Blog Post #14 THE PRIMARY REFERRAL SCRIPTS

THE PRIMARY REFERRAL SCRIPTS

This is what the Mastermind Groups are all based on.  It’s these specific referral points that each professional is held accountable for in the meetings. So, very simply, we insure that the right professional is referred at the right time in the right sequence

 JB:  In the end, all the partners contribute and are responsible for the group’s success.  It’s sort of a balancing act that makes sense for the client. 

 One of the things in the group that everyone should understand is that there are certain Core7 professionals who have stronger and more frequent opportunities to make a referral.  This is something that must be accepted by everyone in the group.  It’s just the nature of the business, right?  The amount of referrals between the Core7 are not going to be tit for tat.  So give us an example of what we mean by that.

 MM:  Yeah, Justin that’s a great point and we should definitely make sure we address that.  Let me give you an example.  The Mortgage Originator will receive a lot more referrals from the Realtor then the other way around.  The Real Estate Attorney will give less referrals than Financial Advisor will.  If the Realtor and the Financial Advisor receive one or two referrals a year from the Mortgage Originator and the Real Estate Attorney, that would be pretty good.

 As long as the activities are happening at the right time, that’s what’s important, because it is going to produce a positive result.  The reason for this is the Attorney and the Mortgage Officer, although they are extremely important to the system, they are just less likely to be in position to refer certain professionals because of the position in the process.  This can sometimes be frustrating, but it’s a fact and just natural for the business.  

 JB:  The Financial Advisor, they are just seen as more of an Advisory role, right?

 MM:  Right.  Absolutely.  I mean the Financial Advisor and the Accountant; they have a better opportunity to refer all members of the Core7 simply because they are perceived more relational whereas people come to them looking for advice.  The other professionals, like the Mortgage Originator and the Realtor, they are sought out to do a specific transaction. 

JB:  Alright, so let’s get into this. How do referral targets work?

 MM:  Well, each Core7 professional has what we call a primary and a secondary referral target.  The primary targets are the specific referrals that should happen on every client transaction, every single time and each professional should be held accountable for.

 The secondary targets, they happen frequently, but more in the natural flow of a specific professional’s process. 

 It’s the primary referral targets that we focus on and manage in the Core7 Mastermind Meetings. 

 JB:  So really, the primary targets every single time by every single Core7 member, right?  And the secondary, like you said, they happen naturally, but that’s not really the focus. They come up when it makes sense. 

 MM:  Correct.  There are many referral opportunities that happen without even trying or even executing the system.  Let me give you an example of what I mean by that.  The Financial Advisor and the Accountant can easily refer a Mortgage Originator many times as refinancing opportunities present themselves.  Now, these referrals are great.  I receive a ton of referrals from those professionals, but the Core7 System and the Mastermind Group Meetings don’t enforce the secondary targets as closely as the primary targets.

 The secondary referrals happen more organically.  They just happen naturally in the regular flow of the business.  

 JB:  The system itself is developed around these primary targets and that’s where the real accountability is. 

 MM:  Absolutely.  That’s where the focus and the tracking is.

 JB:  So, are there any points where you don’t want the professional to make a referral?

 MM:  Well, you know, as we said earlier, there are certain referrals that could possibly be made, but we actually don’t want to focus on them because they would be out of sequence.  They are better served coming from a more appropriate professional.  Let me give you an example of that. 

 Many Real Estate Attorneys try to refer their clients at the Closing to an Estate Planning Attorney.  This is because Attorney to Attorney referrals are very common in the law field.  However, although it can happen frequently, the Real Estate Attorney is really not the ideal person to be making this referral for the client.

 The Financial Advisor is really the one who should be making the referral to the Estate Planner because it makes sense to know the types of assets someone has and what their financial goals are before an Estate Plan is created.

 JB:  There is a saying; “There are a lot of great Estate Plans with no assets in them”. The Financial Advisor is the logical first step and should be the contact that refers to the Estate Planning Attorney.  It just makes sense that way for the client’s sake. 

 Alright, let’s walk through the steps for each professional to show the primary targets and review the details involving the timing and scripting of the cross-sell referral.  Makes sense?  Then after that, we can get into the secondary referral targets as well, just in a little less detail.