Client Asked To Recommend

Updated 9 months ago by VouchedFor Team

Client Asked to Recommend is a Driver of Elevation Goal 2: Delighting existing clients, promoting advocacy and retention

Data based on responses to the following question, asked in the Verified Client review form

“Has [adviser] asked you to recommend them to people you know?”

Possible responses

No
Yes, once
Yes, more than once

Client Asked To Recommend Score

Proportion of respondents answering “Yes, once” or “Yes, more than once”

Relationship between Client Asked to Recommend and Passionate Advocacy

The relationship between Client Access To Adviser and Number of Recommendations in the Last 12 Months is highly statistically significant, the relationship with Passionate Advocacy is weaker but still present

Why do we ask about Client Asked to Recommend?

The influence of asking clients to recommend on advocacy arose in some of our qualitative research meetings with firm management teams and advisers.

Quantitatively, we see a strong relationship between asking clients to recommend and number of recommendations, and a weaker one with passionate advocacy.

How to improve your score:

Practice

Role play. Practice asking for a recommendation in the mirror before you do it for real. It can be awkward if you’ve never asked for a recommendation before, so practice on your own, or with a colleague, before you do it for real. Think of it as a “role play” just like you did as a new adviser getting signed off as competent.

Script. It can be helpful to have it scripted to start with, so you know what you’re going to say, rather than having to think of it on the spot.

Practice Makes Perfect. It gets easier with practice so whilst asking for recommendations may sound outside of your comfort zone, like anything, the more you practice, the easier it gets.

Be mindful of your approach

Limiting beliefs. Some advisers have internal beliefs like “clients must have 2 years of exceptional service before they’ll give me a recommendation”. Don’t let your own beliefs get in the way! Your clients could have a completely different set of beliefs and be happy to refer after just the initial meeting, especially if they believe it is a part of the process.

Choose your language. Rather than “I build my business on recommendations – please can I have one” change to “I’d love to help others as I’ve helped you – can you think of anyone who’d benefit from what we’ve done together?” By changing your language, a recommendation from your client is now helping others. This appeals to our sense of community and increases the chance of a recommendation being made.

Make it part of the process

Build it in. By having the request for recommendations in your process, it will happen for every client and in a similar way. As you learn more about what works and what doesn’t, you can adjust how and when you ask for a recommendation until you get the perfect formula.

Ask throughout. Ask for a recommendation at multiple points throughout the financial planning process. Reinforce how your client can help others by making a recommendation.

Considering the amount of business that comes from recommendations, this should be a staple part of every adviser’s process! Asking for recommendations at multiple points along the client journey will pay dividends in the long run. It also gives your client the chance to say that they wouldn’t recommend you, and you the chance to find out why and fix the problem.