Pareto Platform is pleased to announce that we are teaming up with Microsoft to create a best of breed Client Relationship Management (CRM) system for the wealth management sector.

“This new solution will be a game changer,” said Duncan MacPherson, Co-CEO of Pareto Platform. “By integrating our full suite of actionable practice management and business development solutions within the Microsoft Dynamics CRM we will have the most all encompassing, functional, stable and secure dashboard available to financial advisors.”

The Pareto Platform development team is working together with Microsoft to introduce the first phase of this new solution in March. Current subscribers of the Pareto Platform can choose to either continue with their existing system or consider upgrading.

“An advisor striving to take his or her business to the next level in terms of efficiency, productivity and client satisfaction will find this solution to be indispensible,” said David Miller, Co-CEO of Pareto Platform. “Our current platform subscribers who choose to upgrade to this new Microsoft based solution will receive full transitional support from our service team.”

Look for updates as we approach the launch this spring!

PUBLISHED: February 3, 2010

The trend by ISVs to come up with new XRM product releases based on Microsoft Dynamics CRM continues to expand. Here are two new examples.

FRM Solutions is a new software application developed to meet franchisors’ business needs for franchise sales, marketing and advertising, real estate and store development, franchisee administration, and compliance tracking.

Built on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform, FRM Solutions is a complete franchise relationship management application that can be customized based on the specific needs of each franchisor, according to Paul Marnell, Managing Partner, FRM Solutions. FRM Solutions was founded by Red Clay Consulting, which has completed 60 to 70 successful CRM deployments over the past 10 years, he said.

“We started to find ourselves developing a small list of clients that were franchises so we decided to develop a vertical-specific solution build in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Sharepoint specifically for franchises,” he said.

The company took this approach for two reasons, he noted.

“Almost 12 months to the day the mantra at Microsoft’s Convergence Conference in New Orleans was XRM and for partners to take vertical approaches to Dynamics CRM and become vertical experts,” he said. “So we took that advice to heart and began developing this solution.”

Additionally, Marnell said because the company is located in Atlanta, Georgia, a major metropolitan area, it wasn’t the only Microsoft partner in town, nor did it have a large marketing budget to target everyone nationally.

“So that made our decision to target a specific vertical market even easier because we have a tight market to sell to and easy access to that market (the franchises),” he said. “And we decided we needed a new brand company to support the XRM solution so we could showcase our industry expertise. We called the company FRM soltuions, which is a pretty clear play on the CRM term.”

R “Ray” Wang, a partner at analyst firm Altimeter Group said although there have been specialized applications like partner relationship management products from large vendors like Oracle and Salesforce, these microvertical applications like the one from FRM Solutions are applications that vendors have been custom building in the past.

“There is an extension of looking at relationship management. You can stick anything in front of the X, so vendor, supplier, stakeholder, even employees. These are all areas that are natural extensions for the types of technology that are being provided,” Wang said. “What Microsoft is doing is realizing that because of its business model and because its partners do a lot of the selling and outreach to the customers and they build and develop on top of that, they’re starting to see [these vertical solutions] popping up. Wealth management, legal matters and citizen management are [vertical markets] popping up under this broader category of XRM. So definitely these are things that are going to emerge as people take advantage of the relationship aspects of these tools.”

A second recent introduction comes from Canadian firm, Pareto Systems, which is a vendor that’s teaming up with Microsoft to create a client relationship management system for the wealth management sector, set to be rolled out in March.

Duncan MacPherson, Pareto’s Co-CEO, said by integrating its platform within the Microsoft Dynamics CRM it will be able to offer financial advisors an all-encompassing, functional, stable and secure dashboard.

“We looked at it this way, if Microsoft Dynamics CRM is the Camry why don’t we use that as the chassis, add in all of our functionality and turn the Camry into a Lexus,” he said. “And that’s what we’re in the process of doing.

Julie Yack, leader of the XRM Virtual User Group and COO of Colorado Technology Consultants Inc. said the trend of ISVs building on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform to offer specialized XRM solutions for vertical markets is one that will continue.

“That’s what I’m seeing because the time to market from concept to implementation with XRM is so much faster because so much of the foundation is already in place for you,” she said. “So you just have to take the components that you need, customize them to what you need and you’re good to go. It’s really fast. And when people are crunched for money as they seem to be these days, time to market is a huge, huge benefit.”

Yack added, “I know a couple instances that my firm is working on of broad-reaching XRM-type applications where they’ll be selling the subscription service, which will include CRM plus the XRM component.”

