How creating value will turn you into an introduction machine

By Susan Rupe

How much is an introduction worth to an advisor?

Each introduction is worth $400, according to Joe Templin, who based that number on what he described as a “calculation of value” during a National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors webinar.

Templin is an advisor who is cofounder and president of The Intro Machine. He also is the author of Becoming an Introduction Machine, in which he discusses how to create a strictly introduction-based practice in 90 days.

Getting introductions is crucial to an advisor’s survival, Templin said.

“People fail in this business because they don’t get enough people to talk to,” he said. He said the threshold for success in the business is to get 30 introductions a week unless you qualify for Million Dollar Round Table.

MDRT qualifiers can get by with 20 introductions a week, he said, because advisors at that level are likely to be working on more complex cases, as well as serving existing clients and having income from renewals and assets under management. Advisors who are Court of the Table qualifiers don’t need as many introductions, he said, but still need a minimum of five per week.

That brings us back to the value of an introduction.

If an advisor is getting 500 introductions per year and earning $200,000 annually, then each introduction is worth $400, he said.

The threshold for success in the business is to get 30 introductions a week.Joe Templin

But how do you get those introductions? Templin said it starts with creating value for a client.

“You create value for someone else and you deserve to be compensated for it,” he said. “If a client feels you are taking advantage of them, there is no profit in it for them and they will no longer work with you. At the same time, you are free to fire the bad client as they are of no profit to you.

“When everyone profits. you have a sustainable relationship that will grow over time.”

The first 90 seconds after you meet someone is when you establish the relationship, Templin said.

“This is when they determine whether they can trust you and whether they can work with you,” he said.

Logic guides the conversation

Templin said he uses Boolean logic – if/then statements – to guide the conversation.

“If I create value for you, then you will introduce me to other individuals who could benefit from sitting down and talking with me the same way so-and-so introduced us. Is that fair and reasonable?”

If the client agrees to this contract and you don’t create value, they won’t provide you with introductions, he said.

Templin also said advisors must always discuss compensation up front.

“Set the parameters. People don’t like to be surprised. They want you to be transparent,” he said.

To show the importance of introductions to an advisor’s practice, Templin provided an example from his early days in the business. He obtained three introductions from a client. Two out of those three introductions led to sales.

One of those two clients provided him with five introductions. Three of those five introductions led to sales. But one of those new clients provided him with 10 introductions, one of which led to a major case.

“If I had not asked that initial client for an introduction, I would not have received anything,” he said.

“You wait, you lose. You never get those opportunities back.”

Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @INNsusan.