As a finance broker in Australia, building a robust referral funnel can drive consistent growth and help you stand out in a competitive market. By leveraging referral partners, you can create a sustainable business model that relies on trust and strong relationships. Let’s jump into how you can optimise your referral funnel and answer some key questions along the way.
If you want to skip straight to the exact funnel scroll down or click “Free Referral Partner Funnel”.
How Many Referral Partners Should a Broker Support?
So, how many referral partners should you have? Well, it depends on the size and scope of your business. But generally, aiming for 10-20 active referral partners is a good range. This number allows you to maintain strong relationships without spreading yourself too thin.
Too many partners might mean you can’t give each relationship the attention it needs, while too few could limit your opportunities.
How to Get Referral Partners as a Mortgage Broker?
Finding referral partners isn’t as daunting as it seems. Here’s a simple approach:
- Identify Potential Partners: Look for professionals in related fields like real estate agents, financial planners, accountants, and solicitors. They often work with clients who need mortgage services.
- Establish Connections: Reach out to potential partners through email, LinkedIn, or at networking events. Personalise your message to highlight the mutual benefits and start building a rapport.
- Create a Referral Agreement: Formalise the partnership with a referral agreement that outlines expectations, responsibilities, and any incentives for referrals.
How to Develop Referral Sources?
Developing referral sources is all about ongoing effort and strategic planning:
- Nurture Relationships: Regularly engage with your referral partners through meetings, calls, or emails. Keep them updated on industry trends and your successes.
- Provide Excellent Service: Ensure that every referral you receive is handled with the utmost care and professionalism. Satisfied clients are more likely to refer others to you.
- Offer Incentives: Implement a referral program that rewards partners for successful referrals. This could be monetary bonuses, gifts, or reciprocal referrals.
- Use Technology: Utilise CRM systems to manage and track your referral sources. This helps in maintaining organised records and ensuring timely follow-ups.
How to Increase the Number of Referrals?
To boost your referrals, consider these strategies:
- Ask for Referrals: Don’t be shy about asking your satisfied clients and partners for referrals. Often, people are willing to refer but need a gentle nudge.
- Educate Your Network: Make sure your referral partners understand the services you offer and the type of clients you’re looking for. This helps them identify the right opportunities for referrals.
- Stay Top of Mind: Regularly communicate with your network through newsletters, social media updates, or events. Staying visible helps keep you top of mind when referral opportunities arise.
- Deliver Exceptional Experiences: Consistently exceed client expectations. Happy clients and partners are more likely to refer others to you.
How to Gain More Referrals?
Gaining more referrals boils down to building trust and maintaining strong relationships:
- Be Reliable and Trustworthy: Consistently deliver on your promises and maintain high ethical standards. Trust is crucial for referrals.
- Network Actively: Participate in industry events, join professional groups, and network with peers. The more people you connect with, the higher your chances of gaining referrals.
- Leverage Social Proof: Share testimonials, case studies, and success stories from your clients. Social proof can significantly influence potential referral partners.
- Follow Up and Thank: Always follow up on referrals and express your gratitude. A simple thank you can go a long way in fostering long-term relationships.
The Unreal Media Referral Funnel
Okay, ready?
Now as you’re likely aware, having referral partners isn’t about having a massive list of people. It’s about having a nice collection of partners that you can build and maintain a relationship with. So your goal shouldn’t be about getting 100 new referral partners a quarter.
If you can get 3-5 new referral partners every quarter on top of your other lead generation channels you’ll comfortably write millions and millions more every month.
The most efficient way to start this is to scrape a list from LinkedIn. For example, if you want about 10-30 partners then you’d want an email list size of about 1000 people.
Now we only recommend emailing people who you actually believe you can work with, and begin by focusing on 1 industry. For example, if you would like to work with more accountants, find accountants, and filter if they are Directors, Owners or CXOs. Then proceed to limit the employee size to less than 10 employees. The reason for this is, a lot of the bigger accounting firms may already have loyal referral partners, you want to target the up-and-coming ones to build a long-term relationship with.
Once you have your list you can do the funnel:
Using cold outreach software like Lemlist will allow you to set up the funnel and also do LinkedIn outreach, giving you a multi-channel approach for the highest chance of getting more appointments.
Step 1 – Day 1:
Send a LinkedIn Connection Request
Step 2 (Wait 1 day):
Email 1:
Subject Line Ideas:
coffee?
Let’s partner up
A quick $600
We cannot give you an exact email for obvious reasons as then most people will just copy/paste it without changing a thing and it’ll ruin this for everyone.
However, here is a template:
Hey (FIRST NAME),
Explain in 1 sentence what you’re looking for and then mention your referral incentive. Example 20%.
Ask for a coffee or zoom catchup (in person is always highly effective).
Regards,
Email Signature
Step 3 (Wait 1 Day):
Visit LinkedIn Profile (prompts notification)
Step 4 (Wait 2 Days):
Email 2
Provide some more value in this second email, leave the same subject line and chain the emails.
Step 5 (Wait 1 Day):
Visit LinkedIn Profile (prompts notification)
Step 6
Email 3
With this one, treat it as more so touching base and potentially include some key information that could help them want to work with you as a referral partner. You could also give them a call on this day to attempt reaching them through another channel.
Step 7
LinkedIn Connection Request #2
Step 8 (Wait 4 Days):
Email 4
Step 9 (Same Day):
Visit LinkedIn profile (prompts notification)
Step 10 (Wait 7 Days):
Email 5
What Now?
The key here is to get back to people fast when they reply and ideally look to hold in-person meetings with them to build a stronger relationship.
For more tips on building your referral funnel and other marketing strategies, contact us. We’re here to help you grow your business effectively.
