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by Daryl
Logullo,
Strategic Impact!
Referrals
are only earned after a trust-bond
has been formed. Sure, you may
get handed the name of someone
from a colleague or client. But
the real quality referrals
come from relationships where
you've already established
trust. Which begs the question:
"How do I earn a
person's trust quickly and fast
to generate more client
referrals?"
Many financial advisors,
insurance agents (and other professionals
for that matter), think that to earn trust from a
CPA (or other strategic alliance
partner their knowledge and
skill set is the determining
factor. Not true! You are
expected to be licensed,
educated and credentialed!
Rather, the determining factors
that build trust, and how to
earn trust quickly can be
summarized below.
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Your earn trust quickly
by establishing
credibility via first and
follow-up impressions.
Show up on time, be well
groomed, be positive, polite
and professional. Make sure
you are upbeat and personal
and positive. People are
generally more receptive and
excited about a person that
is excited about them.
Be careful not to be patronizing and
overly familiar.
-
Your earn trust quickly
by showcasing your
credibility using third-party
endorsements. Publicity,
write-ups in the media,
and prospect or client
testimonials are excellent
strategies for this. So are
testimonials from other
professionals you are
currently working with. Get
others to quantify your
skills and how you've been
able to help them... no
matter how small you may
consider the work (or favor)
you did. Here's an
excellent...
Sample e-mail (Customize
it to your own business):
Dear John,
Help!!
I’d like to
hear from you on how you
benefited from using my
________
advice. Can you take
just a moment
and
tell me?
For your trouble, I’ll be
happy to send you – with my
compliments – my 1,000 word
Special Report “Secrets to
Making Your
Referrals
More Profitable.”
It's a $50.00
retail value and is
something you can use to
improve
your own business.
Don’t worry about writing
structure. I’ll convert
your comments into a
testimonial and send it to
you for your approval. My
thanks for your help!
Sincerely,
Your Name
P.S. Would it be possible
to email me back by Feb 9?
And please call me with any
pressing marketing concerns
you may have. I’ll be happy
to brainstorm with you off
the clock.
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You earn trust quickly by
becoming an active listener,
with an end "objective" in
mind. Maybe it's to hear the
other person's
concern. Or to learn what
his or her real desires are.
Listen intently for the
message behind the message.
Ask open ended questions,
and ask for clarification.
Tip: The more questions you
ask, the more rapport you
build.
-
You earn trust quickly by
becoming "in-tune" to the
person's temperament and
style. Some people are in your
face, direct. Others are
very subtle and hidden. CPAs
have four distinct styles:
aggressive, passive,
expressive or analytical.
Get to know what style you
are dealing with.
-
You earn trust quickly by
making sure your actions
represent the words you
communicate. Actions speak
louder than words. In first
time conversations with
people, research shows that
over 70 percent of
communication comes from
nonverbal clues.
Remember: competition is fierce.
You must put an emphasis first
on developing trust and rapport.
If not, you'll leave the back
door open to other professionals
who will do exactly that and
steal your relationships.
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