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Life Health > Running Your Business

How to get referrals from CPAs: 6 components of value

By Staff Writer

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Producer Brandon Stuerke of Golden Financial Group in Lake Ozark, Mo., built his successful practice solely through referrals, primarily by partnering with CPAs. You can read the full Producer Profile about Stuerke by clicking here, and read on to learn his six components of value proposition that help him attract potential CPA partners.

1 & 2: Monthly client newsletters and weekly e-mails: For the CPAs who aren’t doing newsletters and e-mails, Stuerke’s firm will write and customize them for the accountants and include a second article under the headline, “A note from our partners in planning.”

“That begins to co-brand us among the CPA’s base of clients,” Stuerke said. “So every week, every month, those clients are getting something of value from the CPA, and it’s got our firm and our information in there.”

3: Online Web linking: Stuerke explains to the accountant about the importance of having a quality website and having clients find the CPAs online.

“We explain to them that if we chose them as a partner, we would put a link on our website, not just to their website, but to a full-page bio about them, under our ‘approved strategic partners’ page,” Stuerke said. “It shows them that we’ve done a good job building our online reputation and people will be able to find the CPA through our site.”

4: Joint appreciation events: Stuerke’s firm hosts appreciation events for its clients and offers the opportunity for the CPA and his or her clients to attend the event as well.

“The CPA will introduce us to their clients, and we explain to them why we chose them as partners, along with the need for team planning,” Stuerke said. “By explaining to them about the team concept, it gets them in the mindset that we are an extension of their CPA’s firm.”

5: Joint education events: Stuerke will run traditional educational workshops, but instead of sending out 10,000 direct mail pieces, he will send out 250 invitations to a CPA’s clients and get 100 to 110 people there who are already trusting prospects.

“The client will come in saying, ‘My CPA trusts you and I’ve worked with him for 15 years, so if you’re the one he says I need to work with, here’s my account,’” Stuerke explained. “It’s such an easy sell at this point, since you don’t have to overcome the trust hurdle, and it gives you a huge base of people who are never going to come to a direct mail seminar or call because you sent a flier in the mail.”

6: Complimentary tax preparation: Stuerke’s agency also offers to pay for the tax returns of any clients of the CPA who are referred to Golden Financial.

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