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Sustainability is the ability to maintain a process at a certain rate or level. Referral sustainability is something that many advisors want but few achieve. Referrals are either hot or old. They are elusive and unpredictable. Many advisors believe that giving clients great service is all they need to do to secure sustainable referrals.
How's that working for you?
Great service lays a solid foundation for referrals, but there’s more to securing sustainability. Let’s look at two overlooked activities you should be tracking to ensure sustainability.
Your referral activity
Years ago, a mentor of mine said to me, “If you’re happy with what’s happening to you, it’s all because of what you’re doing. At the same time, if you’re not happy with what’s happening to you, it’s all because of what you’re doing.” Think about it. Your activity (or lack thereof) creates the result you are reaping or lacking. Activity for the sake of being busy isn’t going to amount to much. It’s all about doing the right activity, again and again, with the right people that makes the difference. When you take the time to track your referral activity, you can see the patterns of what produces the results you’re looking for so that you sustainably repeat those activities. Let’s look at some examples.
When my client Dan began tracking his activity, he quickly realized that every time he stopped in to visit his favorite COI when he was in the neighborhood, he would walk away with a referral. Stopping in gave Dan the opportunity to be top of mind. They would take a few minutes to catch up and inevitably begin talking about what they both had on their plates at the time. This would trigger his COI to think about other people that he felt needed to meet Dan, and they would strategize on how to make that happen. Dan made it a point to stop by his COI on a consistent basis.
Another client, Michael, decided that one day a week he would work from the cigar club. He began keeping track of the people he met there, because each time he visited he would have meaningful conversations that often led to referrals. In many cases, the person he met wanted to talk further about how Michael could help him or wanted to connect Michael to someone else. It became obvious that Michael was spending time in the right place with the right people. I suggested that he spend part of a second day at the club so that he could meet different people attending the club on a different day of the week.
Yet another client, Lisa, tried to include her COIs in her monthly newsletter. She would give them an opportunity to write an article for her clients and promote them in the process. Lisa noticed that her COIs were so appreciative that this activity led to her being given the opportunity to write articles as well for her COI’s newsletters. In addition, the tracking showed that it also spawned more collaborative activities such as hosting events together and joint speaking engagements, which often lead to more new clients. Purposely looking to give more visibility to her COIs became a sustainable referral activity that Lisa continued as part of her referral process.
Referrals you give and receive
Based on the advisors I speak to every day, half of those who are reading this article track the referrals they receive in your CRM. Knowing your client referral potential is powerful. Tracking referrals received helps you know at any given time how productive your referral process is at any given moment. If you’re tracking your activity as well, you should be able to see with each closed referral what specific activity led to that new client coming on board. You should also be able to see what percentage of your clients actively refer you and how many of those referrals close as new clients. Knowing which clients and COIs refer you helps you to keep track of who you need to thank or follow-up with.
It's also beneficial to track clients who say they are willing to refer you but haven’t yet. These people could be the recipient of some specific referral activity intended to educate them further on how to refer you. In the same light, tracking which COIs have not yet referred you shows you where you need to spend time educating as well as potentially analyzing the future longevity of those relationships.
Most advisors who come to me rarely track the referrals they give to others. It’s an unknown task until they see the importance. Tracking referrals you give to others enables you to see if that activity is helping you to get the results you want from that relationship. It also shows you which relationship “bank account” has enough deposits (referrals you’ve given) in it to make a withdraw (your request for help). It’s easier to ask for referrals or help in return if you’ve already given to the relationship. This is another way to ensure that you’re spending time with the right people and doing the right activity.
Referral sustainability only happens when you know for certain what you’ve done to influence or create a referral opportunity. Repeating what you know works will save you money and time as well as help you to avoid the referral roller coaster. Tracking consistent activity that’s done with the right people lays the foundation for successful referral sustainability.
Michelle R. Donovan owns Productivity Uncorked LLC where a one-two punch helps financial advisors to be more productive and more profitable. Michelle’s books have become Wall Street Journal best-sellers, Amazon best-sellers and published in seven languages. If you’d like to achieve referral sustainability, set a time to chat with Michelle, email her at [email protected] or connect with her on LinkedIn.
Read more articles by Michelle R. Donovan
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
