How to find the clients you want

There are three ways to grow your business:

• Increase your average case size
• Increase the number of cases
• Do a combination of both

How well this works depends on how well you prospect, which means finding not just any prospects but the right prospects for the business you want to have.

While there are various ways to prospect, what’s been the most efficient for me is what I call fishing in a stock pond instead of the ocean. If there is a specific fish you want to catch, it’s inefficient to cast your net in one small spot in a huge ocean and hope you somehow catch the fish you want among all the other fish in the sea. That’s going to take a lot of time. Instead, you can make your job much easier by fishing in a pond already fully stocked with the type of fish you want to catch.

Look for clients in the right places with the right solutions

What this means for prospecting is putting yourself in a position to talk with a lot of people who have the business or economic situation that matches your practice. It doesn’t matter what market you focus on. If, for example, you want to be work with people in the private equity field, go to private equity conferences or meet people at their firms. And understand the value you bring to that market and what problems you can solve for them.

For instance, most of the employees in the private equity business have variable compensation, and their disability insurance only covers their base salary. That’s a problem you can solve for them. Or if their group life insurance covers only their base compensation, they typically don’t have the right amount of life insurance.

Analyzing and planning

While fishing in stocked ponds is crucial, make sure the niche you’re targeting isn’t too small to support your business. If there aren’t enough prospects in that market, consider looking upstream for prospects in a higher economic bracket or looking at a different market altogether.

No matter what market you choose, acquiring clients takes time and planning. I have a list of long-term prospects and another list of short-term, immediate-need prospects. I regularly update these lists, track activity, and set expectations and goals — which I write down and communicate to staff.

The pond of short-term prospects contains people whose needs I can meet quickly. I spend time each week prospecting in this segment. Short-term prospects generate the revenue that keeps me in business week after week.

At the same time, I have a list of high-value prospects who take longer to work with. For example, I may have to meet with a CEO to get in front of the board. That takes time. I also touch this market every week.

With this approach to prospecting, I increase the size of my average case, and I increase the number of cases. And my business grows.

Howard E. Sharfman, of Chicago, Illinois, manages one of the largest wealth management firms in the United States. He’s is a Top of the Table qualifier who specializes in high-net-worth clients. He has been an MDRT member since 1994. Watch more from Sharfman in the videos “How to boost a clients’ interest in minutes” and “The traits of a top producer.”