Getting On The Rolodex
Advisor Gerald Steffes has spent nine years developing a client recruitment strategy that basically rests on building relations with local attorneys and accountants.
He started a breakfast club that holds meetings three times a year. Plus, he mails out chocolate bars and mints to attorneys and CPAs every year. It's all geared toward one thing-getting his name and his Merriam, Kan.-based practice on their Rolodex.
Well, after going through thousands of chocolates and mints, Steffes is finally seeing a payoff for all the work. "The past three years, the pace of picking up new clients has continued," Steffes says. "On average, we get two good clients a month."
Referrals from attorneys and CPAs has injected enough growth into the business to nearly offset the declines of the market. Over the past two-and-a-half years, he estimates his assets under management have declined 10%, compared with 40% for the broad-based market.
He currently has about $97 million in assets under management, about half of which is comprised of 401(k) assets that he manages for small-business owners. That's one reason his relationships with accounting and legal professionals have been fruitful, Steffes says. Many of these entrepreneurs-unhappy with their investments-are turning to lawyers and accountants for advice, he says. Referrals from allied professionals, he adds, carry a lot of weight. "The closure rate on a referral from a CPA is 95%," he says.
Steffes, who is a CPA himself, tries to ensure these professionals have his business on the tip of their tongues. On fees, for example, Steffes will knock 20 basis points off his standard 1.2% asset-based fee on professional referrals.
For the breakfast meetings, he typically sends invitations to 400 professionals within a 30-minutes drive of his office-which typically attracts a crowd of 20 to 25 people. He also sits on the board of directors of the Kansas Society of CPAs.
Then there are the sweets. A few weeks before tax season, he mails out Nestles Crunch bars and his business card to about 150 accountants, with a note wishing them luck with the tax "crunch." For St. Patrick's Day, he mails out green mints.
"It keeps my name in front of them," he says. "I know they open the envelope."