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You are a financial professional working with individual clients and businesses in your local area. You know plenty of people. You have been in the business for years. Plenty is going on to rock the financial boat. Inflation persists. The stock market has its ups and downs. Expenses like home, car and medical insurance are going up. It is logical to assume your friends are confused, squeezed or uncertain about the future. If they know what you do, why don’t they ask you for advice? Why are they not saying: “Can I become your client?”
You would expect a person to actively choose to do business with a known quantity, someone they like and trust. Years ago, when I was a financial advisor, I had a physician as a client. We got along very well. I finally asked: “Can I be your patient?” He replied, “Bryce, I am a pediatrician. You would be my oldest patient!” So much for that idea.
Let us look at several reasons why your friends are not doing business.
1. They don’t understand what you do and how you can help them. The pediatrician story above gives a good example. I knew he was a doctor, but I did not understand his specialty. As a financial professional, you might face the same problem from the opposite direction. They make assumptions about what you do based on your job title. They don’t know the full range of how you help people.
Strategy: The easiest way to get the opportunity to tell your story is to sit down and ask them to tell their story. “We have known each other five years. I know you are a (profession). What exactly do you do? Listen. They will likely return the favor, asking you to talk about your profession.
2. Confidentiality. They assume you talk about your clients. This is one of the differentiating factors separating professionals from everyone else. They might not consider you a professional (like themselves) so they assume you drop names to get more clients or “tell tales out of school.”
Strategy: Time is on your side. Mention how long you have known each other. Ask them if it is possible some of the people we know in common might be clients? They will likely know because those people have told them they work with you. “Have you ever heard me mention the name of another client?” They answer no. You might reply: “I have no intention of starting now.”
3. Risk to the friendship. People like the expression: “You can’t fire friends.” The reason is probably because it alliterates. It also makes sense. They put a high value on your friendship. They are also attached to their money. They think their anger at losing the second would blow up the first. They cannot see a way to unwind the business relationship and retain the friendship.
Strategy: I like the approach: “If you become my client and you follow my advice, you should get a report card. If I do a bad job, you should be able to fire me.” This might sound suicidal, but it makes sense. The portfolio reviews are the report cards. Now the friend feels better because they can “see the door” if they need to leave in a hurry. It’s guilt free, because the path to leaving was your idea!
4. Am I too small? No one wants to be told you don’t have enough money or your business isn’t large enough. It’s like going to a club on Friday night and seeing there is an age restriction. You don’t want the embarrassment of being turned away. Your friends need to know your criteria for onboarding new clients.
Strategy: A threshold means you are either in or out. I like a range: You have (x) clients. They range in size from (low #) to (high #). The average is (another number.) Now friends can see where they fit. This has advantages if they are on the lower side because they are in, but no one wants to be below average. It is good if they are twice your average because they see you have bigger clients. If they are really big, your upper range example shows they might be your biggest client, but not your first big client. It’s inclusive.
5. Are you accepting new clients? They have no idea where you get your clients. If you are always busy, they might assume you have all the clients you can handle. It would be an imposition to ask for help. Friends don’t want to impose.
Strategy: Tell anonymous stories about new relationships you have added. You might mention you always have time to help a friend.
6. They work with someone else. This is an obvious issue. Isn’t it logical to assume everyone already gets their advice from somewhere? The market might be divided between people who already have an advisor and people who don’t want one.
Strategy: Who said you are only allowed to work with one advisor? OK, they might have one accountant, one hair stylist and one car mechanic. How many doctors do they have? Hopefully that creates an “aha” moment.
Do not accept the absence of an approach by your friends as a conscious decision not to do business. Make the effort anyway. You might be surprised at the results. You should get at least some of them interested.