LinkedIn Can Be ‘An Unlimited Source Of Referrals,’ Advisor Finds

While it is often seen as a network for job hunting and recruiting workers, LinkedIn can also be an excellent tool for advisors to gain introductions and referrals from their clients. After all, LinkedIn is where most good prospects, such as business owners and executives, can be found.

During a recent interview, two industry experts, Bill Cates and Aamir Chalisa, shared some strategies they believe will help increase advisors’ chances of gaining client introductions via LinkedIn. Cates is President of Referral Coach International, and Chalisa is Managing Director of Futurity First Insurance Group.

Finding Success On LinkedIn

According to Cates, many advisors find that gaining referrals or introductions via LinkedIn is often an uphill task. So what can they do to increase their odds of finding success? They can start by narrowing their search and looking for people who work in the same industry, he said.

Typical target markets for financial professionals include employees in a large company, business owners in a specific industry, medical practices, universities, and other “specific” professionals such as optometrists.

“Narrowing your search for people in the same profession as your client will increase the odds of your client knowing them and introducing you to them. The narrower the search, the better,” he said.

Also, advisors in search of client introductions can take a look at their clients’ profiles and see who has endorsed and recommended them.

“You can often tell if the person writing the kind words about your client has a good relationship with that client,” he said. “For example, if your client uses Robert as his profile name, and the endorser calls him Bob, that is often a good sign that he knows him well,” Cates added.

Once you have identified the names of potential clients on your client’s profile, take the conversation away from LinkedIn, Cates advised.

“Contact them via the telephone or via Zoom,” he said, “and do not use LinkedIn to get introduced. This is still a relationship business.” In fact, one of his clients said that LinkedIn is the new cold-calling. “It simply adds to the old way of doing business,” he added.

In addition, advisors can look through their clients’ LinkedIn profiles together with their clients or by using a tool like zoom. “Many clients who love you and who have become your advocates will tell you to look at their LinkedIn connections and let them know who you would like to meet,” Cates said.

Post Daily Content

Using LinkedIn has become the new way to meet new people and to introduce yourself to others, Chalisa said. Although its cost is minimal and it requires little effort, it does give users access to a large pool of people.

Through the connections advisors make via LinkedIn, they can tell stories about themselves and the business they are in and can show how they help people become financially secure, he said. It’s a social media platform that most professionals use and gives one the ability to connect with thousands of people across the globe.

“With your posts, pictures and stories of success, you tell others what you do, and as people read about you, they connect with you, and that becomes a referral source for new clients,” he said. “I post daily some tidbits of information, and always get reviews and responses from readers. People then read about me and ask to connect. It’s become an unlimited source of referrals.”

But the key is to post daily so that people can read your posts and that gives you credibility, Chalisa pointed out. “Besides,” he added, “it’s fun and you make a lot of new friends as well. Try it today.”

Ayo Mseka has more than 30 years of experience reporting on the financial-services industry. She formerly served as Editor-In-Chief of NAIFA’s Advisor Today magazine. Contact her at [email protected].