Ep. 275: How Marc Minor Built a $500M Book Using Referrals

A Step-by-Step Plan for Hosting Client Appreciation Events

Who should listen: While addressed to financial professionals, the strategies and specific tactics presented for how to grow a business using client events is information applicable to all entrepreneurs.

Key idea: When you give clients what they want, and you create an exceptional experience while doing it, they’ll bring you referrals time and time again.

Action item: Use the information presented in this interview to host a stellar client event.

Theory and strategy are great. They are the principles and parameters that can guide you to figure out solutions to a multitude of related but distinct problems.

But don’t you sometimes wish for someone who would just tell you what to do?

Like when you simply don’t have the time to figure something out.

Or when your problem isn’t complicated, but you need to solve it so you can move on to more important tasks.

Or when you’ve tried to figure out the problem, but you keep failing, and you’ve hit your limit of frustration.

“PLEASE,” you beg, “can you just show me what I’m supposed to do?!”

Yes. Yes, we can.

This week on Stay Paid, Marc Minor joins us to share his step-by-step plan for creating and executing client appreciation events that repeatedly deliver new leads in the form of referrals.

Marc is the founder and CEO of Legacy Investment Services, Inc., which serves financial advisors and investors through its businesses, including Advisor Nation and Advisor Controls™. Still an active producer, his half-billion-dollar book of business consists largely of referred clients, many of whom he first met at his client appreciation events.

What you can expect

This is one of those episodes you truly need to listen to, rather than read about, to get its full value. Marc’s step-by-step plan is highly detailed—he even tells our listeners the key sentences he uses in his follow-up calls—so you’ll want to take notes.

His overall strategy is to build relationships. He creates client events that are so incredible, they compel clients to bring members of their spheres with them knowing that they are essentially bringing him their best referrals.

During the first half of his interview, Marc discusses how he plans his events. He will often plan golf outings—a favorite of financial professionals and their clients—but he makes a point of noting that the event can be any type that suits your clients.

If it’s not a golf outing, then maybe it’s a chef’s tasting, a wine or spirits tasting, or a chocolate tasting. An internet search will offer you dozens of ideas to choose from, including celebrating a client appreciation day during which you offer special discounts, having a customer appreciation party where you feature local foods and drinks, or selecting top clients and offering them box seats at the stadium.

As long as it meets your clients’ expectations, and you mingle and speak to your guests, it can be an event.

Whatever you select as your event, you can plan it according to Marc’s blueprint—only the details will change. Among the steps and useful ideas he explains are:

• Who to invite, when to invite them, and how to invite them.
• How you can approach partner businesses and vendors to have them pay for your event.
• Why you need to get to know the events manager. (Hint: they’ve got info you want!)
• What his opening comments are; how he establishes an exclusive, “by invitation only” atmosphere; and the importance of having face-to-face conversations with all the guests.

During the second half of his interview, Marc talks about his follow-up system. His is a series of three calls, and he explains exactly what he does in each, and their timing. Among the points he shares are:

• The content of his four-point discovery call.
• The most important information you need about a client.
• Why he never discards a name.

As you listen to this episode, you’ll quickly realize that, as a type of referral marketing strategy, client appreciation events can be especially lucrative. As Marc explains, these events can be used to grow your business, they’re scalable, and they’re repeatable. Best of all, when you have partner companies sponsor the events, they’re free to you.

Does it get any better than that?

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Website: Legacy Investment Services, Inc.

Website: Advisor Nation

Website: Advisor Controls™