After the organizational groundwork is laid, advisors can begin the process of selecting and cultivating centers of influence.
“The first thing you have to do is figure out who you want to be going after,” Turner said. “You have to work it down to six or seven coveted partnerships that you want.”
Potential partnerships can be identified by similarities in firm culture, clientele and objectives, said Turner.
These potential partners should also be diversified, and advisors may want to look beyond more typical centers of influence like attorneys and accountants.
“You don’t want six CPAs or six attorneys,” Turner said. “Think about where else you can look for referral sources. It depends on where you live and what types of clients that you have. I have heard of firms using art dealers. There’s a firm in Colorado that uses life coaches to generate referrals.”
Junior advisors and younger staff members can help firms cultivate centers of influence across generations, too, said Turner.
Advisors should start with a broad list of possible referral sources, and then begin meeting with the centers of influence.
The first meeting should be short – Turner recommends around 20 minutes – and take place in the center of influence’s office.
“It’s important for you to see how they treat their staff and what their office environment looks like,” Turner said. “They do all the talking, because you are sort of interviewing them. You’re going to talk to them to find out what’s important to them. Resist the urge to pitch.”
If a firm is a good fit with the advisor and if they seem open to making referrals, an advisor can move on to a second, longer meeting. This way, centers of influence that are unlikely to refer clients or are culturally incompatible with the advisor can be culled from the list.