It came without ribbons, it came without tags...

Happy New Year to all you ghouls and gals!

I hope Santa was good to you and the family. For me, it was too much. So many presents, so much crying, so much laughing. It’s the most wonderful and most stressful time of the year and now it’s over.

You might be asking what did I get from jolly ‘ol Nick. Actually, I got one of the best presents ever.

An ice cube maker. We use it excessively. Great present, if you’re looking for someone next year.

In my last email, I left off on how to up your referrals. In particular, I mentioned that you don’t need to ask for referrals for one reason:

A referral should be a natural process. If someone has pain. And you know someone who can stop the pain. About 30% of people will make that connection. That’s a referral.

And, if that happens, you’ll have the name of the person, an identified issues and a transfer of trust (from the person making the referral).

Now, I know plenty of people don’t get these or get enough. Sometimes they get an introduction (a name). Or, sometimes they get positive buzz (“I was talking highly of you to my friend, they may reach out”).. Those are good and all, but not as good as a warm blooded referral.

So, how do we get more of these?

Here’s the truth:

People like to refer to people to people they like.

You probably know this. But, it’s a bit worse.

Even if people like you. They may not even think about you.

Take this sceario:

You’re at a Christmas party and you start talking about inflation that leads to taxes that leads to investments.

“Who knew that 2023 was going to be one of the best years in the stock market. People thought it was going to be all doom and gloom and then the US was up 25% this year. You just never know.”

“My investments weren’t up 25% this year. I was down.”

This is an interesting discussion. It can go one of two ways.

1. The first person starts to talk positively about their Advisor who made this happen. And, then makes a referral to their Advisor.

2. Then end up talking about football and how Joe Flacco (JOE FLACCO) is back and might even win the Superbowl this year. Imagine, Joe Flacco might have to play his own Baltimore Ravens in the Conference Final. You can’t make this stuff up. JOE FLACCO!?! And, then no referral is made, because we could talk about Joe Flacco forever.

As fun as option #2 is, how do we make sure we get option #1 from our clients and COIs.

First off, you have to be likeable. But, I’m just going to assume that you are already the most popular person in the room anyways.

That’s not enough. Nice guys finish last and all that stuff. Being likeable is good, but it’s table stakes. It’s the fork and knife. You have to have it, but it ain’t going to be what gets you the steak (or veggie burger. I know I’m getting hatemail now).

How do we make sure that not only are we liked, but the minute that conversation happens that your name/face/likeness pops into your client and/or COIs head so that they think of you?

The answer to this in my opinion is that you need to be top of mind.

You need to do things that keep you in the mind of your client & COI all the time.

Write these words down: Be memorable & meaningful.

You need to do 3 things:

1. Make it about them

2. Must be authentic to you

3. Must keep you top of mind

I’ll give you a few examples.

• Taking a client or COI out for a coffee and not talking about yourself. Keep the conversation focused on them, their life, their interests and not what you want to talk about. You’ll get information you never knew you needed. Maybe they are a fan of the Detroit Lions (poor souls), they like authentic hot sauce and they enjoy Sudoku. These are all relatively innocuous pieces of information. But, if you wanted to stay top of mind with this person, you’d sent text messages about the Lions and their wins or brutal losses. Or, ask them for hints on how to complete a Sudoku or whatever. The point is to be authentic. Don’t do things that aren’t you, but be about them.

• Here’s another one, maybe you run a client appreciation event each year. You make sure you invite this COI and their spouse, kids or whoever. Or maybe there is a networking event that is of interest and you buy a few tickets and make sure you invite them as your guest.

• How about the 3-hour lunch/supper. You invite 5-6 COIs in different areas to a 3 hour supper (in which they can all pay their own bills, so that they want to be there and it’s not a free supper, gets rid of the free loaders that way). You invite them because you say, “I want you to come and I’m inviting 5 other people who I think would be beneficial for you to meet them. I think you’ll love getting to know each other”. After the lunch, you send everyone’s contact info to each of them so they can connect 1-on-1 to continue some of the conversations they had. You’ll be the connector and the glue that makes it happen.

• You write handwritten birthday & anniversary cards on their special days. Maybe you make a personalized video instead. Up to you.

The list could go on. The point here isn’t to do a “one and done”. It’s to put someone on a path. If you’ve identified a COI as a possible referral source you need to identify 10-12 touch points per year that will be:

Memorable & Meaningful to them. Ones that will keep them thinking about you and stay consistent with it. Very much like a prospecting plan, this is a referral plan.

And, when they come across someone who is in need of your services (investment advice, insurance, etc). You are going to come top of mind immediately. They know you, they like you and they have a personal connection with you.

To start, create a list of all your clients and COIs who have referred you business in the last 3 years.

Put together a plan of touchpoints that are meaningful and memorable. Put it on a calendar, so it’s a must do.

Anyone who sends you a referral, you send them back a handwritten card thanking them within 2 business days of the referral (regardless if they become a client).

Rinse and repeat throughout 2024.

If you need help with any of this, you know where I am.

All the best to you,

Andrew