Professionals Who Are Networking Must Differentiate Between 'Possible' And 'Probable'

Most professionals – wealth managers, attorneys, financial advisors, accountants, bankers, insurance agents – in focusing their new business efforts on centers of influence get all excited over “possibilities.” Unfortunately, most of this excitement is the product of fantasy. Let’s look at a few typical scenarios: A wealth manager has a very good first meeting with an accountant followed by another good one and a third. He’s feeling pretty excited about the possibility of getting some high-quality introductions. While the wealth manager might end up with a referral or two, the number of high-caliber clients he gets through the contact will likely fail to meet his expectations. An accountant has mapped out her network of “friends” and the very wealthy individuals whom they know. In her mind, all she has to do is approach her friends to get the appropriate introductions. While the connections are solid, she will unlikely be able to motivate her friends to connect her with many, if any, affluent prospects. A commercial banker, an attorney, and an investment manager have agreed to share their high-net-worth clients with each other. Each thinks this is going to solve all his prospecting difficulties. Each is most likely wrong.