“There is just not enough conviction!” “What if my client turns me down ultimately?” “How do I even speak out about referrals?” “Where do I even start?”
If you’re struggling in this exact or somewhat familiar situation, chances are thousands of your financial advisory mates are similarly stuck in the same rut.
However, you must know that the rewarding gain of referrals is definitely reachable (and certainly relieving!). The real hard-hitting point of getting referrals is that YOU can be your biggest advantage if you stop belittling and start believing in your value-creating potential and profession as a financial advisor.
During our classes, we found that many of our students enrolled in with a lack of confidence and motivation at the thought of getting referrals. At PPP Academy, we realize that the key reason why people deem asking for referrals as a formidable obstacle is that they do not feel that they have given enough value to the client. Though if we were to look at this closely, we would see that the obstacle is in fact not the sale, but the person who created this source of discouragement. Yes, friends, in most cases, the greatest obstacle is YOU.
YOUR WORTH IN DIAGNOSING FINANCIAL WEAKNESSES
PPP Academy founder and financial advisor education and training expert, Chris Chan, received outpouring praise for his best-selling “Referral Revolution”. In one of his chapters, he revealed the art and approach of building a referral-based practice. What if we told you that it is indeed achievable to score 10 or even 20 referrals during your first appointment?
Now, imagine a doctor.
You are not feeling well and you decide to go in for an appointment. When you get to the doctor’s office, he spends a few minutes to examine you and then recommends additional tests to check your condition. He prescribes a blood test to make sure everything is working fine. He sees that you have high blood pressure. But before he could give you a prescription, he dies! Even if he has passed away, can we safely say that he has already done something positive in your life by diagnosing your medical condition? Yes, he has.
ACKNOWLEDGE THE VALUE YOU HAVE ALREADY OFFERED TO YOUR CLIENTS
We have talked much about creating value. But just in case you still do not believe this concept, give this a thought: how many professionals or businessmen out there are willing to spend one to two hours with somebody to educate them about finance or insurance planning? How many would be willing to help the client understand difficult financial goals and help him make plans for the future? I do not know about you, but that is real value right there.
The doctor has given you knowledge about yourself and your health on your first appointment, even without a prescription. Now, is that not value? In fact, he has not even charged you money yet because he died before he could hand you a prescription. Don’t you think that what happened in this imagined scenario is similar to what we do?
NOW, IT’S TIME TO GET THOSE REFERRALS YOU DESERVE!
In our first appointment with the client, we talk and we conduct a fact-find. And just like the doctor, we try to diagnose the client’s current state of life, and then we give him or her free analysis. Once we have gotten to know the person’s particular situation, we give him advice.
Now, let me reiterate that it is free advice they are receiving! We have not charged any money, and the client has already learned so much from us already. This is how we, as finance professionals, have succeeded in creating value. Whether he buys or not is no longer up to you. However, the power is at your side to clinch something you deserve.
YOUR FIRST BATCH OF REFERRALS
There’s no better time than your next appointment to take measurable action in consciously converting that habitual fear of referrals into elevated confidence over your professional service. And possibly start reaping rewards from a strategically sustainable network!
Also, look out for Part 2 to this series on how you can progress and develop your skills in attaining your well-deserved referrals.
Alternatively, contact our growth consultants to find out more about our upcoming masterclasses and programmes. We are committed to creating real change in the community in our in-class sessions, and hope to see you and your teams’ breakthroughs!