The older I get, the more I’ve become Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm. I’m at the point where I won’t stop by withholding complaints when something annoys me.
I’ve been in my practice for 14 years, and I’ve been an ERISA attorney for 25 years. So safe to say, I knew quite a few financial advisors. Heck, I’ve run almost two dozen events around the country to meet advisors.
Yet, I’ll still get a phone call from an advisor who claims they want to know what I do and almost all the time, they want to know if I could refer them business. To be explicit here, most of my business is from referrals from advisors and third-party administrators (TPAs) mainly because my articles over the years have helped my reputation and might have helped them in business. Plan sponsor clients coming to me directly, happens, but not as often as I would like. Many have an advisor already, some don’t. Let’s be honest, if I had referrals to make to make plan sponsors for advisor referrals, am I going to refer someone I’ve known for a long time or someone I just got off the phone with?
Relationships take time, they don’t happen overnight. It requires time and trust. I met a few advisors in Texas, I’m sure it will take time for them to refer me, to clients, because they’re probably trying to see if I can be trusted with their clients. Trust and relationships are a big thing in this business and they don’t happen overnight.
