Building Rock-Solid Relationships with COIs

A few years ago, advisor Elaine Manley and her team found themselves facing an all-too-common predicament: They had referred numerous clients to centers of influence (COIs) such as tax professionals and estate attorneys, but received only a small number of introductions from those professionals in return.

“It wasn’t anywhere near a win-win situation,” says Manley, founder of Financial Journey Partners in San Jose, California. “That was frustrating because we knew we could help a lot of the clients of these professionals—if we could meet them.”

That lopsided dynamic began to change after Manley joined CEG Worldwide’s coaching program, where she discovered strategies for developing relationships with COIs that had real economic glue and worked in both directions. “The strategies, the coaching and the insights from the other advisors in the program all were invaluable,” she says.

The result: “Our firm now has a network with 40 high-quality professionals. Not just one attorney or one tax person—we have multiple relationships in those areas, along with professional fiduciaries, life coaches and health professionals,” says Manley. “All of them understand who we are, how we differ from other advisors and what we can do for clients.”

That understanding among the firm’s COI partners has led to an increase not simply in referrals, but in referrals of clients who Manley says her firm is ideally suited to serve. “The number of COIs who want to refer to us and are tuned into what is an ideal prospect for us has improved and the future looks bright,” she notes.

Based on her experience with CEG Worldwide, Manley offers the following action steps and advice for advisors seeking to build better referral relationships with other experts and professional services providers.

1. Get your house in order first. Before she addressed her COI issues, Manley worked with CEG Worldwide on improving her client experience process, honing her approach to delivering comprehensive wealth management, and sharpening her messaging in those areas. “You’ve got to get your processes down first, so that when you approach COIs you’re confident and compelling and know exactly what to say to highlight your strengths,” she says.
2. Start with existing clients’ COIs. In search of high-quality COIs, Manley reached out to her clients who rated their accountants, attorneys and other professionals positively. The shared client connection helped jumpstart conversations, giving Manley a large pool of potential COI partners to evaluate.
3. Position yourself as a thought leader. Last year, Elaine and her husband (and firm co-owner) Scott authored and published a book, Enjoy The Journey: Successful Retirement Strategies and Stories. It’s helped them become seen by COIs and prospective clients as highly credible thought leaders in the industry. “Having a published book has really elevated us in the eyes of the types of clients we want to serve, and the COIs who can refer those clients to us,” says Manley.
4. Make COI outreach a key focus, not an afterthought. Manley has become systematic about talking to COIs weekly in order to develop and foster good relationships that lead to greater levels of trust, respect and referral opportunities. “COIs are at the top of my list every week,” she notes.

Ultimately, Manley and her team have re-positioned the practice and put it on a path to double current assets under management by 2028. “We’re clear on what we want to accomplish and we’re moving toward it faster than I ever thought we could,” says Manley.