Article from http://msdynamicsworld.com

By Duncan MacPherson

Since September 2008, we’ve been on the phone constantly helping advisers adapt to these new market conditions. Many of them are somewhat shocked when we mention the concept of referrals. Most tell us that they feel that when things are so uncertain, it’s the worst time to get a referral. That to me is a self-fulfilling prophesy. And while working with existing clients is an ongoing task regardless of market conditions, I’m here to tell you-a good financial adviser is at his or her highest level of refer-ability right now.

Never before have money and all things related to the markets been more topical and never before have the friends and family members of your best clients been more open to listening to your clients brag about you than right now. Why? Because of the degree of doubt your clients’ friends have for their current advisers. This chaotic period has shattered the trust many people have for their financial advisers.
The Best Use of Your Time?

The question is: How can you take action so that you can tap into that reality? There are countless business development activities that you could be doing; the key is what should you be doing? In other words, what is the best use of your time?

Contrary to the old cliché, time is not money. Time is more valuable than money. If you think about the 80/20 rule, 80 percent of your productivity stems from about 20 percent of your activity. You make about 80 percent of your income every day in about an hour of focused effort. What goes into that hour?

This is what separates the best from the rest-the best don’t major in minor things. They focus on what matters most. They know that this is not the time to dabble or experiment on things that either aren’t proven or are difficult to quantify. Furthermore, they focus on client-driven activities that are multi-dimensional in terms of competitor-proofing, uncovering new assets and opportunities from existing relationships, and stimulating referrals.
Make the Calls

Do not be misled by the simplicity of this concept. There are far more esoteric and laborious activities out there, but this is an essential first and ongoing step. You have to launch, at the very least, a consistent, 60-day, proactive call rotation to your clients.

Simply take your client base-let’s say it is 300 clients-and divide it by 60. Take away weekends and holidays, and it means you are contacting five to seven clients a day through a 60-day cycle.

Perhaps you will narrow your focus and reach out only to the 20 percent of your clients who generate 80 percent of your business. You live by the rules you set. It’s up to you, but you have to do it. And then you do it again, and then again.

Aristotle said it best, “Excellence is a habit, not an act. We are what we repeatedly do.” This has to be a habitual action that becomes as natural as breathing. A lot of advisers initially brush us off when we suggest this idea because of its simplicity or because they’ve tried it before with little impact. But we often reveal that it’s not the action that was flawed, it was the approach the adviser used.
Be Interested and Create Dialogue

In order for your call rotation to make an impact, you have to differentiate yourself and connect on a different level. When you call your ideal clients, you’re not trying to be the bearer of any profound news, nor are you trying to sell something. You’re simply touching base to project strength and reassure them that you are the voice of reason.

The volume and velocity of noise out there is staggering. With the Internet, ’round the clock business news and all the so-called experts, knowledge is no longer power; it can be a black hole. In fact, we’re at a point where your clients are experiencing information fatigue. What to believe and who to trust is becoming blurry.

Remember, the products and services you provide, the firm you represent and your credentials are your message. You are the messenger. Too many well-intentioned advisers call their clients and begin data dumping them with more information. You end up swimming in a pool of sameness along with all the people trying to lure your clients away. Stand out from the pack. It’s more important to be interested than it is to be interesting.

To do that, ask your clients questions. The premise of “permission marketing” is that good questions engage your clients to the point where they opt in and give you permission to go deeper with a far more predisposed audience. If the conversation is a monologue, the client tunes out your attempt to impress them. With a dialogue, you are impressing upon them that this is a long-term relationship built on trust.

When it comes to good questions, use the acronym FORM as your guide. FORM represents the four key components to a balanced conversation with clients. Weave in questions about their Family, Occupation and Recreational interests among your Money and markets updates and insights.

It sounds trite, but facts tell; stories sell. Everything you say to a client is either a ‘me too’ that they connect with, or a ’so what’ that they detach from. If you make it about them, you strengthen chemistry and trust-both of which create the foundation for loyalty and refer-ability.
Ask Good Questions

In conversations with your clients, simply ask this question: “How are your friends and family members coping during this period of uncertainty? Are they facing the future with anticipation or apprehension?”

Not only does this question convey your sincere concern, it also opens up the conversation for you to go deeper. Simply follow-up with this question: “If you don’t mind me asking, when you talk about me with a friend or family member, what do you say? How do you describe me?”

There is a good chance you aren’t going to like what you hear. And here’s the point. If your best clients can’t describe you to you, what are they saying when that moment of truth presents itself and a friend asks them, “Are you happy with your adviser, because I’ve just about had it with mine.” You want your client to know what to say, and you may have to coach them to that end.

