Stephen Wershing

“As John Jantsch says in his book, The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself, “Being recognized as a source of good information, including referrals, is a great way to connect with others. Think about how eagerly you responded the last time someone asked you for directions, offering up your favorite shortcut and tips for avoiding traffic. We all do it. Making referrals is a deeply satisfying way to connect with others, and asking for referrals is just the other side of the same phenomenon. I think the growth of many popular social networks can be traced to the fact that people love to connect and form communities around shared ideas.”1”
― Stephen Wershing, Stop Asking for Referrals: A Revolutionary New Strategy for Building a Financial Service Business that Sells Itself

“In her survey of more than 1,000 clients who use financial advisors, one of the questions Littlechild asked was, “What were the circumstances of the last referral you gave to your advisor?” Half of the people said that they were asked specifically by a friend to recommend a financial advisor. Over half the people communicated some financial need for which the person knew his financial advisor had a solution. And how many people said that the circumstance of their last referral was that the advisor asked for it? Two percent, which is statistically equivalent to zero. Essentially no one gave a referral because the advisor asked for it. They gave a referral because their friend expressed a need, and they wanted to help (Figure 1.1). Most referral programs reflect a hunter mentality. We must go out and stalk and capture the referral. How do you suppose the prey feels in this relationship?”
― Stephen Wershing, Stop Asking for Referrals: A Revolutionary New Strategy for Building a Financial Service Business that Sells Itself