Approaching people you know about working together

Most advisors can identify people they know socially who they'd like as clients - for example long standing friends from university, other members at a golf club you belong to or people you've met through a community organization.

The challenge is how to introduce this topic without putting either you or your friends under pressure or having you seen as a glad handing, high pressure sales type.

One way to raise the subject of working together without putting people under the gun is through what marketing academics call "signalling" - sending an indirect message.

Imagine for instance that someone you know gets the following email from you:

"Dan, every second Friday I email clients who have told me they want information on what's happening one particularly insightful article that I've come across in my ongoing reading and research. Given the market turmoil over the past year, clients have told me that they have found these articles very helpful. It occurred to me that you might find the attached article from the most recent issue of the Economist on prospects for the global banking industry interesting reading. If you have any questions or would like to talk about this, give me a call at xxx-xxxx. Talk to you soon. Bill"

It's highly unlikely anyone is going to be offended by this email.

Dig beneath its surface and what signal is the advisor sending?

Very simply that he's open for business and if the person receiving it would like to talk, he'd be happy to do so.

You don't have to be this subtle to raise the possibility of working together with someone you know.

One advisor began ending conversations with friends and associates by saying: "One final thing. I've been working as a financial advisor for about six years. If you'd ever like to talk about your own situation, I'd be delighted to do so."

She was gratified by the response. Not everyone reacted positively of course, but quite a few people took her up on the offer. Just as important, no one seemed offended and she didn't feel any harm had been done to her friendships.

A third approach is to listen for cues when talking to people you know. Suppose someone you know mentions that they're grappling with what to do with a family cottage. You could offer to send them one of the videos from the clientinsights.ca website around transferring cottage ownership, such as the ones below.

http://www.clientinsights.ca/video/transferring-cottage-ownership-today-or-via-a-will/type:investor

http://www.clientinsights.ca/video/managing-capital-gains-on-a-family-cottage/type:investor

Something to bear in mind is that you need to limit how often you raise working together. If you want to be sure not to offend people, make this foray once and then leave it up to your friend as to how to respond. (That means you need to keep track of who you've approached.)

Given markets over the past year, lots of investors are looking at their alternatives - and chances are that people you know are among them. Consider sending a low key message that you're open for business to some of these people - you may be pleasantly surprised by the answers you get.