Referral Clinic: "How Do I Get Around Referral Roadblocks?"

We're continuing to revisit some of the great questions we received during our Referral Clinic and Blogathon.  Today's question will be answered by Katherine Vessenes, JD, CFP®, RFC. Katherine is president of Vestment Advisors and the country's leading authority on building a multimillion-dollar practice.

Question: I have asked existing clients for referrals. One said he has a divorcee friend with $2mm investable dollars. Every time he speaks to her about me, she seems to be traveling. Another client gave my name to friends and they never called. I asked her for their number and she said if they wanted to speak with me they would call. I need ways to get around the roadblocks.  —Stewart, independent advisor, New Mexico

Katherine Vessenes' answer: I think it is time to do what I call the "Country Music" approach to marketing. There is a very popular song by Keith Urban with a chorus that goes: "I am gonna love you like nobody loves you and I will earn your trust building memories of us."  What you want to create for your clients is an experience so powerful that they can't stop themselves from recommending you.

Take these clients and the people they want to refer to you. What do these prospects really enjoy doing? Is it baseball? Opera? Gourmet dinners? Note I did not say what do you enjoy. This is all about the client and creating a great, memorable experience for them-something that other brokers are not doing for them.

Whatever it is that is important to this group, I would call them and give them this speech: "Say Jim—I know how much you enjoy baseball. Well, I got 6 tickets for the big game on (date). I thought this would be a good time for us to have a fun evening and for me to meet Suzy in a non-threatening environment—what do you think? Can you guys come?"  If they are busy, find out a day they are free and then plan an event around that.

Note the key thing here is pull marketing, not push. The night of the big party, you probably don't even mention getting together unless the prospect brings it up.  Once you know them personally, you can either add them to your drip list and invite them to seminars or other events you are doing. Or you could call them in a week or so directly and say you enjoyed meeting them and would like to get together again and see if there is a fit for what you do.  This depends on the prospect and the level of response you are getting from them.

Good luck.