Building Strategic Referral Partnerships: A Guide for Financial Advisors
We were recently at an industry conference, and at one of the marketing roundtable sessions, one question dominated the discussion at our table: How do we win more referral business from centers of influence?
Understandable.
A warm relationship with a CPA can be worth its weight in gold when it comes to referrals. It’s one of the best ways to accelerate trust with a prospect. They know and trust the expertise of their current vendor, and that person recommended you.
Our table's challenge was that they were having a hard time reaching the point of asking for–and winning–business from potential referral COIs.
At Evergreen, we run a playbook for our clients to create and capitalize on this strategy. Today, we’re sharing it with you. Keep reading to see how we initiate, warm, and execute a growth-driving COI strategy.
Why COI’s Are Incredible Strategic Partners
Before you say, “Duh,” we wanted to mention one thing about how COIs can massively improve your marketing strategy.
Rule #1 of marketing is to correctly target your ideal client.
Don’t just post and pray. Once you know who your ideal client is, you need to identify where your ideal client is. This is where COIs come in. They are like magnets for a certain client, and we pick and choose COIs based on who they attract. A few examples:
CPA’s who specialize in complex cases
Exit planners who serve business owners
Professional development coaches serving executives
High school guidance counselors (college planning!)
Therapists
Each of these people has their own established network and trust. If you know who they work with, you can identify communities of your ideal client, accessible through one key gatekeeper.
One disclaimer: We’re NOT in the business of being manipulative or schemey. Be sincere. Add value. Build real relationships.
How to Initiate and Nurture COI Relationships
Once you have identified a handful of COIs you’d like to share more business with, initiate the relationship gradually and naturally. For our clients, this can look like anything from connecting (and engaging) on social media to asking a mutual contact for an introduction. Win the relationship, not the pitch.
Now, it takes a high degree of trust for someone to pass you referral business. They care about their clients, and your service then reflects their own reputation. If someone’s not eager to send you referrals, that’s not a bad thing.
The way we encourage our clients to approach the big ask (referrals) is to start with a small ask. We want to create a sense of partnership that is mutually valuable and low-risk. In our experience, the best way to do that is through a joint marketing effort like a webinar or white paper.
Example: Engaging CPAs for Webinars
Here's an example: propose hosting a fourth-quarter tax webinar with CPAs. (Not in April, they have not time…) The 4th quarter usually focuses on key decisions to make the most of year-end tax conversations. It also highlights the value of collaboration between an advisor and a CPA.
Consider sending an invitation: "We're hosting a digital event and would value your insights on tax planning for our audience."
This approach often appeals to growth-minded professionals, especially those lagging in their marketing efforts. It offers them an opportunity to gain visibility with minimal effort. They are in it for the same reason you are.
The Power of Joint Marketing with COI’s
You get a couple of key benefits by co-hosting or co-creating a resource.
First, you get access to each other’s audiences! When the COI markets the joint event or resource, they engage their audience of clients, mailing lists, and social media audiences with your face and brand. By itself, this is a huge win! It’s a digital endorsement that introduces you to their community.
The second benefit is that co-hosting creates a partnership moment. They get a taste of your value as a strategic partner, which creates a small bit of momentum in the direction of long term partnership.
In our experience, it only takes 1-2 joint events for referrals to start naturally passing your way.
Building Your COI Strategy
To end on a practical note, this strategy is so effective because many businesses lack a strong marketing strategy. Providing a hosted, plug-and-play opportunity meets a need they struggle to reach.
But by the same token, so do many advisors. We implement these kinds of strategies on a regular basis with our advisors. We give you the strategy and platform to invite potential COIs to collaborate. Our team manages the setup, handles promotion, provides resources, and ensures a beneficial experience for both parties. All that’s required from you is the invitation.
If you’d like to learn more about our approach to webinars and lead magnets, you can check out our approach to campaigns here.
