Why you should work with centers of influence in your activity? They are your best referrals!
There are many types of centers of influence. When we first think of center of influence, it is more than possible that the lawyers or attorneys and the accountants come to mind first. In most cases, because we complement each other`s services.
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Who can be a center of influence
Really a center of influence is anyone who, through their social or their professonal circles, can introduce us to our target market.
And they can do such whether it`s introductions or it`s word of mouth or referrals.
Why is a reciprocal benefit
So, the centers of influence, the importance of them, I feel it is actually twofold. One of them is that it makes our job a lot easier as far as prospecting because they are doing some of that for us. And the second reason is that we also surround ourselves with professionals and if our clients need their services, we have someone that we can trust to refer them to. And that is just an added value to our clients that we do business with.
The ones that you should chose to cultivate are the ones that aligne best with your target market. Maybe your target market is the family market if you sell goods for children and parents. Or, if you create or/and sell digital goods, the market is so huge that you definitely should define specifically your target market. Or, if you work in the insurance field it is possible that your target is the family market, people interested in planning the financial future of their kids, people interested in retirement plans, people interested in estate, property insures.
If you just started your career or you are an experienced one, build through a networking group. Meet attorneys who practice family law, for example. They could be ideal for your maket. The relationship can continue and you reciprocate by giving each other referrals. You often could refer clients that are either putting in place a will, their power of attorney, or the need to update ne, or they are entering a new relationship and they need pre-nup and pre-cohabitation agreements. If they also do real estate law, it is an opportunity to refer to them and they reciprocate that way.
The same case could be with accountants. If you have the opportunity to build a relationship with them, there are great chances to build relatinships for years, even decades. Of course, maybe one accountant from social circles could reffer quite a bit of business at the beginning, but he could also be late in his carrer and he could decide to retire. He could sell his practice and the buyer could have other relationships in place, so the referrals from that one accountant actually could end. But the other one could continue. In any case, any business you can do it is a step to go forward. Other center of influence that you can find beneficial is a broker that deals with home and ca insurance needs.
Build relationships having in mind a long period of time, for years. If clients reach out to see whether you can refer them, you know that they will be taken care of if you refer them to your centers of influence.
Who are centers of influence?
- The traditional view: accountants and attorneys
- Anyone who can introduce us to their market and our target market
Centers of Influence VALUES
- Help with prospecting
- An added value for clients
- Reciprocal referrals
- Know they will take care of your clients
