We often get questions from Advisors that have not yet closed a deal wondering at what point they would request references for their clients. We work with a tremendous number of clients of all types, sizes, and from all across the Nation. The procedures outlined in this document are used in all of those transactions, and we are confident once you become familiar with them you will find them extremely beneficial. These procedures are setup to help you close business, not hinder.
Are references important?
Most new Advisors feel references are very important. They feel like they need them to build credibility. The fact is, the overwhelming majority of all of our deals close without the client ever requesting references. If you are seeing different results we strongly suggest you take a step back and look at the approach.
When do we give a client references?
We only give references to clients that request them. Even then, we do not give out references until a National Account Manager has determined they have qualifying activities, and we have spoken with their CPA to determine that they can in fact utilize our services.
Why don't we just give a reference sheet to anyone that asks for it?
References are valuable. CEO’s, CFO’s, and Business Owners do not have time to take phone calls. Because of the confidential nature of what we provide, some clients do not agree to be references at all, while others often limit the number of times we can use them as a reference. Because they are so valuable, we save them only for clients that we know can utilize our services (only CPA’s can determine).
What if a client wants to "check our references" before moving forward with us?
Walk them through our process. (first we collect information, then we research to see what they may qualify for, then we determine with their CPA if they can utilize the programs we find. Once we know what programs the client can utilize, we can provide references for those programs). Point out that you wouldn’t know what kind of references to provide them, as you don’t know what programs they qualify for. The last thing we want to do is send someone Cost Seg references, only to later find out that they don’t qualify for Cost Seg and that their real hot button was energy, workers comp, insurance review, or property tax mitigation. Until we survey the client using the app, we don’t know what they qualify for, what they want, or what excites them. Which means we definitely wouldn’t know which reference to have them call.
What if a client wants to check references before attending a Discovery Call or signing a Service Agreement?
See the answer above. Again, we don’t know what references to give them (or if they even qualify) until we have surveyed them.