Manage Relationships with COIs Effectively

2

Agenda

• Define your process for developing relationships with referral sources

• Identify specific referral sources to pursue

• Prepare effectively for meetings with referral sources

• Conduct a prospect presentation with a new referral source

• Create a shared client service model with your best COIs

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Define Your Process For Working With Referral Sources

Add the name of the referral source to your COI Tracking report

Send a "nice to meet you” email with marketing brochure

Call to schedule an introduction/preliminary meeting

Prepare for the introductory meeting

Conduct the preliminary (introduction) meeting

Determine if a reciprocal relationship makes sense

Send follow-up communication capturing meeting highlights and identifying next steps

Schedule regular meetings to stay in touch

4

Define Your Process For Working With Referral Sources

5

Identify Specific Referral Sources To Pursue

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Identify Specific Referral Sources To Pursue

Are there disciplines where you need to find additional contacts?

• Tax planning/tax completion

• Estate planning/legal

• Financial planning (if that is not a service you provide)

• Risk management (life, property and casualty insurance)

• Human Resource directors

• Small business owners (they can be referrals for your clients and potentially become clients themselves)

• Real estate agents and mortgage brokers

• Architects

• Interior designers

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Identify Specific Referral Sources To Pursue

If you do need additional names, determine where you can meet those contacts. Think outside the box to consider people who work in venues that would be considered non-traditional in terms of referral sources.

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Prepare For Your First Meeting With A Referral Source

Create an agenda in advance

Do your research: recent news, background, industry/position, volunteer activities

Be able to define your ideal client and describe your services

Listen for your COI’s goals, priorities, ideal client, and services

Define next steps together

Follow up as agreed

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Conduct A Prospect Presentation

Let your new COI experience how you conduct meetings with prospects

They can articulate your process to their referrals

They can offer better feedback

Have them audit your complete process, from appointment setting through follow-up

Feedback from a vested peer can make your presentation and process more effective

Offer to go through a similar process for the COI

10

Create Strategic Partnerships

Create a shared client service model

that defines the client experience

as your two firms work together

on behalf of the client.

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Pre-work

Advisor and strategic partner answer these questions:

What makes you different?

What do you want to call out in describing what you do?

What do you want others to say when they describe what you do?

What are your key messages?

Stories and examples of the kinds of clients you enjoy working with

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Typical Agenda For Working Sessions

• Define the ideal end state: what will a successful outcome look like for all parties?

• What’s in it for the advisory firm? The strategic partner? The client?

• Define your client service model: The advisory firm and the strategic partner will each define their own client service model and create a Year in the Life (YITL) diagram

• Create a shared client service model and YITL diagram

• Share the messaging and stories you want the other party to use in describing you

• Define the pipeline (identify targets, communicate the message, make the introduction)

• Coordinate processes

THE BEST QUESTION YOU CAN ASK:

“How would you describe what it is that we do?”

Questions?