plus: 19 sources, how to stage a referral event, and what networking isn’t.
by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library
the biggest source of new business is a firm’s existing client base, both in the form of expanded services and referrals to others. it’s estimated that 60 percent of a firm’s revenue growth comes from this area.
more: does your firm recognize all its skills? | protect and grow existing clients | the 4 marketing disciplines | 15 powerful niche marketing practices | 19 takeaways from the history of cpa firm practice development | why you have to kill the old paradigms | are you ready for the great disruption?
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this is no time to lose touch with your referral sources. and, even though in-person meetings may be difficult, everyone, it seems, is becoming more comfortable with online events like video conference calls and webinars.
after clients, the next biggest opportunity for growth is referral sources such as:
- attorneys
- bankers
- investment advisors
- insurance agents
- consultants
some firms claim that referral sources are their biggest source of business. every firm is different.
the main ways cpas find referral sources
- make it your business to meet your clients’ lawyers, bankers, and other important advisors
- network
- participate in referral events (more later)
the difference between meeting a referral source and really meeting a referral source
one of my favorite axioms is that everything in life is a matter of degree. here’s a simple example: there are two high school students, both in the same class taking the same course. one studies a half hour for a test and gets a b. the other studies an hour and gets an a. if you ask whether they studied for the test, both will say “yes.” but the degree to which one of the students truly studied dwarfs the other, explaining the wildly different results they achieved.
this “matter of degree” principle applies to all business development activities, including the nurturing of referral sources. here are two examples:
- while you are at your client’s office one day, the company’s attorney stops by and is introduced to you by the president. that takes a few seconds, perhaps a minute, and it’s over. did you “meet” the attorney? i would say no; you merely were introduced to the person. if neither of you makes an effort, you may never see each other again.
so how do you really meet the attorney? by asking for the attorney’s business card and inviting him or her to breakfast or lunch to form a relationship.
- while at a rotary meeting, you are introduced to a banker who is sitting at your table. did you “meet” the banker or did you merely make the person’s acquaintance? again, you were merely introduced. to truly meet the banker and position yourself to benefit from the connection, you need to nurture your relationship and get to know one another better.
tips for nurturing referral sources
choose your referral sources wisely. focus your limited time (there’s that word “time” again) for business development on referral sources that are most likely to refer your business. if you identify a referral source that you like and the two of you really hit it off, but there is zero chance of getting business from the person, be my guest; meet as much as you want. but don’t tell anyone in your firm that you are contributing to the firm’s growth by nurturing referral sources.
track referrals. some people find this a tad devious. this simply means that (a) when someone sends you a prospect, try to reciprocate, (b) when you send someone a prospect, expect the person to reciprocate and (c) when referrals seem to go only one way, move on to other sources. tracking referrals is not devious, it’s simply good business.
forge a win-win relationship. when you meet with a referral source, be sure to make it a win-win: (a) ask the referral sources how you can help them and (b) tell the referral sources how they can help you.
stay in touch. don’t expect that convening only one meeting with a high-potential referral source will make that person remember you eternally. stay in touch. keep the relationship alive.
make a lasting impression with referral sources: the referral event
this section excerpts the article “making an impression with your referral sources: a new approach,” which appeared in the november-december 2002 issue of cch’s tax practice management. it features a case study of the referral “event,” a unique best practice developed by the growth partnership.
one of the great challenges of marketing a cpa firm is differentiating it from the competition. this is especially true when attempting to make a lasting impression with your referral sources.
many firms convene informal “meet and greet” events with referral sources, say, a law firm. does the following sound familiar?
you’ve enjoyed the company of lawyers visiting your offices, eaten too many hors d’oeuvres to call yourself hungry and enjoyed a glass of wine or two. you check your phone. it’s just 7:30 p.m. it was a short evening. you wonder if any of the attorneys you spoke to tonight will remember you, what you are best at, or even where he or she put your business card. and what’s worse, you’re not sure you can recall any details about the whirlwind evening either – just a few discussions about how your favorite sports teams are doing this year or the weather. was it worth it? how likely is it that anyone will follow up? not likely because the event made no lasting impression.
if you’re going to convene a referral event, it makes sense to do it in a way that achieves goals:
- sharing firm philosophies
- introducing key members of your firm
- identifying specialties of key professionals
- highlighting distinct capabilities of your firm
- differentiating your firm from other cpa firms
- leaving members of the referral source firm with a lasting impression
here is how to stage a referral event:
- invite multiple people from the referral source. ideally, 10-20. this not only maximizes your firm’s exposure but fits nicely with the way the event is structured.
- manage the duration of the event. target 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. most likely, you will have a lot to say and not enough time to say it. but recognize that your guests will want to get home to their families.
- begin the event with a short five-minute introduction by your managing partner, welcoming the referral source personnel, giving them background on the firm and explaining the process of the event. serve them a drink.
- break things up. identify several (not all) of the unique service areas of your firm, ideally those that align with the referral source’s interests. for example, you may want to select four in all, perhaps business valuation, pass-through tax entities, and services for niches such as construction or real estate. if there are four stations and say, 20 rs personnel, break them down into four groups of five people each. the four rs groups will then rotate from one station to another. each station should be in a separate room or area of your firm.
- keep the presentations interesting. no doubt you’ve been to traditional referral events. all the referral source personnel are in one conference room and several of your firm’s personnel are droning on and on about your firm. it all takes place after hours, so most of the people your firm is trying to impress just want to go home. breaking the presentations down by stations and having the rs personnel physically move from station to station perks things up and keeps the event interesting.
- keep it short. at each station, a member of your firm makes a presentation lasting no more than five minutes. questions at the end are good but try to stay on schedule. give a member of each referral source group a timer to hold presenters to the time limit.
