Life Insurance in Canada

Client referrals have always formed the backbone of any successful
financial planners strategy. A good method for referral generating can
save you large amounts of money that would otherwise spent for
advertising. There are proven strategies, sometimes specific, sometimes
borrowed from other professions which will guarantee better results,
and I’ll share some of them in this guide.

Remember to help - A large part of success is due
to being sincere and honest. Focus on helping your clients, give them
meaningful information, assist in creating bonds between them and
getting them extra exposure.

Keep the referrer in the loop - You should look at
your client relationships as lifetime partnerships. Keep in touch, know
what are they doing at the present moment and keep them informed with
your own undertakings as well. Make sure you always have a reason for
contacting them, such as an advice or a recently acquired contact that
they can benefit from. This way you’ll keep yourself in the picture and
pave the way for getting a constant stream of referrals from many
sources.

Ask the referrer to contact your prospect first -
You’re much more likely to succeed if your prospect knows that you’ll
be calling. This is not easy to achieve, as it involves active
participation on the client’s side. A good way to break the ice in
these situations is to ask for sending an e-mail or text message
instead - electronic correspondence isn’t hardwired in people’s psyche
as much as phone calls, and seems like much less effort in comparison -
which it is.

Always carry a pen - You’ll notice many
opportunities for new contacts through your daily business and personal
life. Always have a pen and paper ready, and you’ll gain valuable
leads. This practise alone is one of the biggest time savers and can
lead to surprisingly rich outcomes.

Give meaningful, non-monetary gifts to be remembered
- combine your promotion efforts with a referral generating strategy -
give out personalized gifts such as pens, mugs, mouse pads etc. to your
clients which will keep your name in front of them daily. Go one step
further and personalise these - keep track of birthdays, anniversaries
and notable events in your clients life. A warm and sincere
congratulation engraved on these small gift can do wonders to the
relationship, and it’s a smart way get yourself remembered.

Tell success stories - Your clients need to know
that their help is going to be meaningful and will lead to a win-win
situation for everyone involved. Voice your latest efforts and how they
helped others. A subtle way of getting these messages through is via a
newsletter or a recent client related success story on your website.

Remind the benefits - How does your client benefit
from doing business with you? Make sure your clients will be able to
answer this question to themselves in a matter of thought. Remind them
about all the positives of your relationship, such as bringing up the
topic of recent happenings with someone who you introduced them to or
other related success.

Set up alliances with other professionals - Strive
to become a one stop shop for your clients and have contact information
ready for introducting other professionals. You’ll see that many of
your clients will be looking for lawyers, mortgage specialists, real
estate agents or other business owners whose work is largely based on
referrals. Set up these alliances early and you’ll gain a huge stream
of new contacts on a regular, day-to-day basis - you’d be a fool to
pass such an opportunity.

Hold Client Appreciation Events - It’s a good way
to introduce your clients to each other and create new business
opportunities for them. Your best shot is to make the event pleasant,
fun and constructive in character. If you can, bring a top-name speaker
who will be addressing a memorable and useful topic. At the gathering,
be the life of the party and give all your attention to your guests.

If you want more, take a look at my Toronto life insurance blog