Financial advisor newcomers and seasoned pros alike are apt to find something of value in Frank Maselli’s new book, Referrals: The Professional Way.

In no-nonsense and often witty language, Masseli  provides 10 strategies for achieving an important goal of financial advisors: gaining high-net-worth client referrals. “90% of financial advisors claim referrals are critical to their success, yet 75 percent said they never ask for referrals,’’ Maselli writes of a survey taken of professionals. That must change, he says.

Maselli’s background includes more than 30 years of  working at firms such as Merrill Lynch, UBS, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, as well as founding the Financial Lifeguard Academy, which trains financial advisors and managers.

“We are in one of the great “helper professions’ in the world, but we must begin to learn new skills and attitudes if we want to succeed,’’ he  writes, saying that the financial services industry is in the “midst of a cataclysmic upheaval.’’

Maselli urges FAs to think beyond the conventional: HNW clients can come from a wide circle that includes CPAs, estate attorneys, business managers, “and all other potential centers of influence who might have clients that would benefit from your experience.’’

Today’s potential clients are sophisticated, busy and hard to impress, Maselli says, and FAs are best to avoid the outdated “hard sell’’ approach. “I can almost guarantee you they are thinking “Loser’’ with a capital L, or worse…salesman!’’

The goal of  successful FAs is to reach Level three of trust, in which a HNW client believes “I trust you with my friends, family, colleagues and critical relationships!’’ And Maselli urges readers to be selective: “I believe you really only want referrals to other top tier clients.’’

Getting referrals is partly a game of psychology, played with professionals who are savvy and wary, especially about their money: “When the client looks into your eyes, they want to see a reflection of themselves.’’  Do not, Maselli says, make yourself out as a Charles Dickens waif: “Please sir…I need some more names.’’

Because  the financial service industry has changed from “an old-fashioned sales business to a modern service profession,’’ FAs should tap into “the desire to take great care of people.’’ Maselli says the results of his firm’s focus groups with million-dollar clients revealed that all respondents found their current advisor through referrals. Much less effective or much harder to do well, he says, are techniques such as cold calling; seminars and marketing, direct mail, cold walking, niche marketing and industry target marketing, and social media, at least for now.

“This leaves you with referrals.  And to get better at referrals, you need to start by understanding and mastering the mind of the client.’’

Masseli shares his insights into the attributes and attitudes of top clients, among them: they like working with winners and respect business success, they are ferocious about privacy, they fear referrals, and they have a lot to lose.

In the next 10 chapters on strategies, Masselli’s  focus returns again and again to this HNW client attitude: “They like a professional, customized approach.’’

The way to achieving this ideal approach starts with these strategies:

1. Develop a referral plan (including having a written plan containing 20 prospects you want to be referred to).

2.  Provide excellent service (learn to anticipate the needs of top clients).

3. Position referrals from strength (without your guidance, thousands of HNW investors will not reach their financial goals).

4. Stay top of mind (stay on a client’s personal radar).

5. Address the risks and emotions of referrals (Make those risks go away).

6. Target a specific industry or client niche.

7. Build your brand identity (check out the Kolbe A Index test, which Maselli includes on his Web site).

8. Use the new specialty teferral (valuable for seasoned pros who have received referrals from clients).

9. Use event referral (HNW clients love events).

10. Use a referral guide (a basic three-ring binder containing critical client data “leaves a client with a strong, favorable assessment of your professionalism’’).

Maselli’s commonsense and reassuring packaging of how to succeed in the financial advisor business can be a useful tool.

His philosophy is worth noting: “Always remember that this is a people business. Money and investing may be the backdrop, but the real heart of what we do every day is take great care of people. Master that and you’re home.’’

Referrals: The Professional Way; 10 Strategies for Networking with Top Clients & Centers of Influence, by Frank Maselli. 207 pages. $35.

Eleanor O'Sullivan is an award-winning freelance journalist who has written for USA Today and Gannett newspapers. She has covered alternative and green investing, estate planning and family offices for Financial Advisor and Private Wealth magazines, and reviews new business books of interest to financial advisors. She can be reached at [email protected]