for the old referral, and telling them what a good job you’ve done for the client and how happy the client is. That will reinforce what kind of client you are looking for.

When asking for referrals from someone who has never referred before, tell a story about a perfect referral you got from another similar professional, so that the source can picture what kind of client to refer. You could even add, "Sometimes I get referrals of clients who are not quite right, for example [fill in why they aren’t the type you work with], but I am always able to find someone good for them to work with." That lets the referral source know the standards you set for yourself and that you intend to stick with those standards.

Here's a case study about how an advisor succeeded (free registration required) using Ginita Wall's Second Saturday divorce seminar format—and a discussion board where you can ask Ginita Wall questions about putting together a divorce seminar that gets results.