Today, with your indulgence, I’d like to take a shot at a traditional piece of wisdom in this industry, one that we cling to as a way to explain why we don’t get more referrals. Traditional wisdom suggests that the reason we aren’t getting more new clients from referrals is because clients aren’t making 'introductions'.  It’s simple, it’s logical and it’s hard to prove, all of which makes it compelling.

Referral Activity Today

Let’s start with a quick (mildly disheartening) recap on referral activity. This data is based on input, gathered just last month, from 1,000 investors who participated in our most recent investor research. It validates what we have seen in previous years.

• We know that clients think they are referring. Thirty-three percent of clients said they provided a referral in the last 12 months and that's been consistent for several years.
• We know you don’t meet most of those referrals. Most advisors report they receive actual referrals from between 3 and 5 percent of clients.

From Referrals to Introductions

The gap between the number of clients who are referred and those you actually meet leads many to a logical conclusion.  We don’t need more referrals; we need more introductions.  Logic suggests that if clients make more introductions, we'll have an opportunity to communicate our value and move the conversation forward. The data absolutely supports the idea that most referrals aren’t introductions.  In fact, only 17% of clients who referred said that they made an actual introduction.  The majority provided some information and left it with the prospect to take action.

Now if the conversion rate for referrals was good, this might be a very different post.  But the fact is that this data only describes a process that isn’t working very well.

From Introduction to Connection

Just to be clear, I think introductions are better than passive referrals.  However, I’d suggest that moving from referral to introduction take us from good to better, but not to best.  Best is defined by finding a way to make a real connection with the prospect so that he or she wants to take action.[Tweet "We need to move beyond referrals and beyond introductions to connections."]Imagine you’re thinking about getting a new accountant.  A colleague shares that he’s happy with his accountant and gives you his or her name.  You’ve forgotten the name by the time you get back to your office.  Imagine, instead, that the same colleague sent an email to both you and the accountant and made the introduction.  The referral won’t fall through the cracks now (at least not if the accountant is on the ball) but you still know nothing about the accountant.  There is no connection and connection drives action. What if, instead of receiving a name, that same prospective client had immediate access to information that added value and created a personal connection?  What if we could do that while making it easy for client to refer?  The reality is that if we want to change the objective from introductions to connections, we need to change the tactics.

Make It Easy to Refer

When it comes to referrals, we expect a lot from clients.  We want them to tell their friends about us and we want them to make an introduction and we hope they'll effectively communicate our value. Sounds complicated. What if we narrowed the focus and gave clients one simple thing to do to make a referral? The one thing you ask (and reinforce again and again) is that they share a link to a single page on your site that was designed exclusively for their friends and family – Referral Welcome Page.  If the client comes across anyone who might need an advisor or whom you could otherwise help, he or she has a singular thought – send that link.

The Referral Welcome Page

The link goes to a hidden page on your site that you’ve created exclusively for referrals.  (In case that’s not clear, I mean a page that is connected to your site but can’t be accessed via your main site without knowing the URL.  It might look like this entirely fake URL: www.yourcompany.com/referral_welcome)At the top of the page you see something like this:

_______________________________________

You’re here because someone thought we could help you.  I’m so honored; there’s no greater demonstration of trust. I may or may not be the right advisor for you but I’d love to find out.  This page will give you an overview of the how we work with clients and the impact we have on their lives.  I’ve also included some resources on some of the most common challenges my clients are facing. I would love the opportunity to connect and talk further about if and how we can help you achieve your goals.

_______________________________________

On that page a prospect would find the following:

• A one sentence description of what you do and for whom.
• A link to a two-minute video of you talking about the impact you have made on your client’s lives
• Two or three links to interesting articles on specific challenges (this isn’t the place for a retirement calculator!)
• A form that invites them to stay in touch and receive other articles or to download a report or checklist on a topic that helps them understand or overcome a specific challenge (this isn’t the place for a technical whitepaper!)

Why a Hidden Referral Welcome Page?

You could argue that anyone could look at your site and find all of this information.  The research shows that we don’t always make it easy for people to understand what we can do for them, however this approach has several distinct benefits.

1. It allows you to roll out the red carpet for someone who was referred and reinforce why they are there. It feels personalized to their experience of finding you.
2. It makes it easy by putting all the relevant information on one page. In general, we make people work too hard.
3. It's highly focused, providing only the information needed to get to the next step, which is a meeting now or in the future.

More Tactics That Drive Connections

There are, of course, others ways to drive connections.  Ironically, some of those little used tactics have a better chance of success than simply providing a name.

1. Run a targeted client event and allow clients to bring a friend or colleague.
2. Create shareable content that deals with real issues and challenges. Think about the top three challenges your clients face (or ask them) and write three articles that address those issues.  These articles don’t need to be published, simply available to read and share on your site.

Think of it this way. A referral is like telling someone the name of your company.  An introduction is like giving them directions to your office.  A connection is like inviting them in to get to know you.

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Thanks for stopping by,

Julie