I'm a movie buff and love to recommend great flicks to my friends. I love all types of movies but especially thrillers.  Remember the 2005 classic The Zodiac Killer?  Well honestly, me neither.  But how many of you remember Silence of the Lambs?  Me too!  It's nearly 15 years older, but I remember many details and recall how my skin crawled as Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) helped Jodi Foster catch the serial killer.

I told many of my friends to go see Silence of the Lambs while The Zodiac Killer is forgettable. So what makes a movie referable?  A fantastic story, great photography, spectacular acting, "The whole package?"  It could be anything that impresses you, but the common denominator is that it is in a class above the rest.  It may be better written, with characters that are more interesting, and more visually stimulating than most movies you see.  Whatever the reason, there are qualities of the movie which are different and better than most you see; some qualities perhaps obvious to you and others perhaps not. It's the entire experience you will remember. 

So what inspires us to recommend anything to our friends & loved ones and say things like, "you've got to experience this" or "you won't believe what they do for me?" What would motivate one of your clients to visualize something you do for them and then tell a friend "you've got to take that financial issue to my Trusted Advisor, you won't believe the kind of work they do for me!"

 Movies are easy, great ones create an experience and it's those wonderful experiences which are unforgettable and referable.  When's the last time you heard  anyone say, "You have got to experience my advisor's investment reviews and market outlooks, they're unforgettable."

No, great experiences sound more like this, "I couldn't find her form declaring me her 'power of attorney' so I called my Trusted Advisor as they were rushing my mom from the nursing home to the hospital. When we arrived at the hospital the power of attorney was already waiting for me there, they had sent it over from their office. An hour later the Director of Client Services for our advisor surprised me and stopped by the hospital with copies of every other document I might need, including several I hadn't thought of. It was unbelievable. I can't tell you what a relief it was, you can really count on my Trusted Advisor's entire team."

Whether it's your assistant going to an elderly client's home to help "dig" through attic boxes for some important records she can't find, or your intervening in the midst of a "home closing" because a final document was just produced reflecting several previously undisclosed large fees, it's memorable experiences or processes which are referable.

Does your initial client interview leave Potential Ideal Clients inspired, exhilarated, altered?  Are any of your meetings memorable?  I've been in the financial services industry nearly 25 years and have gotten to know  many hard-working, highly professional and well-skilled financial advisors. Very few financial advisor's client meeting processes I've reviewed over the years, however, could be described as memorable.

So do this exercise, sit down and make a list of everything you do, or could do, to make your progress meetings with your Ideal Clients memorable, special and remarkable.  Nothing gimmicky, that won't work. No, just think "distinctive," think "thorough," think "proactive."  What could you be doing that will put your comprehensive financial services in a "category of one?" What would make you so indispensable to your Ideal Clients that they will feel compelled to tell everyone they know and love and care about to pick up the phone and schedule an appointment with you immediately? If you're gutsy and confident, ask your Ideal Clients directly, "What makes us indispensable to you?" Then, capture the positive things they say and ask them, "May I quote you on that?"  If you're fearful of asking that question in exactly that way, then consider it a "sign from above" that you have room to become much more referable than you are right now.

Did you recommend the movie Anaconda to anyone?  Do you even remember it?  Me neither!  How about Jaws? You bet! Do you think you'll ever get in the ocean again without thinking about that movie at times? Do you get what I mean? What could you be doing that is memorable, inspires your Ideal Clients to be excited and to recommend you and your team whenever the subject of money comes up?