Network like a pro
Financial advisors need to ask themselves 'where are the holes in my own network?' You need clients, but what you also need are people you can contact for advice, or services, or help with a project.
-Jeanne Hurlbert, owner of Optinet, a network building consultancy that works with financial advisors
The advisors with a bulging Rolodex of truly useful contacts know that networking is the start of a two-way relationship. "Financial Advisors need to view their network as a large social structure that adds value in both directions," says Hurlbert. "They need to ask themselves 'where are the holes in my own network?' You need clients, but what you also need are people you can contact for advice, or services, or help with a project."
Those relationships are more meaningful because they are reciprocal. Your participation adds value to your contacts, and vice versa, which sustains and strengthens it. The business referrals that come through those robust networks are stronger, more likely to trust and buy than a long list of names gathered at a network event. Networking is a commitment rather than an event. Manage your own expectations about the practice, but practice. Give more than you get. The returns, while not immediate, will build and sustain you for the life of your career.
-Jeanne Hurlbert, owner of Optinet, a network building consultancy that works with financial advisors, in Networking for People Who Hate Networking
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