PATIENCE
I heard a story the other day. True or false? I’ll let you decide! I was told that a faith filled young man nine years ago started down the path of becoming a successful Certified Financial Planner (CFP.) His thought was that if he could build relationships with Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) he would have an abundance of referral business. Today he works three and one half days per week, has 250 active clients, speaks to each client once per month, and has 23 CPA referral partners where he gets 100 per cent of his business.
Now I have been told by many business professionals that CPAs do not trust CFPs. The reason why is the CPA believes that the only reason that the CFP wants to know them is to “Rape and Pillage” their clients. The only thing the CFP wants is to manage the hard earned money of the CPA’s clients.
When I was told this story I asked, “In one sentence, tell me how this CFP is different from other CFPs?” The response was, “PATIENCE.”
That answer started me thinking. Can this work for more than one CFP? This then led me to asking the question, “What is a distinct difference between CFPs and CPAs?” The answer lies in the difference between Type A personalities and Type B. Accountants, by nature, are typically laid back, easy going, and calm. The image of the tax preparer with the green visor worn on his head sitting over a dimly lit desk is how we might envision a CPA, a Type B. On the other hand, CFPs by nature are somewhat reserved, yet they typically exude confidence. We see them standing tall. Often they are trend setters, wearing a three piece suit, red tie, and a crisply pressed white shirt. They are taking clients and prospects out together to expensive restaurants with the attempt to generate prospects who will become clients. Now I understand there are some who will stop reading here saying, “I know a CPA who is a trend setter and a CFP who is laid back.” Continue reading please, those of you who are skeptical. I think I am on to something that might help ALL of you who have read this far.
As we focus on this concept of patience, we will find that the idea of building relationships becomes front and center. You see, my friend went on to tell me that patience was the key to building relationships with 23 CPAs. First he decided that he needed to first give before he received. Remember above, I spoke of our hero as being a “faith filled young man!” His guidance comes from his strong faith. He met CPAs and did some discovery work. He wanted to know how to help them first. He discovered how he could first help them in their practice. His intention was not to sell them his product or service. His intent was to make what they offered their clients better by offering more service to the CPA. We often get confused here. We offer service under the guise of selling something of value from our stable of offerings. This faith filled young man looked with a discerning eye outside the box at what would enhance the CPA’s process without concern for financial gain. He was not looking for a paycheck. He was looking to build a relationship by first being of service. I have been told that there are at least two dozen different things a CFP can offer a CPA to enhance the CPA’s practice for free.
Most of you reading this know me to be a Type A. I have a mantra that I have in common (we have talked about this) with many of you, “I want to kill something today and eat it today!” Most of my friends and clients are Type A people. We lack the patience gene. Yet, I believe that patience can become an acquired skill. The dictionary tells us that patience is, “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” Everyone reading this, when investing the time to learn, can acquire this skill. You might be asking, “How?”
It starts with being faithful. Whatever you believe spiritually, the concept of patience applies to our personal and business lives. If you are a Christian, Jew, Muslim, Atheist, or other, we all have “faith,” the religious believe in a higher power to put faith towards. Non believers of religion have faith in themselves and those who believe as they do. We need to believe in our ability to succeed.
Next, we need to find professional people we can serve without intent of receiving financial gain. Now this is where it gets tricky. The universe is full of takers. We are looking for business people who also are prepared to give first before they receive. Finding people who are truly in need and want to reciprocate are critical in this process. OK, those of you who are cynical to this last statement, we also need to give just for the sake of giving to those in need. For the purpose of this concept of acquiring patience, I am suggesting that this is an area where we are talking of business relationships. To be successful in this area we need to become more clear of our emotions, getting deep into how we feel.
Feelings can be broken into two distinct areas. Those areas are Good and Bad emotions. It could be argued that there are many emotions in between. For the purpose of this article we will stick to good and bad as they relate to how we feel. These feelings are typically in our gut, where when sensitized to what our gut tells us, can become a powerful tool when want to discover people who are the right connections to help.
Many of you know me to be a giver. Some of you tell me that I give too much for free. Lately, however, I have applied these concepts above with exciting results. My business is now 100 per cent by referral. Introductions are being made only by people who know, like, and trust me. I continue to meet prospects who are my market match by doing seminars for free with the intent of solely helping the attendees without expectation of financial remuneration. When it comes to being busy, I have never been more excited about the prospects for my business by continuing to give.
A caution…when providing a GIVE, be sure that action is required from the person doing the receiving. This goes back to the Chinese Proverb, “Teach a man to fish and they will eat for a life time.” My GIVE requires my prospects to take action. I then spend one to two hours giving them a response that defines who they are, who their prospects are, and how they serve their prospects.
Patience, virtue or business strategy, this is for you to decide. I look forward to your feedback
Gerry Rose runs INTEGRITY Networking Solutions in Oceanside, CA. He works with people in business who want to attract the right prospects and generate more referrals. More than 10,000 businesses have been presented the INTEGRITY Networking Solutions system in San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Orange Counties.
Gerry’s stimulating presentation Unlimited Prospects, Unlimited Referrals is ideally suited for small business owners, home-based businesses, and independent professionals who want clearer direction and want to attract more prospects, develop dynamic systems, and strengthen their companies’ accountability. Gerry does one on one consulting, conducts a range of keynote speeches from thirty minutes to full-day education workshops. His book series, Unlimited Prospects, Unlimited Referrals, are available on the website, www.integritysd.com.
Gerry has more than 20 years’ experience directing business owners how to grow their businesses. He is a networking dynamo. Those who know him will assure you that he does a great job of bringing people together—which is why he started INTEGRITY.
Involved with networking organizations since 1984, Gerry is a Distinguished Toastmaster, a member of Toastmaster International, and has chaired numerous chambers of commerce and non-profit organizations.
Are you truly committed to attracting the right prospects and generate more referrals? If so then contact INTEGRITY Networking Solutions for availability and information. You can contact Gerry by mail at 1610 Quiet Hills Drive, Oceanside, CA 92056. Direct dial (760) 439-4623; e-mail to gerry@integritysd.com. For more information, go to www.integritysd.com
