Foster Relationships with Attorneys
It's important to establish relationships with fellow professionals who see different people than we do.
--Russell Achzet
Referrals are essential to building a financial planning practice--and not just referrals from current clients. Attorneys can play a valuable role as referral sources for planners seeking to increase their opportunities to acquire high-net-worth clients. In many cases, the connection among attorney, planner, and the client they share is philanthropy. The challenge is that high-net-worth individuals usually surround themselves with a protective wall of trusted advisers who serve as gatekeepers to their time and privacy. If a financial planner is not already part of this tight inner circle of advisers, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to penetrate the wall and reach the high-net-worth individual through a frontal assault. So rather than attempt to circumvent these in-place advisers, it's often more successful for the planner to approach these attorneys and CPAs, who are usually more accessible, and demonstrate the value-added services that they are able to provide.
"There is great value to creating relationships with attorneys as a way to generate referrals," says Russell Achzet, CFP, president, and CEO of AM&M Financial Services in Pittsford, N.Y. He says attorney referrals contribute 20% of his firm's total revenue. "It's important to establish relationships with fellow professionals who see different people than we do," he continues. "Attorneys' clients tend to come to them fairly early in the estate planning process. Attorneys who then bring us in early allow us to contribute our expertise in the extremely important early planning stages. That benefits the client."
-Russell Achzet, CFP, president, and CEO of AM&M Financial Services in Pittsford, N.Y., in Your Friend the Lawyer
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