The Advice Strategy

 “I’ve always been reluctant to approach family members or people at my country club,” says Linda, a Boston advisor. “I just feel awkward about it. Any advice here?”

When many advisors consider pursuing the business of relatives and even social contacts, they feel like they run into a wall that they just can’t climb. To approach these people is to somehow violate a trust, to betray the friendship and look like they’re only interested in the other person’s business. People can feel sleazy bringing up their services to family and friends.

The primary hurdle to cross is broadening your perspective, as Bob David, Director of Advisor Programs at Horsesmouth, says:

 “At some point you have to look at the other side of that question, which is if you avoid family members or people at the country club, how are you gonna feel if you hear, for example, that Uncle Joe did something stupid with his IRA rollover after working 30 years at the company, or a friend of yours at the country club never really did any estate planning and he left his or her family in a bind, and you know the spouse and the kids, and you’ve got that on your conscience that you had the expertise and skill set to help there. So there is a price to be paid for not approaching those folks.”

In addition to seeing things in full light, you can also adjust how you approach people. One way to conquer your anxiety is to enlist the advice strategy, as detailed by Bob:

“You might initially approach a family member or close friend or country club to ask them for their advice about how to reach others like them. And when you do that it puts them at ease. It appeals to their ego, and it also gives them a chance to see you in action. It might make it easier to bridge that conversation, and you might find them approaching you eventually about helping with what they’re doing.”

When approached this way, offense is taken out of the picture, and you leave your baggage behind and start helping people.

Leverage Your Expertise in These Uncertain Times

It’s been a very troubling couple of weeks, and no one really knows how things will pan out. Paulson’s bail-out plan has been under siege by the representatives on capital hill, and while they argue, the credit markets are freezing up. Tick-tock, tick-tock, goes the crisis time-bomb.

These are deeply troubling times, and that’s what makes them so great for getting referrals.

You may be fearful yourself, it’s only natural, but you are an expert. It is in such times of uncertainty and fear that your value as an authority shines the brightest. You can’t let the paralysis born of negative emotions prevent you from capitalizing on such a unique opportunity.

Here’s what Erin Tamberella of Executive Transformations has to say about the current referral potential:

“Referrals may be the furthest thing from your mind right now, but I can tell you from talking to advisors all over the country that both solicited and unsolicited referrals are on an upswing. Why? Human nature is to want to help, and people recognize that everyone could use some extra financial help and guidance right now."

A great time to position yourself for referrals is when you call your clients to touch base and relieve their concerns (something you should be spending much of your time doing in this environment). Erin suggests the following:

"Make this your closing line in every single client conversation: ‘By the way, do you have any friend or relative who has been touched directly by any of the institutions in the news and might appreciate a phone call from me with a quick update for them?’ Establish yourself as caring, compassionate, and wanting to help.”

So stop hiding under your desk—get up and grab the phone. You can’t control what happens in Washington or in the markets, but you can control your activities, and those activities can bring in some quality business right now. When you call clients, make sure to let them know that your expertise can help people they know, too.   

Other wisdom about what to do in a tough market environment like today's can be found in these articles (free registration required):

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