for High End Prospects
March 24, 2009
“About a year ago, we were having lunch and he says to me: ‘I understand that you’re happy in your current relationship and I respect that. But should there ever be a change, I hope that I’d have the opportunity to complete for your business.
“I told him that I thought that was a reasonable request … and in light of that I really feel that I have an obligation to give him a chance to show what he can do.”
So here’s the interesting question: What had the incumbent broker and his daughter done wrong to lose a multi million dollar account?
The answer: They really hadn’t done anything wrong … it’s just that a competitor had done something very right, by positioning himself as the logical fallback should there ever be a change in the status of this client’s relationship.
It takes a couple of things to make this approach work for you – the right candidates and the right approach.
Start by identifying potential prospects with whom you want to position yourself in a similar fashion to the broker described above. They should have three qualities – first, they would be a very substantial addition to your book, second, you have an existing relationship and third you like them and are comfortable with them. Chances are that if you like them, they like you.
Once you have identified potential prospects, you have to sort out the approach that works for you.
To be effective, this approach should be both more and less aggressive than you’d use with a typical prospect.
More aggressive because the frequency of personal contact is higher than with a normal prospect.
And less aggressive because the interactions are lower key. In fact, when it comes to using the “fallback advisor” approach, you have no expectations of that individual becoming a client in the near term. There should never be any pressure - instead, you are patiently positioning yourself for the eventuality of a change in their situation. Remember, one of the reasons this works is the level of patience being demonstrated.
Because of the amount of time and patience required, you want to focus on only a few prospects in this fashion. In the long run, however, that time and patience can pay very big dividends.
* Dan Richards conducts programs to help advisors gain and retain clients and is an award winning faculty member in the MBA program at the University of Toronto. To see more of his written and video commentaries and to reach him, go to www.strategicimperatives.ca.
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