How to Frame a Healthy CPA Referral Alliance

Kansas City: “It seems as though it is getting nearly impossible to establish good CPA referral alliances, groaned Ed, then adding “I’ve been conducting CE courses for CPAs for nearly three years, but haven’t got a referral from any of them.”

In many ways, developing a healthy CPA alliance is similar to penetrating affluent centers-of-influence. How so? Both the affluent and CPAs have been overly solicited by financial advisors, and albeit for slightly different reasons, both groups are leery of the world of financial services.

The following steps have evolved from our research and have been successful in developing healthy CPA referral alliances when properly applied.

1. Identify specific CPAs you would like to work with.
2. Gather some background information on each to assist in developing rapport.
3. Contact the CPAs you’ve targeted by a telephone call or face-to-face interaction.
4. Officially meet face-to-face with the sole objective to develop rapport and uncover a reason for a follow-up face-to-face.
5. Send a summary document (email, note, etc.) that provides an overview of your initial meeting and reminds of your upcoming 2nd face-to-face meeting.
6. Officially meet face-to-face a second time with the objective to strengthen the relationship.
7. Manage each relationship by staying in touch and treating each targeted CPA as if they were an affluent prospect.

There is no miracle presentation that will carry the day and qualify you in the mind of your targeted CPA as worthy of referrals. It’s all about developing a relationship on a personal level. Once a CPA gets to know you, determines that he likes you, and feels as though he can trust you, then and only then have you created a window of opportunity for developing a healthy referral alliance.

I’ll be diving into these topics in upcoming articles, but this is a good framework for getting started.