A lot of your success is simply working with the right clients. You have already done the work to create your ideal client profile, define your market niche and convert your ideal clients to your wealth management process. You are now in a perfect position to leverage all that work to draw in additional ideal clients.

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Replicating your top clients—using their insights to draw in more ideal clients—is not only one of the easiest ways to build an ongoing stream of prequalified prospective clients, it is also one of the most enjoyable.

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The Case for Replication

The Pareto Principle tells us that 20 percent of effort generally yields 80 percent of results. This holds true for some financial advisors, whose top 20 percent of clients account for 80 percent of revenue. However, frequently revenue is concentrated with an even smaller percentage of clients—we have seen many examples where the top 5 percent of clients generate more than 70 percent of the revenue.

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The top clients in your practice not only provide the lion’s share of revenue, they also offer the greatest potential for helping you to grow your business. Think about each of your top 10 clients. Then imagine that each of these clients introduces you to 10 new ideal prospective clients. What would the impact be? It would be huge—but that would be only the beginning. You would have an enormous multiplier effect as you continued the replication process with those new clients—and on and on.

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Client replication works for one simple reason: Your top clients want to help you. Because they have experienced your wealth management process and are satisfied with their relationships with you, they are happy to help you build your business. The replication process gives them the opportunity to do so.

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By reaching out to your ideal clients in a systematic way, you also stand to gain insights you would never otherwise obtain. Specifically:

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• You will get new ideas for marketing to ideal prospective clients.

• You will further refine and clarify your market niche.

• You will better understand how well you have differentiated yourself from your competitors so that you can adjust how you articulate your value promise as needed.

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Seven Steps to Replication

There are seven steps to replicating your ideal clients effectively. These steps will make the best use of your prospect-seeking time and will enable your favorite, most profitable clients to tell you how to work with other clients just like them.

As you proceed, don’t worry about getting the process perfect the first time—it can yield tremendous benefit, even done imperfectly. And always remember: Your best clients want to help you.

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Step 1. Identify your top 10 ideal clients.

Start with the list of your ideal clients that you created in Strategy 3: Work with the Right Affluent Clients. List those clients in descending order of the revenue they provide. Then identify the top 10 with whom you enjoy working most. If you do not have 10 ideal clients, identify those you do have, even if it’s only two or three. The replication process will still be well worth your time.

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In addition, the clients you replicate should have experienced your full wealth management experience, including the advanced planning process. You want them to be in a position to provide input on your entire client experience. Again, if you do not yet have ideal clients who have been through your full wealth management process, come back to this approach when you do.

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Step 2. Call for an appointment.

Tell each client that the reason you are calling is to request a special meeting. Your call should go something like this:

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“Christine, I need your help. You are one of my favorite clients and I really respect your opinion. I’m developing a more focused approach to my marketing. I have created a profile of my favorite clients, and you are exactly the kind of person I most enjoy working with. Would you let me take you out to lunch (breakfast)? I would like to get your ideas and opinions about my plans with regard to marketing to people just like you.”

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You may feel uncomfortable making these calls at first simply because you have never done it before, but do not let that stop you. These are easy, no-risk calls—you are talking to your favorite clients. And it is extremely unlikely that a client will turn down this invitation. In fact, in all our experience in coaching financial advisors to implement this strategy, we have not heard of one every being turned down.

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Step 3. Choose a good restaurant.

Select a place, preferably a business restaurant or private club that is conducive to holding a private conversation. Do not be cheap. Buying a first-class meal at an excellent restaurant lets the client know how much you value them.

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Step 4. Conduct the replication interview.

Remember that people judge you by the quality of the questions you ask. Walking through a series of thoughtful questions will allow the client to identify and share with you the most important aspects of working with you: why the client chose you, what the client most values about your relationship and how you should position yourself to work with similar people.

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Use the client replication interview guide and a voice recorder or phone with voice recorder (if use of a voice recorder has been approved by your compliance department). Show the client both the interview guide and the recorder or phone to emphasize how important and valuable his or her information is to you. As you move through the interview guide, let the client speak without interruption. When you need additional detail, do not hesitate to ask for specifics.

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If you do not use a recorder, take notes during the conversation. If you are not sure you captured a response accurately, read back what you wrote down and ask if you understood correctly. If you were paying a consultant to get these market research answers, you would be paying thousands of dollars, not just the price of lunch, so be sure to capture everything.

Above all, do not make the mistake of trying to mix in selling any additional services at this time. You are there to get

input, period. Begin the interview in this way:

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“Christine, I’m in the process of improving the way I do business by focusing on clients just like you. To gain a better understanding of how I can serve you and other individuals just like you to help them achieve their financial goals, I would like to ask you a series of questions."

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If you will be recording the interview, go on to say this:

"To give you my full attention, I will be recording your responses so I don’t miss anything. Let’s begin.”

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Then turn on the voice recorder and say this:

“I am meeting with one of my favorite clients, Christine, on ________ (insert date). Let’s start with our first question.”

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Now move on to questions in the interview guide, available for download from the bottom of this page. Be sure to pause and listen carefully to all responses.

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Step 5. Arrange a future meeting.

Assuming that the interview was worthwhile, set the stage to come back to the client with additional questions as you move forward with your marketing efforts. Ask the client to be a permanent advisor to you in this way:

“Would it be okay to call you occasionally to get your opinions and ideas on my marketing plans as part of my informal marketing advisory council?”

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If the client asks for more detail, say this:

“I would get in touch with you two or three times a year to use you as a sounding board so that I can be responsive to the thoughts you and other clients have shared. I will want to get your feedback on how I’m doing and what else you think I should be doing.”

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Members of The Council

There are two types of client advisory councils. The first is an informal council, consisting of clients who have given you permission to occasionally contact them to ask for input on your marketing ideas and plans. We have found that this type of informal council generally works well, as it is very flexible and requires almost nothing from you in the terms of upkeep.

However, if you are fully established within your market niche, it can be a worthwhile business-building technique to make your client advisory council more formal. This typically involves inviting all members of the council to an annual get-together at a favorite restaurant or club of the niche community. A portion of the evening is devoted to a discussion (facilitated by you or a qualified member of your staff) of your marketing plans. The balance of the event is then open for social and networking time for you and the members of the council.

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Step 6. Act on all introductions and marketing ideas immediately.

Our experience is that many financial advisors do the work to identify prospective clients and other opportunities but then never take advantage of them. You have invested time and effort in the replication process and your clients have given you their time and thoughtful insights freely—do not let all that go to waste by not following up immediately.

Be sure to involve your team. Have team members listen to the interviews or read your notes. They should know your top clients’ insights so that they can help you act on them. The interviews can also be a real morale booster for team members when they hear how their work has a positive impact on clients’ lives.

 

Step 7. Keep the client informed.

If you do not let the client know what happens with the introductions and marketing ideas provided during the meeting, he or she will not want to continue to help you in this area. By reporting back all successes and giving the client credit, your client will feel like a part of your marketing process and become a continuous source of opportunities.

To start, send a thank-you note on the same day as the interview (see the sample below; a template is also available for download below). Then periodically provide the client with updates on your progress.

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Dear Christine,

I would like to let you know how much I appreciate your taking the time today to help me with my marketing efforts. I really enjoyed talking with you and gaining insights that will be valuable to me in reaching out to other people like you whom I can serve well.

I plan on implementing your marketing suggestions, and I will also follow up with the introduction you gave me to see whether we should get together to have a conversation. I’ll be sure to let you know the outcome.

Thanks again, and I look forward to seeing you at our next Regular Progress Meeting on (date).

Sincerely,
Financial Advisor to the Affluent