Get Referrals Faster in New Relationships

by Bill Cates

May 20, 2020

Getting referrals faster in new relationships is all about providing immediate value.

There are many ways to provide value in a brand-new relationship. Sometimes, just setting the appointment brings great value. You know this has happened when your new prospects say, “Thank you for speaking with us today. We’ve wanted to talk to someone about our situation and just didn’t know who to turn to until Bob and Donna recommended you.”

Here to There

A great way to bring value quickly is through a Here-to-There Conversation – inspired by a colleague of mine, Bill Whitley.

This often-profound conversation consists of four main stages:

Here – What is your prospect’s current situation? Where are their various buckets of money? What insurance do they have in place – either through their employer or on their own?

Some people are crystal clear about this and proud to show you. Others are clueless and need guidance.
There – What do they want their financial situation to look like in the future? This could be their retirement or their legacy to their family and others. You can establish more than one timeline that you deem relevant to their context.

Just like their “Here,” some of your prospects will have done the work and their answers will be clear. Others – most – will not have done this important work.

Prefer to watch or listen? Check out the video below.

Challenges – Your prospect may foresee some challenges entering the picture between their “here” and “there.” You, as well, will be aware of challenges they may confront as they move along the path of life. Anticipating and addressing these challenges becomes part of the plan you develop with your clients.
Opportunities – As with potential challenges, both you and your prospect will be able to foresee opportunities as they move from “here” to “there.” The opportunities will also become part of the plan you develop with them.

This 15 to 20-minute conversation brings a ton of value very quickly. I have seen many advisors get referrals without even asking – just by providing the value through this very quick conversation that gets people thinking in ways they haven’t thought before.

You can do a short version of this conversation over the phone with a prospect that may be enough to get them interested in meeting with you further – to go deeper into these four areas.

When your prospects and clients talk about you, they will probably say, “She put me through this process of four questions that I found extremely helpful. Ask her to do the same for you.”