Market Planning Idea

Strategic Networking, Part III: "Not Many Holes in the Cheese"

Every time they turn around at seminars and industry meetings, CPAs are told there's a pot of money in financial services and they should be getting their share. Why should you serve up juicy product recommendations only to let someone else hit the home runs? That's the message CPAs have been getting, and it makes perfect sense. As Mike Sommers (Hummel Insurance, Inc. Berlin, OH) explains it, the ones who agree have three ways to go. They can…

Develop an in-house financial services department. That means getting life and securities licenses, finding, hiring and training the right people, providing service and support, and hoping the best. And risk – but we can assist them in this development if they decide to go in this direction.

Merge with or buy an existing operation. That means capital expenditures, management responsibilities as well as ongoing oversight and support. Less risk.

Network with an existing operation. That means signing up with us and going about their business as usual: meeting clients, letting them know they need, say, a tax write off; then picking up the phone and telling us to set up an IRA. We take it from there, and when the sale is made it's a 50/50 commission split.

They can't believe it! Their bottom line goes up without any additional work. And, by the way, there's no risk. At all! In fact, those industry meetings actually are pretty good recruiting seminars for our networking program! This is such a natural it's surprising everyone isn't doing it, Sommers says, then he describes how it works:

Recognize – Refer

"Ask CPAs or bankers for a few minutes to tell them about an opportunity we think could be mutually beneficial. Then spell it out, 'You're used to bringing in fees, how would you like bringing in additional fees with no additional service work? You're in an ideal position to recognize your clients' needs; we're in an ideal position to meet those needs with our products and services. You identify the need and refer the client to us; we do the selling, service the business, and handle all the correspondence and follow up. How does that sound?'

"We've been at this two years. It works! The key," insists Sommers, "is demonstrating the win-win situation, and that's easy! They do what they do best and let us do what we do best: we both come out ahead. The first CPA we approached heard us out and said, 'I don't see many holes in the cheese. Let's do it!'"

"We meet with our Representatives about networking once a month and remind them the firm will only reach its full potential if they bring good people to us," Sommers concludes. "In fact, two of the accounting firms we've signed up were referrals from our producers.

"Want some crackers with that cheese?"

Ohio National is not affiliated with, nor does it endorse or sponsor, any particular prospecting, marketing or selling system.