6 Ways to Make a Friend a Prospect

Slideshow August 21, 2023 at 02:31 PM Share & Print

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Friends can be great clients, but bringing up the subject can be awkward.

As an advisor in New York once observed, “They may want to do business for a long time, but the thing they haven’t figured out is why they need you.”

A good strategy is not to directly ask for business, but, instead, to offer help.

Asking if you can help is a low-key way to turn a friend into a prospect and, possibly, eventually, a client.

For a look at six ways to do that, see the gallery above.

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Bryce Sanders

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1. The friend with the sick family member.

When friends are ill, their routines change. Often friends lose touch because they don't see each other in the regular places. They can feel abandoned or neglected.

This is a good time to keep in touch, by sending cards or flowers. Call and ask if you can help by doing chores or sitting with the sick family member, so that your friends can have some free time.

The Logic

People remember who stood by them when they were going through a difficult period.

Regardless of how the situation works out, you will be top of mind in a favorable way.

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2. The friend who lost a spouse.

I recall a scene in the TV series Taxi where Danny DeVito became a stockbroker and called a widow whose name he found in the obituaries, asking her about investing the life insurance proceeds.

He said, "OK, I'll call you after the service." That is not what you are doing! That is what you want to avoid.

Your friend knows you are a financial professional. Let them know that you respect their privacy, but that, if they have any financial questions and they do not know where to get answers, they can call you. You will try to help.

The Logic

They will remember who stepped up to offer assistance, but they will also remember who did not step up.

If you stay in the background out of respect for their privacy, they may see it as neglecting the opportunity to help them.

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3. The friend who got laid off.

Maybe it was called early retirement. They might be at an age where getting another job can be difficult. You know there is potential business from the rollover of their retirement plan assets.

Ignore the obvious for just a moment. Get together with them. Let them talk.

Approach this situation as a close friend who wants to help them take the next step along their career journey. Give them hope.

Think about the contacts you have in your social and business circles. Can you help make the connections for at least some informational interviews?

The Logic

Getting another job is their top priority. They will see someone wanting to talk about the rollover at this moment as being predatory.

Be the person who helps them. Be part of the solution.

When they get their next job, they will remember who helped them. They will likely call you to initiate the retirement plan rollover.

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4. The friend with the obvious need.

There are many ways you can help people. Friends might know that you are an insurance agent but not that you can help people in other areas.

If you cannot do business directly, you might be able to refer them to someone who can help.

Recognize that the friend has a need.

You may have helped someone in a similar situation before.

If it is outside your range of products, it's not the first time you have seen this problem. Let them know you are available if they need help.

The Logic

They may not have thought of you as a solution provider because they didn't understand the range of your capabilities.

If it's outside your area of expertise, they feel you can connect them with someone who's willing to help, not simply get a sale.

Credit: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock/Adobe Stock

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5. The friend who complains about their financial professional.

They might not be getting the attention they feel they deserve.

They might be investing on their own, not liking the results and getting little or no support from their provider.

They may be unwilling to admit they made a mistake.

This is an opportunity to establish yourself as the alternative.

The Logic

When things are not going right, they want someone they can trust, someone who can "help fix things."

They should be willing to sit down and talk, although you need them to take the next step and make the call.

Credit: lmillian/Adobe Stock

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6. The friends whose financial professional quit or retired.

They had a good relationship with a trusted advisor. Unfortunately, the advisor isn't in the picture anymore. The account has been reassigned.

Your friends do not know the new advisor.

Establish yourself as the alternative. Your friends would be important clients to you.

The Logic

Your friends would not leave their longtime advisor, but now their advisor has left them.

Your friends are faced with three choices: Work with the advisor the firm suggests as a replacement; find a new one on their own; or work with you, someone they know and trust.

Option 3 looks pretty good.

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