All successful and experienced attorneys and accountants have referred clients to financial advisors at one time or another. They have done so because they realize that at some point, they have had clients who have needed financial advisory recommendations.
So why should having a strategic partnership with attorneys and accountants be important to you?
It is important because successful and experienced attorneys and accountants, work with affluent clients, and some of those clients will need financial advisory recommendations. When this happens, you want to be the first person that that attorney or accountant thinks of when he/she refers their client to a financial advisor.
What is the easiest way to create strategic partnerships? It’s by leveraging your client relationships to connect with those professionals that they do business with!
The 7-Step C.O.I. Connection System
The following is a brief overview of the seven steps to creating a successful Center Of Influence Campaign:
Step 1: List Your Top Clients
The goal is to create a connection with your top client's accountant and attorney. To do that, you must first identify who your top client are and list them on The C.O.I. Campaign Tracker.
Step 2: List Your Top Clients Accountant & Attorney
This step is designed to help you identify if you already know your top client's accountant and/or attorney. You many have never have heard your clients discuss them before, so you write their name on The C.O.I. Campaign Tracker.
Step 3: The C.O.I. Dialogue
This step is designed to help you know what to say to get an introduction to your top client’s connections. You will find a copy of this dialogue on the following pages. Practice the dialogue and even have it in front of you when speaking with your client.
Step 4: The Client & C.O.I. Appointment
This step is designed to help the financial advisor make a connection with the client and C.O.I. during a lunch meeting. The way to do this is to do the following:
- Ask how the C.O.I. and the client met.
- Get the C.O.I.’s backstory.
- Find out how the C.O.I. runs their business- (their specialty, target market, etc.)
- Find out how you-(the advisor) can help with the mutual client.
- Find out what the client would want from both of you.
- Finish the lunch meeting by thanking the C.O.I. and getting their contact information.
Step 5: The Follow-Up Call
This step is designed to continue the connection with the C.O.I. after the lunch meeting. The following day, call the C.O.I. to thank them again for meeting. Next, ask them if they would be interested in scheduling a meeting for you to learn more about their business.
Step 6: The Second Meeting with C.O.I.
This step is designed to make a better connection by understanding their business and for you to give them a second opinion on their portfolio. The way to do this is to do the following:
- Find out all about them.
- Show them an example of a financial plan that your mutual client received.
- Ask if they are interested in getting a second opinion on their portfolio.
- If they don’t agree, keep them on a quarterly email/call campaign.
- If they do agree, get their statements and set another appointment.
- Finish the lunch meeting by thanking the C.O.I. and getting their contact information.
Step 7: Turning the C.O.I. into a Client
This step is designed to turn the C.O.I into a client during your recommendation meeting. Prepare for the meeting by practicing the Psychology of Closing 2nd Appointment as well as filling out a Question Path Exercise. Once you close the C.O.I., treat them like they are an A+ client. Once this happens, be sure to ask for referrals!
Why the C.O.I. Campaign Works
The C.O.I. Campaign is the exact campaign that one of my clients used to close six CPA.s over the course of a year. Each of these was a direct result of being introduced to them by his top clients. However, his goal was to duplicate this campaign once a month with one new C.O.I. and over the course of the year, he turned half of them into clients. The following year, he reported that the majority of his new clients were a direct result of getting referrals from these six new CPA clients!
When you use this strategy, which I explain in greater detail in The Advisor Solutions Podcast Episode #80 “Creating an Effective C.O.I. Campaign”, you will find that the reason why the C.O.I. campaign works is because you are leveraging your client relationships to meet those that they trust. Once you show the C.O.I.s your value, they will trust you to be their advisor. Finally, once you prove yourself to them, you can leverage their client relationships by getting referrals.