And to do that, simply say this:

I’m asking you these questions because I want to remind you of a value-added service that I provide for my clients that many really find to be of value. I make myself available to act as a sounding board for friends and family members of my clients. Now I’m not asking you to think of anyone right now, this is simply for down the road, but if someone asks you about me or you feel compelled to introduce a friend or family member to me, give me a call and get the wheels in motion. I don’t want to claim miracles will occur, but I have a really helpful process and one of two things usually happens when I meet a friend or family member. I either validate for them that their current plan is fundamentally solid and they need to tough this out, or I reveal a few flaws that need to be adjusted, and as you know, minor adjustments can often lead to major improvements down the road. And just so you know, anyone you introduce to me does not need to become a client to take advantage of this service. But either way, if they are a friend or family member of yours, I will make myself available to act as a sounding board for them.

The key to this approach is that you are positioning the concept of a referral as a service you are providing, rather than as a favor you are asking. When an adviser says, “I’m trying to grow my business and I’m looking for new clients through referrals,” he or she looks needy and in some cases, downright desperate.

You can’t bring your needs to your clients; it’s just not attractive. You can only bring your value. And remember, it’s not what you say, but rather what clients hear that really matters. When you use phraseology such as “service,” “value,” “process” and “introduce,” you become far more compelling, memorable and of course, refer-able.

Duncan MacPherson is co-CEO and co-founder of Pareto Systems and Pareto Platform. Find his blog on LinkedIn under his name, follow him on Twitter at Duncan8020, and find more resources at www.BreakthroughBusinessDevelopment.com.

Recently, I talked to three advisors who have had significant success bringing in new clients this year.

They have different approaches, book sizes, length of time in the business - and are located in three different cities.

Despite this, some consistent themes emerged. Here are three things that came out of our conversations.

You don’t win clients - other advisors lose them

The first advisor talked about an old adage in politics - Governing parties don’t get defeated, they beat themselves.

In essence, given the choice most people would rather stay with an incumbent government.

They only change when they lose confidence in the party in power - it’s at that point that they look seriously at opposition alternatives.

In this advisor’s view, the same applies to winning new clients. They’ll move on their schedule, not yours - generally when they’ve become disillusioned with their existing advisor.

This advisor believes two things have led to his success in attracting new clients:

1. He works to position himself with as many prospects as possible as the logical successor should they become disaffected with their existing advisor.
2. He tries to accelerate this process of disaffection by sharing the communication going to his existing clients.

The harder you try, the less successful you’ll be

The second advisor believes a key to his success is his low key approach - he tells prospects that he’d be happy to sit down with them any time that they feel comfortable doing so.

In this advisor’s view, the least amount of pressure gets clients guards up. And the harder you try, the more your approach smacks of desperation and scares prospects off.

Like the first advisor, he has focused on building his pipeline of prospects to whom he sends information going to his clients. He also touches base with every prospect once a year (more often if the prospect seems close to making a change) with a view to seeing if they’d like to sit down to talk about their situation.

Reduce the risk of meeting

The third advisor has found that once he gets in front of prospective clients for the first time, their comfort level in sitting down further goes up dramatically.

His branch runs quarterly lunches with outside speakers - typically one of their economists or research analysts or a portfolio manager on the firm’s managed money program.

He always buys a table to these lunches - while the bulk of the people he invites are clients, he also aims to get one or two prospects out. He’s found that prospects are more comfortable being one of six or seven at a table than meeting with him one on one - and once someone has come out to that lunch, his success rate at booking a follow up meeting goes up dramatically.

If you’re in the Toronto area and like this idea, below is a link to information on a luncheon presentation by Mark Carney on December 16.

Tables of 10 are $700 - consider splitting a table with a colleague and inviting three key clients and one prospective client you’ve been talking to.

http://www.canadianclub.org/do/event?event_id=3102

If you’d like more ideas on what’s working today to attract clients, here’s a link to a recent conference call:

Conference call: Making 2010 your best prospecting year ever - with Duncan Macpherson:

Dan and Duncan’s call

To read the original article, go to www.getkeepclients.com.

Download Link

The challenge is how to introduce this topic without putting either you or your friends under pressure or having you seen as a glad handing, high pressure sales type.

One way to raise the subject of working together without putting people under the gun is through what marketing academics call “signalling” - sending an indirect message.

