My Promise to Referring Financial Professionals
I follow a basic covenant with anyone sent to us by a financial professional:
If a client referred to us needs some service or product, I refer the client back to the original referring financial professional for that service or product. I will never switch the client to some other financial professional unless the referrer has proved to be incompetent.
This principle has an extension I also follow via accurate database records I maintain:
If a client referred to us ever refers another client who needs some service or product, I refer that new client back to the referring financial professional for that service or product, even though the referring financial professional never had met that new client.
In some cases the client referred does not require additional services or products from a financial professional. In that case I may merely do a wonderful job for the client you referred, and that reflects wonderfully on you, the referrer. In many other cases the client needs something you have to offer, and that business comes back to you. In other cases, the client likes what I have done and refers other people to us. Any new client referred by someone originally sent to us, who needs services or products offered by the original financial professional, is referred back to the original financial advisor who made the referral to us.
These promises I make are not only good business, they are also morally correct.
What Happens When A Referral Is Made To Us?
Approximately 95% of my prospective clients are referrals. I offer a free initial consultation to potential clients, most of whom are referred to us by friends, family members, and financial professionals. The initial consultation costs the potential client nothing but some time and may result in significant benefits to the potential client. I prefer to have the referring financial professional attend the initial consultation with the prospect, if at all possible.
How about a Client or Prospect Who Has Previously Done Estate Planning?
Many successful people have already done some basic business or Estate Planning, or already have one or more lawyers with whom they work.
What I offer these clients, at your request, is a valuable review of what they have done, and what, if anything, they could do to develop plans for better results, or better protection of their own assets, or better protection of assets for people they love. This is typically a complimentary review before I actually meet with your client. You would send me their existing documents, and I would send the review back to you so you may present it to your client. If you client is then interested, I would meet with you and your client for an additional consultation.
How Much Wealth Should Be Involved Before a Referral Is Made to Us?
No case is too small to work with. Everyone that you think needs some planning done and documentation in place is a candidate for a referral. This includes a young couple that had a child and acquired their first life insurance policy. The mere designation of a beneficiary of a life insurance policy involves planning for whomever would receive the policy proceeds, and they certainly need a will so they may name a guardian for their child.
But there is another reason why no case is too small. If I do a wonderful job in a small case, the client will like us and like the referrer I worked with. That client will refer others such as parents, grandparents, friends, and business colleagues to us. In many cases I end up doing planning for multiple generations of a family. In those cases, the original referrer also ends up working with these additional clients. I also see my relationship with the client as on-going, and even a client with only small needs now may have larger needs in the future.
How Much Do I Charge Clients Referred to Us?
This is the big question you will always be asked by anyone you choose to refer to us. Your answer has to be "I don't know." The best answer goes beyond that, however, and could be something like the following:
"I don't know what cost might be involved later, but at the very worst you get a free initial consultation from someone who does this type of planning for many families. You have nothing to lose but your time, and you may get some valuable ideas. I think it's a no lose proposition for you.”
What you do need to know is that I use a systems approach to information gathering, plan design, document preparation, and implementation. This approach allows my fees to properly reflect the value the client receives. The fee in each case is different from the fee in any other case, because no two cases are identical. Even where the same type of plan and the same type of documentation may be needed, the fee differs from case to case because the fee in each case reflects special customization of the plan and its documentation, and differing levels of work required for plan implementation, and differing levels of responsibility assumed based on the size of the estate.
What Is The Best Way To Make A Referral?
In all cases just phone my office and provide some basic information to my paralegal, Angel Marshall. This information is your name, address, and phone number so you can go into my database. I also need the name or names of the client or clients referred, and their address and phone number.
• You should call Angel to schedule the client meeting.
• Instead of telling the client to call us, it is much better for you to make the call for them while you are meeting with them, and they will appreciate your help.
• You are more than welcome to attend the client initial consultation meeting and I strongly encourage you to do so. I will send a confirming letter to the client and to you. Some financial professionals find it helpful to bring clients to the meeting with us. This simple act helps to cement your own good relationship with the client, and also keeps you involved in the planning.
• The initial consultation meeting can be held at my office, or at your offices, or at any other mutually convenient location.
• Expect the initial consultation meeting to take from one to three hours.
• This is a no-pressure meeting, in a relaxed atmosphere. It is fun for us, for the client, and for you.
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