Here are 5 common reasons why clients don’t want to provide advisors with referrals and how StockOpter can help.
- They don’t value your services: This can occur when you simply “tell” clients they should diversify their equity compensation portfolio instead of providing” them with a framework for making timely and profitable decisions. The StockOpter.com platform enables advisors to deliver valuable assistance via illustrative reports, what-if dashboards, educational videos and monitoring alerts.
- They don’t understand what you do: Financial advisors generally provide a wide variety of services which can create complexity with regard to referrals. Consequently, it is easier for clients to provide referrals for a particular service (i.e. employee stock option analysis) rather than for all the services you can deliver.
- They don’t know you are looking for new clients: The time to ask for a referral is “after” you’ve completed delivering a specific service particularly if the client is delighted with the information. Ask them, “Is there anyone you know that would appreciate this type of assistance with their company stock and option grants?” This is a direct but subtle reminder that you are looking for new clients.
- They don’t know how to make introductions: You need to make it easy for clients to introduce you, so give them some compelling information that they can share with their colleagues. This can be either a sample StockOpter Report or the 5 Things You Need to Know About Your Options flyer.
- They are uncomfortable: Asking a client for referrals can make them uncomfortable for a multitude of reasons so you need to make them extremely comfortable with the services you provide. Equity compensation portfolio reviews should be conducted either quarterly or semiannually to address change. Each session increases the client’s comfort level and provides an opportunity to gather additional referrals.
Referrals are one of the best ways to grow an advisory practice so please share your thoughts on this.