Imagine for instance that someone you know gets the following email from you:

“Dan, every second Friday I email clients who have told me they want information on what’s happening one particularly insightful article that I’ve come across in my ongoing reading and research. Given the market turmoil over the past year, clients have told me that they have found these articles very helpful. It occurred to me that you might find the attached article from the most recent issue of the Economist on prospects for the global banking industry interesting reading. If you have any questions or would like to talk about this, give me a call at xxx-xxxx. Talk to you soon. Bill”

It’s highly unlikely anyone is going to be offended by this email.

Dig beneath its surface and what signal is the advisor sending?

Very simply that he’s open for business and if the person receiving it would like to talk, he’d be happy to do so…..to read the full article, click here!

For more information about Dan Richards be sure to check out his website: www.getkeepclients.com

This video is quite large so allow for extended loading time.

With all that has transpired in the financial services industry over the last year, it is essential to take a close look at your target marketing strategy if you are striving to stand out from the pack and take your business to the next level.

With so many affluent investors disillusioned with their current financial advisor, there has never been a better time to reach out and make contact with prospective clients.

We have a process that has been proven to not only be effective at consistently attracting good prospective clients but it is also philosophically consistent with our ‘stewardship over salesmanship’ model. In other words, this process will reflect very favorably on you as a professional financial advisor.

Allow me to begin by taking one step back. You’ve heard the expression that it is more important to reach people who count than it is to count the number of people you are reaching. It is essential that you get focused and establish what are called your MVP’s before you get started.

MVP stands for your most valuable prospects. There are all kinds of prospects out there. The key is to zero in on and consistently attract those who are the most valuable and who meet your AAA ideal client profile based on their assets, attitude and advocacy.

I mention that because as productivity consultants to high-caliber financial advisors, we often see advisors who deploy a target marketing campaign but haven’t done a thorough job maximizing their existing client relationships as well promotional partners. As a result they start trying to convince new people while the leave the people who are already convinced to some degree twisting in the wind. Clearly the friends and family members of your existing clients are your best MVPs. The key is that your clients will have far more persuasive impact on their friends than you ever will. So be certain to use our referral process to convert your clients to flag waving advocates. The clients of your strategic influencers are a close second so you’ll want to use our process to uncover those opportunities too.

That said, if you have done a good job maximizing your existing client relationships and you have professionally engaged strategic influencers such as accountants and lawyers, and you still find yourself with some time to deploy a pure prospecting campaign, well then let’s get started!

The first step is to understand the difference between narrowcasting and broadcasting. Broadcasting consists of classic marketing concepts such as direct mail, cold calling, newspapers ads, tradeshows, etc. We liken to this kind of marketing as ‘spray and pray’ and it is often about as effective as cutting down a tree with a hammer. There is an old saying in marketing that half of all advertising is wasted, we just don’t know which half. Broadcasting is expensive, time consuming, laborious and worst of all it sets you up for the most brutal emotion in marketing – its called anticipointment. You pour so much into a campaign and it turns out to be incredibly anticlimactic.

Narrowcasting on the other hand is far more effective. You simply pin point a specific geographic, demographic or socioeconomic sector in your marketplace and you methodically and relentlessly turn it upside down. Broadcasting is a mile wide and an inch deep. Narrowcasting enables you to go deep and literally turn a target market into an impenetrable proprietary asset that your competitors will never crack.

So how do you identify a target market to narrowcast? The first place to start is to look at your favorite clients. What do they do for a living? I know of a financial advisor who had a great client who was an audiologist. We suggested that he contact the client and ask him out to lunch. At the meeting the advisor simply said, “Look I really enjoy our relationship and frankly I’m fascinated with what you do. I want to become a specialist in your field rather than a generalist trying to be all things to all people. Tell me, what do I need to know, what do I need to read and where do I need to go to be a specialist to people just like you?”

The lunch meeting lasted a couple of hours. The client did a majority of the talking first by applauding the advisor for his initiative and then went on to counsel him on what it would take to be a specialist to audiologists. The rest as they say is history. A few years later and after a lot of effort and homework this advisor pretty much owns that space.

The first thing he did was identify an inside champion ~ someone with whom he has a relationship who would mentor him and light the path. He then, with the help of the inside champion, began the process of developing an insider’s reputation. This simply means that he could connect and relate with his target audience in a way that made him compelling and unique.

And there are no limits. I’ve seen an advisor who owned a BMW motorcycle accidentally uncover that one of his best clients also owned a BMW motorbike. After making the connection that owners of BMW motorcycles are usually somewhat affluent, he approached the local dealer to see if he would sponsor and help promote a fundraising ride for the local children’s hospital. That was just the beginning to what has become an incredible target marketing effort.

