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Life Health > Life Insurance

How to read your clients' minds for the best referrals

By Seth Greene

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“I can’t believe you did this!”

“How did you know?”

“This is one of the most thoughtful things anyone has ever done for me!”

These are actual client responses generated as a result of my company’s client survey, segmentation and gifting program.

Even more important than the raving fans it generates, this program fuels referrals and the business that comes with them. In fact, “A” level clients who go through the program tend to refer four times as many “A” level prospects as compared to clients who haven’t experienced it.

So how does it work?

First you have to send your “A” level clients a multi-step, multi-page direct mail survey.

Yes, it has to be direct mail. My team’s research indicates that nobody fills it out online surveys.

It also has to be multiple pages. Trust me, they will fill it out.

Yes, it also should have multiple steps; they don’t always fill it out the first week you send it.

Yes, there has to be a relevant, ethical bribe that they want and will use to incentivize them to fill it out.

No, it can’t be about their money. That’s one of the secrets to making it work so well.

It has to be about their life — their hobbies, the books they read, the magazines they read, the food they eat, and so on.

Once you have the results, you can segment and appreciate your clients to make them love you more and refer like crazy.

How do you segment? Let’s say you find out that out of 300 clients, you have 40 who are avid golfers. The idea is to invite them to an exclusive golf event, which they can attend if they bring along a guest. That’s 40 warm introductions right there. Then you follow up with a proven warm and fuzzy drip marketing campaign (via direct mail) to those 40 golfers, and turn a lot of them into clients (because their advisor isn’t doing anything like this).

Related: Did your prospect open that email?

Wine lovers rarely drink alone. When your wine-loving clients cracks open a gifted bottle, they are going to talk with friends about the thoughtful financial advisor who gave them that bottle. (Photo: iStock)Wine lovers rarely drink alone. When your wine-loving clients cracks open a gifted bottle, they are going to talk with friends about the thoughtful financial advisor who gave them that bottle. (Photo: iStock)

Perhaps you discover that 20 clients really like wine. You could invite them to a wine tasting, but they have to bring another couple they drink wine with to your event.

What about gifting? The worst thing you can do if your client has a birthday is nothing. Next best thing is call them and say, “Happy Birthday.” Next best thing is send them a card and call them. Number three would be send them a gift card to Starbucks or wherever, and then call them. Some advisors send a branded box of chocolates. All these ideas are better than doing nothing on a client’s birthday.

But what you could really blow them away with is a strategic gifting program. Let’s say it’s Mrs. Jones’ birthday, which I know because of the survey she filled out. She drinks red wine, likes dark chocolate and loves John Travolta. What do I do? As a top producer what do you do? You send a gift basket with a bottle of red wine, bags of dark chocolate, glasses, a DVD from Grease, her favorite movie even though she already owns it, and six tickets to his latest movie. Why do you send six? Why not two? Two would be cheaper. Because if you send two movie tickets then she’s going to take her husband and that’s it.

Nothing else happens. If you sent six movie tickets, they are not going to go to three movies by themselves. They are going to go to one movie and bring two other couples, and they are going to say, “Hey, my financial advisor sent me movie tickets for my birthday. Come over we’ll have wine and chocolate before we go. Then we’ll go to the movie.” Mr. and Mrs. Jones will tell their friends where the gift basket came from, and those people will start thinking: “Hey, how come my financial advisor didn’t do that?”

Whenever you give client gifts that have to be consumed by more than two people, you’ll get phone calls.

Seth Greene is CEO of Market Domination, a company that offers a no-obligation, no-pressure 30 minute strategy sessions.

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