Build a five-step referral programme: (1) ask at onboarding, (2) ask after delivering value, (3) offer a named reason, (4) give the referrer a script, (5) thank publicly. High-performing advisers generate 30 to 60% of new clients from referrals this way.
The programme 1. **Onboarding:** set expectation — "happy clients refer, it is how we grow". 2. **Value-event trigger:** after tax-year planning or pension review, ask. 3. **Named reason:** "we have capacity for 3 more pension-consolidation clients this quarter". 4. **Referrer script:** give them a 2-sentence intro they can copy-paste. 5. **Thank-you:** card, small gift, or public mention (no cash for regulated advice).
Professional referrers - Solicitors (IHT, divorce, conveyancing). - Accountants. - Mortgage brokers. - Will-writers. Build a monthly drumbeat of value (data, case studies, CPD breakfasts).
What does not work - Generic "who else do you know?" without context. - Cash incentives on regulated advice (rarely allowed). - Asking before you have delivered value.