I’ve seen seasoned advisors establish target markets with orthodontists and other professional sectors within the health and wellness community all stemming from one existing relationship. I’ve seen newer advisors establish target markets with franchise owners and other entrepreneurs. You can pretty much name it. From airline pilots to zoologists, advisors have built target markets based on a diverse array of affinity groups. Still to this day, one of my favorite examples is an advisor whose assistant’s father, who happened to be a dairy farmer, became a client and quickly developed an incredible relationship with the advisor. That one relationship along with some sustained effort led to dozens of new clients. And talk about an insider’s reputation, this advisor went to county fairs, wrote financial planning articles in trade publications and today is the go-to person for dairy farmers in his area. He lived by the mantra that you have to pull in the direction that people are already pushing you. That is where momentum develops.

Clearly, identifying an inside champion is a lot easier than it is to develop that insiders reputation. This is what separates the best from the rest in target marketing. And based on our many years of consulting advisors in this area, I’ve created an acronym to frame a proven process and game plan to help you get started. The acronym is DRIP.

The D stands for Discipline. As easy as this is, ultimately it’s easier not to do. A lot of advisors will get excited about this approach and then realize that it looks a lot like work.

This really applies to two aspects of the process. First, you have to delay gratification and dig deep to gather the knowledge capital necessary to be attractive to prospective clients in your target market. You have to be excited and passionate about the target market. As the saying goes, in order to be convincing, you have to be convinced. Fortunately in this era we have search engines that can help you track down pretty much any information you need.

When you approach your inside champion to ask for his or her guidance, you are essentially using a variation of permission marketing which creates a deeper level of chemistry, respect and ultimately reciprocity. Most people you approach will gladly share more information than you could ever need. I remember in one scenario, the advisors inside champion offered to help the advisor organize a variation of a client advisory council where the client filled the room with entrepreneurial friends of his to help the advisor get inside the heads of a typical self made successful entrepreneur.

The second factor related to discipline is that as you start reaching out to other prospective clients in the sector, you have to resign yourself to patience. As with any process where you are trying to build a relationship first and then do business second, it takes a little time. But keep your ultimate objective in mind. Every person you contact will already have a financial advisor. Your goal is to position yourself as number 2 and over time enable the prospective client to contrast your approach to that of his or her existing advisor based on how you conduct yourself. There is a stage of readiness where the prospective client has to come to his or her own conclusions that switching to you makes absolute sense.

The R in DRIP stands for Respect.
In this entire process you have to lean respectfully by not looking needy and not potentially causing any collateral damage on your existing relationship let alone on the sector itself. For this reason, I ask you to resist cold calling in the classic sense where you simply have a dialing for dollars mindset. Yes, you want to smile and dial, but you aren’t connecting to have them buy something, you want them to buy into your story. Facts tell, stories sell. If you call up with a data dumping sales pitch and elevator speech, you are chasing the person. And what you chase often eludes you. When you make contact with a compelling hook and promise statement that explains why you are working with this specific sector and you offer up information and a sounding board session rather than an offer to buy something, you are attracting the prospective client. Everything you say is either a “me too” or a “so what.” Be mindful of that. When you meet with people for the first time, use an agenda and have no hidden agenda. Don’t use a sales process, use a professional fit process.

The I in DRIP stands for Inform. You have to be informative yet with some personality and vibrancy. As Warren Buffet said, the marketplace will pay you more to entertain it that it will to educate it. Rehearse, refine and reflect on all of your scripting. Is it compelling? To paraphrase David Ogilvie, you can’t bore someone into taking action. Your events and lunch & learns have to be unique and have a hook that resonates with the target audience. You have to build chemistry with prospective clients. Look at the word inform – the last four letters speak to FORM – your conversations have to be balanced. Ask questions about their Family, Occupation and Recreational interests, not just about their Money. As an example, you know when you are talking to a prospective client and you ask him what his kids are into and he tells you that his 10 year old is really into hockey. And then you mention that your 10 year old is also a hockey nut and next thing you know you are talking about hockey for 20 minutes and then you realize that you have made a deeper connection? You aren’t just trying to be interesting, be interested. Be Socratic. Ask questions. Every answer gives you permission to go deeper.

