Pragmatic Consulting Club - Centers Of Influence

I've previously written about the importance of strategic partnerships here. But for some consultants, in special those who sell managed support or services to individuals, partnerships are one of the most effective ways to engage with new prospects and grow your practice.

Financial advisors, for example, work hard to build a reliable network of what they call centers of influence (COIs).

To illustrate this, here are some information provided by Invesco, in partnership with Prince & Associates:

• If you're a financial advisor looking for wealthy clients, you must understand how do rich people find their private advisors.
• Among those with $1 to 5 million in assets, 69% find their primary financial advisor through their attorney or accountant.
• Among those with more than $10 million, that percentage rises to 89%.

That's why attorneys and accountants are among the typical COIs. If you're a financial advisor, there's no reason not to invest most of your effort and attention in developing relationships with them. They should be on your selected list of key people to engage with.

If that's relevant for you, take 2 minutes to list potential COIs for your practice.

Tip: they're not restricted to accountants and attorneys. Think broad. Brokers, therapists, law attorneys, event planners, and many others might be a good fit.