- rehearse. that’s right, practice makes perfect. before the event, invite your staff to a mock run-through so that your presenters can polish their spiel, including staying within the prescribed time frame.
an added benefit of the rehearsal is that when the staff attend the rehearsal, this gives the firm the opportunity to educate them about what the firm does. it also shows the staff that the firm is active in business development.
- pictures are worth a thousand words. each station should have posters that outline the basic points the speakers cover, providing an additional path to convey the messages. many people absorb information better visually than orally. see the sample valuation services poster above.
- conclude the event by gathering all rs personnel in the main room, where a nice spread of refreshments awaits them. the managing partner makes a few brief comments, thanks them for attending and invites them to ask questions. the mp also apologizes for focusing on your firm all evening and offers them a reciprocal opportunity at their convenience. finally, the leadership of the referral source firm is invited to say a few words.
- focus on content that matters. the structure of the event does not permit enough time to fall into comfortable trivialities about the weather or current events. instead, the focus is almost entirely on the places where the two businesses converge and how they can work together in the future.
- follow up. a week after the event, attach copies of the posters to an email thanking each referral source attendee for coming. this gives the attendees a nice refresher on what your firm is capable of and once again establishes an important point of contact.
- follow up some more. after the event, the firm should ask each of its people if there are any referral source attendees with whom they would like to maintain contact. each staffer should generate a periodic report of all followup activities with the referral source firm.
- how many events? that, of course, is up to you, perhaps influenced by the size of your firm. at a minimum, convene an event once a quarter, with the possible exception of the tax season.
some may see this event as somewhat unconventional, but an unconventional approach is often the best way to get noticed.
networking
networking is possibly the oldest way of prospecting for new clients, but it can still be very effective.
here are some definitions of networking we have seen for years:
- creating a group of acquaintances and keeping the relationships active through regular communication for mutual benefit. networking is based on the question “how can i help?” and not “what can i get?” (businessdictionary.com)
- the process of developing and using your contacts to increase your business, enhance your knowledge, expand your sphere of influence or serve your community (entrepreneur.com)
- attending events and meeting people who may be interested in your services (source unknown)
what networking is not:
- schmoozing and boozing, with little specific intention except to be seen and socialize
- handing out and collecting business cards as the main way to form relationships
- talking about the cubs or a great movie you just saw
- spending the bulk of your time at a networking event with buddies from your own firm
a unique take on the networking mindset
malcolm gladwell is an award-winning journalist, author, and speaker. he has been with the new yorker since 1996. previously, he was with the washington post. his books and articles often deal with the unexpected implications of research sociology and psychology in the everyday world. he wrote three seminal books: “the tipping point,” “blink” and “outliers.”
in “tipping point,” gladwell devotes a major section to what we would call networking. he says: “the success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.” these “connectors” are the people in a community who know large numbers of people and who are in the habit of making introductions. they usually know people across a wide array of circles.” gladwell characterizes these individuals as having social networks of over 100 people. he attributes the success of connectors to “their ability to span many different worlds … through a combination of curiosity, self-confidence, sociability, and energy.”
cautions gladwell: “if your idea isn’t sticky, you may not be successful. the stickiness factor is the quality that compels people to pay close, sustained attention to a concept or idea. if your message is bad, self-serving or boring, it will never reach the masses. ask yourself: is your idea memorable enough to make people take action?”
sources for networking
- present clients
- former clients
- colleagues you worked with at former firms
- friends, neighbors, and relatives
- friends from high school and college
- chambers of commerce
- churches and synagogues
- charities
- civic organizations
- politics (but be careful)
- bankers you know
- lawyers you know
- consultants you know
- professional organizations
- seminars and conferences
- parents you meet at youth sports
- school boards
- trade organizations
- service clubs such as rotary and lions
networking tips
spend your time wisely. you have a limited amount of time to devote to business development. use it sensibly.
- avoid networking at groups that are unlikely to generate opportunities. i once talked to a cpa about what he did to bring in business. he said he networks with artists. i politely but firmly suggested that he could certainly continue these activities if he enjoys them, but networking with “starving artists” would probably not generate the kind of clients a cpa firm desires.
- where possible, focus your networking on very specific groups of prospects, ideally in the same niches and specialties you are in.
tap into people’s narcissism. understand one of the basic laws of human nature: people love talking about themselves. when you talk to people, get them to do 80 percent or so of the talking and limit yourself to 20 percent. (there’s that pareto principle again!) remember that the word listen has the same letters as the word silent.
practice, practice, practice. polish your spiel that explains what you do. remember malcolm gladwell’s point about the stickiness of your ideas. make sure that what you say is memorable; avoid the humdrum.
aim for 100. take a page from gladwell’s “tipping point:” he suggests that the magic number for the size of your network should be 100. that’s a good number to get to eventually. but to get to 100, you must start somewhere: 10, 20, 40, etc. as you get older and meet more people, and you cultivate your networking sources, getting to several dozen or even 100 networking sources should be doable, but you “gotta wanna.”
be a connector. introduce people to others. here’s a classic tactic: you have been talking with someone at a networking event for five minutes or more and you are ready to move on to someone else. scan the event for someone you can introduce to the person you are talking to, thereby making it easier to move on.
don’t hang out with your buddies. when colleagues from your firm accompany you to a networking event, avoid them like the plague. you’re not there to spend time with your friends. focus on prospects and referral sources.
follow up. understand that your networking activity should never stop at simply meeting someone at a networking event. your primary goal is to meet someone well enough so that you can contact them in the next day or so and arrange a follow-up meeting. “i would like to get to know you better and hear more about your company.” follow up. follow up. follow up.