And finally, the P in DRIP stands for Persist. You have to be persistent. It takes time. It’s not unusual to need 7 drips on a prospective client before he or she will agree to meet with you. As the saying goes, water dripping on a stone will eventually leave a mark. But with every drip you are building contrast with the prospective client’s current advisor and distancing yourself from anyone else who is dabbling trying to get them as a client too. And have a process to invest every drip into the rest of the relationship. A relationship journal within your CRM will help you keep track and convert all the knowledge you glean from every encounter into an invaluable intellectual property. I don’t want to oversimplify this approach; this is just an overview and framework. But if you follow it you will realize that Margaret Thatcher was right when see said, “It’s good be a starter but you have to be a sticker too. It’s easy enough to start a job, but it’s harder to see it through.”

Duncan MacPherson is Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Pareto Systems and Pareto Platform. You can find his blog on LinkedIn under his name – Duncan MacPherson. You can also follow Duncan on Twitter at Duncan8020. For additional resources, please visit www.breakthroughbusinessdevelopment.com.

Are you one of the many financial advisors who have referred clients to accountants over the years but have gotten
virtually nothing in return? Based on the law of reciprocity, you would think that giving would initiate the receiving process. But with CPAs, that is often not the case. Often it’s a one-way street.

But a select group of FAs have figured out what is undermining their referability with accountants. As a result, they are receiving a steady stream of endorsements from these very persuasive sources at this critical time in the financial services market. Never has money been so topical, and never before have so many high-net-worth investors
been disillusioned with their advisors.

Recent studies have indicated that as many as seven out of 10 HNW clients are unhappy with their current financial advisors. In many cases, trust has been shattered, and these high-value people are cautiously considering other options. Now if HNW clients have lost faith in their advisors and they are also feeling anxious about their personal financial direction, whom do they call? More often than not, they call their accountants.

The problem is most accountants are more technicians than visionaries. They often leave their clients wanting more when it comes to the big picture, market forecasts, and personal investment strategy. Yet when clients press accountants to suggest a financial advisor, many are reluctant to make an endorsement. Why do you think that is?
What is holding them back?

It could be because they are concerned about liability issues. Or perhaps they view advisors as a threat because they themselves aspire to add financial planning to their offerings sooner or later. Perhaps there is an issue of trust regarding a particular advisor’s abilities, or an advisor isn’t worthy in their eyes.

There are several possible reasons, but most importantly, accountants are wary about how the endorsement will reflect back on them. If they are even remotely uncertain about how you will conduct yourself, or if there is a fear that
the endorsement might harm their client relationship, they won’t introduce a client to you. As easy as it may be for an accountant to wave your flag, ultimately it’s just safer not to. In their minds, it isn’t worth the risk.

Part of this stems from the fact that many accountants perceive financial advisors as salespeople rather than consultants providing advice. In fact, that is why many accountants actually think they are doing you a favor by taking your referrals without any sense that it should be a two-way street.

How to get started
To begin positioning yourself as a trustworthy alternative with CPAs in your area, ask your clients this question in your next wave of client calls:

“If you don’t mind me asking, when you talk about me with your accountant, what do you say? How do you describe me?”

After listening to the client’s response, follow up with a personalized variation of this statement:

“The reason I ask is because I am reaching out to the accountants of my clients to arrange a time to discuss my financial strategy and outlook to ensure that we are all on the same wave length. This is a value-added service, and I’m convinced that staying in closer communication with your accountant is important. I’m wondering if you’d like me to contact your accountant so that we can touch base.”

You may already know the names of many of your clients’ accountants. The question is whether you have been able to connect with them in a way that doesn’t arouse any suspicions that you have a hidden agenda. They may suspect you of getting in touch merely as a tactic to make more sales. Your approach has to be professional, forthright, transparent—and most of all, rooted in value and service.

Once you’ve gathered the names and numbers of your clients’ accountants, look for commonalties and cross reference with your existing relationships, and then begin the process of reaching out to them.

When you make contact, explain the reason you are calling. It will generally come down to one of two motivations:

1.If you have never met but you have a mutual client, you’d like to discuss your financial strategy and financial outlook to be sure that you are both in sync with each other.

2.If you have an existing one-way-street type relationship with accountant, you are calling to discuss ways that you can strengthen your relationship.

Again keep in mind, the unspoken concerns and resistance revolve around these questions they will ask themselves: “What’s in it for me?” and “What is the risk?”

In response to your offer to meet with them, CPAs will either accept your invite, decline, or ask you to elaborate on the phone. While it’s tempting to do an abbreviated meeting over the phone, I would suggest you resist the urge and insist that you meet. A breakfast or lunch meeting or simply a sit-down in their boardroom—all are ideal.

