Blog Post #20 FINANCIAL ADVISOR PRIMARY REFERRAL TARGETS

FINANCIAL ADVISOR PRIMARY REFERRAL TARGETS

Alright, now let’s do the Financial Advisor.  I know it’s a little redundant to the others, but go ahead.

MM:  Yeah.  In my opinion, the Financial Advisor has the ability to give the most referrals of any of the Core7 professionals.  The uniqueness of the Financial Advisor, the Accountant and the Estate Planning Attorney is that people come to them asking for direction. They are basically saying, “Tell me what to do”.  Whereas with the other professionals, there is usually a specific transaction that needs to take place. 

The Financial Advisor also, in my opinion, is the quarterback of the person’s financial plan.  I always joke and say ‘They’re not the coach, but they’re the quarterback.’  They need to be involved in every decision that the client makes.  They are kind of keeping the full financial plan together. 

JB:  Yeah, I agree.  I think the Financial Advisor is the professional able to refer the most professionals, the other members of Core7, at one time.  They’re designing the life plan ultimately. 

With all the opportunities they have, who are the actual primary targets for the Financial Advisor?

MM:  The primary targets for the Financial Advisor are the Estate Planning Attorney and the Real Estate Agent. 

You know the Financial Advisor making the referral to the Estate Planning Attorney is very clear and easy to understand.  Everyone needs Estate Planning.  At a minimum, a simple will, health care proxy and a durable power of attorney.  As their estate grows with future real estate purchases, investments, they’ll need the Estate Planning Attorney’s services not just once but for always making these adjustments as their life changes. 

JB:  Yeah, it’s a thing that a lot of people tend to put aside that they need to constantly be updating these policies and plans as their lives do changes and it’s an ongoing process. 

MM:  It’s definitely not a one-time event. 

So, this is an easy handoff for the Financial Advisor, but it has to be managed to be sure it is happening in each and every client discussion.  There is no client who should not speak to an Estate Planning Attorney right after they put their financial plan together. 

JB:  Right, well why create a plan if you are not going to protect it?

Alright Mark; let’s talk about the other primary target for the Financial Advisor. 

 MM:  The other primary target for the Financial Advisor is the Realtor. I want to make sure we focus on this because there are multiple opportunities. 

As we discussed earlier, when figuring out a client’s net worth, the property value always needs to be discussed.  It leads right to “How is your relationship your Real Estate Agent who specializes in Equity Assessments?”  It’s something that can come up very easily. 

Just like a retirement account, property values can change very frequently.  An equity assessment of all of a client’s properties are necessary, I think at least once a year.

JB:  For sure. One of the things Core7 teaches its Financial Advisor members is to calculate a client’s net worth at every client review.  We go over our top advisor’s process in the Financial Professionals Module. 

MM:  Yeah, I agree.  It’s extremely important.  Financial Advisors are always discussing clients’ goals and many of them have to do with real estate.  There are so many opportunities to make the introduction to your Realtor partner by simply asking a very simple question at every client meeting that we mentioned earlier, “What are your 2-10 year goals involving real estate?”

This question will lead to many opportunities for…

JB:  Let me guess….the Referral Generator.

MM:  Exactly, exactly.  So, whatever a client’s goals are, it creates the opportunity to ask the Referral Generator.  As we said earlier, if their goals are investment properties – “How is your relationship with your Real Estate Agent who specializes in investment property?”

If it’s second homes – “How is your relationship with your Real Estate Agent who specializes in second homes?”

One I like is if they are thinking of moving one day, let’s say they are moving to Boston – “How is your relationship with your Real Estate Agent who specializes in properties in Boston?”

You know, even if they are downsizing, if you have a client who is downsizing to a condo – “How is your relationship with your Real Estate Agent who specializes in downsizing?”

JB:  There really is no reason the Financial Advisor shouldn’t be able to do this every single time and be very successful with the Referral Generator.  Some Financial Advisors meet with 10-20 new and old clients a week.  They just need to make sure they are asking these questions.

MM:  Yeah. This is how our Core7 Realtor was able to add so many people to their database.   

FINANCIAL ADVISOR SECONDARY REFERRAL TARGETS

JB:  Yeah, now the secondary targets are frequently there for the Financial Advisor.  There’s tons of them.

MM:  Right, and that’s actually the only slight hurdle is the fact that there is so much opportunity for the Financial Advisor that they actually have to be more disciplined than the others to stay focused on cross-selling their primary referral targets. 

JB:  Yeah, that makes sense.  You know you are in a position to refer and refer and refer, but you could actually be doing the client a disservice or doing your partners in Core7 a disservice. The key is to stay focused on primary targets with every client. 

Give us some examples of these secondary targets.

MM:  Well, number one, there’s always tax questions that the Accountant will be needed to be brought in for.  That’s self-explanatory. 

Again, there’s always protection needs against lawsuits.  They need the Property & Casualty Insurance Agent to look at Umbrella Policies to protect that. 

There are always refinance opportunities where the Mortgage Originator is needed.  There is a fantastic opportunity for the Mortgage Originator and for the Financial Advisor that I think is overlooked.  Every single time that cash flow is free up for a client, there is an opportunity to re-position this money for investment.  If a client lowers their monthly payment by refinancing, they can increase their monthly dollar cost averaging by the amount they are saving. 

With the Core7 System, this is systematic and can really make a difference for your clients because as we know, incremental investment can grow to a small fortune over time. 

JB:  Yeah, I think you are absolutely right.  More Financial Advisors should try to get every client to their Loan Officer because it presents an opportunity to free up cash flow. 

MM:  Yes, it is an enormous opportunity, and really easy to implement.  You know at every refinance closing, I let my Financial Advisor partner know that it’s time to discuss capitalizing on the savings with their client. 

FINANCIAL ADVISOR ACCOUNTABILITY QUESTIONS

JB:  Alright, let’s move on to the questions at the Mastermind Group. What are those?

MM:  Great.  The main points for the Financial Advisor that you want to make sure are focused on at the Mastermind Meeting are:

1. How many clients did they speak with this month?
2. How did the Referral Generator Cross-Sell to the Estate Planning Attorney go?
3. How did the Equity Assessment Cross-Sell to the Real Estate Agent go?
4. How many active client reviews did you do?
5. Were they all introduced to the Estate Planning Attorney?
6. How did the Equity Assessment Cross-Sell to your Realtor partner go when Net Worth was discussed?
7. What other referrals were made?

JB:  And again, all this is tracked on the Tracking Grid.  Who’s next?  Who is the next professional?