An effective approach for introductions without awkwardness
Advisors, what's your approach for getting introductions from your favorite clients?
Do you straight up ask them? Do you perhaps print a list of their LinkedIn connections and guide them through it like a photo line up? (That's one I was taught...didn't work for me).
I know it's a struggle for a lot of insurance advisors trying to build their business. It's uncomfortable and awkward, it can feel like an imposition, it can feel like we might jeopardize the relationship. But, in reality those things are inside of us, if we are providing the client with value then they should want to introduce us to potential clients.
But, I get it, I felt all of those things too. So, I've come up with a simple strategy that makes asking for introductions, less photo-lineup and more client appreciation and experience interview. It sounds so simple, a client interview! You may be thinking, "I do client interviews the first time we meet." Yes, I'm sure you do your fact-finding but I guarantee 90% of your questions are about their financial and business domain, focused on the numbers, in essence understanding their balance sheet not their life balance. So, you get insights like who their CPA is, where they bank, maybe the cars they own but from my experience it rarely goes deeper than those types of questions.
I also know from experience, a lot of advisors are fearful of losing the client by asking too many questions, so really the goal of the first meeting is to get and provide just enough information to get to the next meeting. But, what I'm proposing comes later in the relationship, once that prospect goes through the process and becomes a client, do you ever go back and really get to know them? If not, you're missing out on so many things that can help your business excel. Not only positive client experiences but an influx of potential clients that match your A-team best clients!
Doing a proper client interview will lead to having personality, habit, relational, professional and network information about your best clients. That is a game-changer because now you can build a marketing profile using that info that will mirror your A-team clients. Plus, you'll also be able to create a relationship web to understand your client's network and where you connect to it. In most CRM's there are ways to create those relational hierarchies to see how all your A-team clients fit into it too.
Imagine knowing that all your top clients have an intertwined network that could lead to a lot more introductions when approached properly, that's a dream, but you wouldn't know it unless you have the information.
So, last point, not only are you building stronger relationships with your best clients, you're getting information about how to make their experience way more powerful and you're getting insight into their business, their connections, their network, who their influencers are, their mentors and more!
This is what I help advisors do at AMP and is only part of my AMP Framework™ process. If this post made you think, "hmm, should I be doing that??"
Yes, obviously, and I can help guide you to implement an interview process like this. I’ve developed resources for this that guide the clients to be open and gives you actionable insights. Reach out if you want to learn more.