In face-to-face meetings, I would encourage you to follow this checklist:

•Step 1: Start with a printed agenda. A printed agenda allows you to outline your key points and gives you a track to follow. It also demonstrates that you follow a methodical process at every meeting you conduct.

•Step 2: Connect on a professional level with the accountant. Build rapport and discuss your investment philosophy and financial strategy as it relates to the client. Probe for insight and feedback throughout.

•Step 3: Offer to provide a second opinion. You could say something like, “Recently, in light of all the apprehension and uncertainty caused by this market turbulence, I’ve been making myself available to act as a sounding board for friends and family members of my clients as well as clients of like-minded accountants with whom I have a relationship.”

This may well set you apart in the accountants’ minds as they contrast your approach to the current advisor that they use.

•Step 4: Further explain your second opinion approach. Assure the CPA that the people you meet do not need to become your clients to take advantage of this service; you do it because of the fulfillment that comes from helping people make informed decisions. Stress how you realize that this has to be a good use of the client’s time. Be sure to use the words “process” and “service” in your description.

Explain what happens during the sounding-board session by saying something like this:

“I don’t want to claim that miracles will occur, but one of two things will happen when I meet with one of your clients. Either I will validate that their current approach is fundamentally solid, or I will reveal a few minor flaws that they may want to consider adjusting. And after all, minor adjustments can often lead to major improvements down the road.”

•Step 5: Project exclusivity. Explain that your meeting with potential clients involves attempting to see if there’s a mutual fit. Say that while some advisors will work with anyone and try to see how big they can build their businesses, you prefer to focus on how small you can stay to ensure consistent service.

•Step 6: Explain how to get the wheels in motion. Give the accountant a brief suggestion for how to make an introduction to you should the opportunity present itself.

•Step 7: Reemphasize your professionalism. Reassure the accountant that their client will view meeting with you as a great investment of their time. Let the accountant know he can hold you accountable toproviding the same degree of professionalism and confidentiality that you give your own clients.

•Step 8: Give them the same opportunity. Tell your new strategic ally that you’d like to be able to follow the same process when it comes to introducing your clients to him or her should the situation arise.

•Step 9: Be patient. Many accountants are hyper-cautious and you will need to nurture the relationship methodically to move from intent to actual consent. Many advisors get frustrated because accountants say all the right things in the beginning, but then their intent diminishes, and their fears creep back in over time. Stay in touch to keep the flame of trust alive.

This is a guideline you may tailor to suit your own approach and personality. The key is to get busy and start engaging in the process now, refining it as you go. As I often say: Done is better than perfect. Just get it done and communicate this message to as many accountants as you can.

Acting as a sounding board helps clients and their CPAs better understand the advantages of working with an advisor—and that you’re looking out for their best interests.

Are you one of the many financial advisors who have referred clients to accountants over the years but have gotten
virtually nothing in return? Based on the law of reciprocity, you would think that giving would initiate the receiving process. But with CPAs, that is often not the case. Often it’s a one-way street.

But a select group of FAs have figured out what is undermining their referability with accountants. As a result, they are receiving a steady stream of endorsements from these very persuasive sources at this critical time in the financial services market. Never has money been so topical, and never before have so many high-net-worth investors
been disillusioned with their advisors.

Recent studies have indicated that as many as seven out of 10 HNW clients are unhappy with their current financial advisors. In many cases, trust has been shattered, and these high-value people are cautiously considering other options. Now if HNW clients have lost faith in their advisors and they are also feeling anxious about their personal financial direction, whom do they call? More often than not, they call their accountants.

The problem is most accountants are more technicians than visionaries. They often leave their clients wanting more when it comes to the big picture, market forecasts, and personal investment strategy. Yet when clients press accountants to suggest a financial advisor, many are reluctant to make an endorsement. Why do you think that is?
What is holding them back?

It could be because they are concerned about liability issues. Or perhaps they view advisors as a threat because they themselves aspire to add financial planning to their offerings sooner or later. Perhaps there is an issue of trust regarding a particular advisor’s abilities, or an advisor isn’t worthy in their eyes.

There are several possible reasons, but most importantly, accountants are wary about how the endorsement will reflect back on them. If they are even remotely uncertain about how you will conduct yourself, or if there is a fear that
the endorsement might harm their client relationship, they won’t introduce a client to you. As easy as it may be for an accountant to wave your flag, ultimately it’s just safer not to. In their minds, it isn’t worth the risk.

Part of this stems from the fact that many accountants perceive financial advisors as salespeople rather than consultants providing advice. In fact, that is why many accountants actually think they are doing you a favor by taking your referrals without any sense that it should be a two-way street.

