Find Out Where the Clients Are
The individuals referred to you by accountants and attorneys are much more likely to end up working with you than those referred to you by clients. --John Bowen Jr.
To find more of those elusive clients, start by looking at how affluent individuals find their advisers. CEG Worldwide Senior Managing Principal Russ Alan Prince conducted a survey of more than 1,400 wealthy clients, each with between $500,000 and $5 million in liquid assets. The study found that more than half of those surveyed--54.2%--found their primary financial adviser through a referral from an accountant or attorney. Referrals from other clients ranked second, at 30.1%. All other sources, such as mentions in the press, direct mail or cold calls were relatively insignificant. The study reinforces what our experience has shown us: While client referrals are certainly a worthwhile source of qualified prospects, your major focus should be on cultivating referrals from other professional advisers, in particular, accountants and attorneys.
The reason for this is simple. While clients may be quite willing to provide you with referrals, the fact remains that any one client will know relatively few qualified prospects. In contrast, accountants and attorneys who work with the wealthy tend to have relationships with many affluent individuals. And because accountants and attorneys generally have a clear picture of their clients' financial situations, they are in a position to know both when an individual is qualified for your services (in terms of investable assets or net worth) and when he or she needs your services. This is information that your clients, by and large, will not have about the friends and colleagues that they could potentially refer.
-John Bowen Jr. is founder and chief executive officer of CEG Worldwide, in Where the Clients Are
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