How? The Process
Having a repeatable process with simple, templated steps will make it more likely that you stick to your commitments and remember to ask for introductions at every opportunity.
1.Preparation
- Identify introduction meetings
- Send pre-meeting communications
- Prepare "memory prompts"
- Create meeting agendas
2. Conversation
- Apply the template
3. Follow-Up: Connect with New Contacts
- Nominate introduction
- Connect with contact
- Track progress
- Thank nominator
📄 FR Guide: Introductions Playbook
Having enough of the right people to see is the key to a sustainable practice. However, at some point early in their career, most new advisors start to run out of new contacts. This playbook will give you guidance on how to keep a continual stream of new contacts coming to your practice.
ACTION: 📄 Download and read.
📄 Asking for Introductions
Use this fillable conversation template to develop your personal approach for the Introductions conversation.
ACTION: 📄 Download and read
📄 Introductions Tracker
A spreadsheet like this helps you keep tabs on each potential contact and make sure that they don’t fall through the cracks during the follow-up process. You can also use a spreadsheet like this to periodically review your progress with introductions, and to see what nominators and types of meetings have been most productive.
ACTION: 📄Download and read
Applying What You Have Learned
Time to put what you’ve learned to use and start reaching out to set appointments, gather introductions and conduct market interviews.
Reach out to contacts from your natural market and set 10 appointments for Philosophy Meetings/Open Talks. Document activities and track results.
Reach out to contacts from your natural market and set 10 meetings to gather introductions. Document activities and track results.
- Attorneys (law firms are ideal… think of partners as owners)
- Auto dealers, repair shops, maintenance (e.g. Jiffy Lube franchise owners)
- Building owners – commercial, strip malls, office buildings
- Chiropractors
- Construction companies
- Contractors
- Dentists
- Hotel/motel owners
- Manufacturers
- Nurses - many are independent contractors
- Optometrists
- Orthodontists
- Ophthalmologists
- Physical therapists
- Physicians (independents and various specialties who typically own specialist clinics)
- Real estate agents
- Residents (recent medical graduates learning a specialty)
- Restaurant owners / high end boutiques to small, regional chains
- Retail store owners (those who own multiple stores)
- Veterinarians
Immerse Yourself in an Industry to Attract Prospects
The most effective way to attract a steady stream of prospects is to specialize in something, to become known for our unique expertise. Specialists in any profession or industry are never short of prospective clients - the only limiting factor is time to look after them. You too can gain access to a steady stream of optimal prospects; becoming a financial specialist is the easiest way to get there.
Specialization gives you access to prospects and referrals who are primed to take advantage of your services or products right now. It is your specialty upon which you must build a branding strategy to create demand for your services. The article below outlines some of the more common methods advisors can deploy if they wish to gain easy access to a steady stream of future customers.
Targeted LinkedIn Message Examples
If Dentists were your target market, you'd develop custom messages to capture their immediate attention. You’d adjust your message based on the most common and relevant topics that likely preoccupy your targeted group of dentists. Let’s look at several possibilities.
Messaging Brand New Dentists- Dr. {Last Name}:I advise dentists fresh out of dental school on important financial strategies, including minimizing the cost of student loans, planning for their first independent practice, and a variety of tax-efficient risk mitigation strategies. Interested in learning more?
Messaging Growth-Oriented Dentists- I collaborate with growth-oriented dentists who wish to expand their practice by hiring associate dental practitioners. It’s a tight labor market! I offer a unique tax-efficient program that attracts, retains, and rewards associate dentists who commit to working with you for at least 10 years.
Messaging Dentists Approaching Retirement- I collaborate with dentists to maximize the value of their practice during their working years. When they are ready to retire, I assist them in transferring their practice to a successor. We convert the value of their practice into a secure, tax-efficient, lifetime retirement income stream.
FMG Suite Persona Marketing Dashboard
- Personalized email and social tools, including customizable/automated social media posts and newsletters.
- Comprehensive email and social metrics (email templates include: Appointment Reminder, First Meeting Checklist, Following Up After an Appointment, Ask for Referrals, and more!)
- Event invitations, registration tools and tracking analytics.
- Automated Birthday/Holiday newsletters, Market Update newsletters, Video of the Month and more.