How to get started

To begin positioning yourself as a trustworthy alternative with CPAs in your area, ask your clients this question in your next wave of client calls:

“If you don’t mind me asking, when you talk about me with your accountant, what do you say? How do you describe me?”

After listening to the client’s response, follow up with a personalized variation of this statement:

“The reason I ask is because I am reaching out to the accountants of my clients to arrange a time to discuss my financial strategy and outlook to ensure that we are all on the same wave length. This is a value-added service, and I’m convinced that staying in closer communication with your accountant is important. I’m wondering if you’d like me to contact your accountant so that we can touch base.”

You may already know the names of many of your clients’ accountants. The question is whether you have been able to connect with them in a way that doesn’t arouse any suspicions that you have a hidden agenda. They may suspect you of getting in touch merely as a tactic to make more sales. Your approach has to be professional, forthright, transparent—and most of all, rooted in value and service.

Once you’ve gathered the names and numbers of your clients’ accountants, look for commonalties and cross reference with your existing relationships, and then begin the process of reaching out to them.

When you make contact, explain the reason you are calling. It will generally come down to one of two motivations:

1. If you have never met but you have a mutual client, you’d like to discuss your financial strategy and financial outlook to be sure that you are both in sync with each other.

2. If you have an existing one-way-street type relationship with accountant, you are calling to discuss ways that you can strengthen your relationship.

Again keep in mind, the unspoken concerns and resistance revolve around these questions they will ask themselves: “What’s in it for me?” and “What is the risk?”

In response to your offer to meet with them, CPAs will either accept your invite, decline, or ask you to elaborate on the phone. While it’s tempting to do an abbreviated meeting over the phone, I would suggest you resist the urge and insist that you meet. A breakfast or lunch meeting or simply a sit-down in their boardroom—all are ideal.

In face-to-face meetings, I would encourage you to follow this checklist:

• Step 1: Start with a printed agenda. A printed agenda allows you to outline your key points and gives you a track to follow. It also demonstrates that you follow a methodical process at every meeting you conduct.

• Step 2: Connect on a professional level with the accountant. Build rapport and discuss your investment philosophy and financial strategy as it relates to the client. Probe for insight and feedback throughout.

• Step 3: Offer to provide a second opinion. You could say something like, “Recently, in light of all the apprehension and uncertainty caused by this market turbulence, I’ve been making myself available to act as a sounding board for friends and family members of my clients as well as clients of like-minded accountants with whom I have a relationship.”

  This may well set you apart in the accountants’ minds as they contrast your approach to the current advisor that they use.

• Step 4: Further explain your second opinion approach. Assure the CPA that the people you meet do not need to become your clients to take advantage of this service; you do it because of the fulfillment that comes from helping people make informed decisions. Stress how you realize that this has to be a good use of the client’s time. Be sure to use the words “process” and “service” in your description.

  Explain what happens during the sounding-board session by saying something like this:

  “I don’t want to claim that miracles will occur, but one of two things will happen when I meet with one of your clients. Either I will validate that their current approach is fundamentally solid, or I will reveal a few minor flaws that they may want to consider adjusting. And after all, minor adjustments can often lead to major improvements down the road.”

• Step 5: Project exclusivity. Explain that your meeting with potential clients involves attempting to see if there’s a mutual fit. Say that while some advisors will work with anyone and try to see how big they can build their businesses, you prefer to focus on how small you can stay to ensure consistent service.

• Step 6: Explain how to get the wheels in motion. Give the accountant a brief suggestion for how to make an introduction to you should the opportunity present itself.

• Step 7: Reemphasize your professionalism. Reassure the accountant that their client will view meeting with you as a great investment of their time. Let the accountant know he can hold you accountable toproviding the same degree of professionalism and confidentiality that you give your own clients.

• Step 8: Give them the same opportunity. Tell your new strategic ally that you’d like to be able to follow the same process when it comes to introducing your clients to him or her should the situation arise.

• Step 9: Be patient. Many accountants are hyper-cautious and you will need to nurture the relationship methodically to move from intent to actual consent. Many advisors get frustrated because accountants say all the right things in the beginning, but then their intent diminishes, and their fears creep back in over time. Stay in touch to keep the flame of trust alive.

This is a guideline you may tailor to suit your own approach and personality. The key is to get busy and start engaging in the process now, refining it as you go. As I often say: Done is better than perfect. Just get it done and communicate this message to as many accountants as you can.