Category: Convert Prospects into Clients (Sales)

What Schwab’s 2026 RIA Benchmarking Study Reveals About Relevance, Referrals, Transformation, and Creating Advocates  By Bill Cates, CSP, CPAE  [Author’s Note:  While Schwab’s RIA Benchmarking Study is based on reporting from RIAs, the concepts, strategies,…

Asking for referrals can feel awkward, especially when you don’t want to look like “That creepy referral guy!” If asking for referrals feels awkward, the problem may simply be that you’re asking at the wrong…

Don’t Tell Clients Your Value. Help Them Hear Themselves Say It. Here’s what’s happening when clients put the value you are providing into their own words. For years, I’ve been teaching financial professionals the importance…

In this digital age of skepticism, social proof is one of the fastest ways to build trust, even before a prospect meets you. Most prospects don’t have the technical expertise to assess investment strategies, tax…

Information Is Everywhere. Interpretation Is Scarce. Financial Advisors Must Become Financial Interpreters For years, financial advisors viewed other advisors as their primary competition. Today, that is changing. Your next competitor may be a YouTube personality,…

Money can expand. You can always make more money – for your clients and yourself. But not time!  You simply can’t make more time. Here’s the irony… As advisors,  we optimize portfolios… and we often…

Today’s blog is a “Sneak Preview” into my upcoming WEBINAR:Unsolicited Referrals: Creating Effective AdvocatesWednesday, April 22 – 1:00pm Eastern Many financial advisors will tell you they want to meet their ideal clients through referrals. After all, who doesn’t…

If you’re relying on clients to make direct introductions, you’re probably leaving some referrals on the table. Many of your clients want to advocate for you.  They just need a softer way. And that usually…

There’s a growing drumbeat from some “marketing experts” telling financial advisors to skip their why story.  They SAY that your clients don’t care about your story. I think that advice is incomplete – and it…

Are you ready to tip-off a little Referral Marketing fun that coincides with college basketball’s March Madness?

Here are the ideas. Keep reading to get the details.

Foul #1 – Missing the super high-percentage shots

Foul #2 – Not following through

Foul #3 – Not having a strategy for breaking down the defense

Foul #4 – Not making enough assists

Foul #5 – Not valuing your cheerleaders enough