A significant number of advisors have approached me seeking to understand how we could possibly have recently had our very best six-month period in the entire 31 years that Forte Financial has been in business. It’s almost unthinkable in the current climate.

Of course, to have a service proposition, we need to generate new business opportunity. These are some of the ways we have done just that:

1. Be proactive. This may sound really obvious, but how many of us can truthfully say we immediately got on the front foot when COVID-19 first affected us and put in a call to communicate with and reassure every one of our clients? Many of us will have metaphorically hidden under our desks or under the duvet waiting for the good times to return. I understand that; I know there are a number of advisors out there who are still hiding under the desks and under duvets.

The thing is, we can all be great advisors when markets are rising, when unemployment is at an all-time low, when fund performance is double digit, and there are no external distractions in our life or business. But if we want to be truly world-class, we have to do the exact opposite, a bit like the Warren Buffett School of Investing — to reach out when it’s a bit more uncomfortable to do. That’s what separates successful people from the wannabes, where we add a layer of support or service — which does not necessarily result in fees being earned — and take the time to alter the strategic plan, to communicate with people even if it doesn’t feel like a priority, even if it feels uncomfortable.

At Forte Financial, we made a conscious decision to communicate with every single one of our 847 clients. The message to them was simple: We were willing and available to help them in whatever way we could with grant applications, budgeting, tax matters and anything else. Of those 847 messages, we received 624 responses, and we generated 118 new cases from existing clients.

We also took some time to go back through the diary and follow up on all the action points we had noted but not completed, maybe because we got distracted or we simply forgot to follow up on a task. However well a business we might all run, the reality is that we will all from time to time fail to follow up on something we should have followed up with or acted on previously. So, revisit diaries and workflow, especially over the last six to 12 months, and you will undoubtedly find numerous opportunities.

2. Don’t send an email or an SMS. We all know how easy it is to misunderstand something another person writes. So, send simple, brief voice memos instead. They are much more personal, and they allow the other person to hear the sincerity in our offer to help, and therefore they are rarely misinterpreted. “Hi, how are you? Can I help?” is so much better than something you write.

3. Partner with other professionals. The unfortunate reality of COVID-19 is that there will either be a large number of babies born in 2021 or there will be a much higher number of divorces. Either way, lawyers specializing in wills and trusts or matrimonial matters will be generating a lot of new business. In addition, accountants will be helping many more people with tax-related issues.

4. Become more visible. If I were to ask 100 people in the U.K. to think of a famous chef, an overwhelming majority would probably think of Gordon Ramsay. But Gordon Ramsay, with great respect to Gordon Ramsay, isn’t the best chef in the U.K. He’s just perceived to be. Creating positive perceptions comes from visibility, and this is the reason why people like Gordon Ramsay and perhaps his female counterpart Nigella Lawson have become so successful. It hasn’t just been about talent. It’s been about creating an iconic presence. To be more visible in our business, we can post regular business messages on social media, organize infomercials or organize webinars to help our clients and contacts understand the solutions to their problems.

Continuing the theme of supporting our clients, we actually put together a 79-page magazine PDF on dealing with the challenges of COVID-19. We got an external company to put it together for us, and since it was a PDF, we sent it to all of our clients and professional contacts and encouraged them to share it with others. That magazine reached a further 1,042 people, and we received over 200 new client inquiries. The cost of the magazine was $600.

5. Utilize your Top 20 clients as a potential army of advocates. Take advantage of these unique relationships. Ask them to help form a networking event over coffee, via Zoom of course, or simply ask them to help you to develop relationships with other people just like them.

When I engage with these people, I have a very simple conversation. “Mr. Smith, we’ve had a great relationship over the last 10 or 15 years. I consider you not just one of my best clients, but a very good friend as well.” And I’m sure I would get agreement from Mr. Smith when I put it to him in that way. “The thing is, Mr. Smith, the landscape is changing, and my time is limited on that basis. I want to consider increasing the amount of access you have to me.” And I have to be very careful to clarify here that the word “access” is different to me physically seeing these people. “Having reflected during this lockdown period, I’d like to improve my service by giving you, as one of my top clients, more access to me. But in order to be able to do that, I obviously need to spend less time looking for new clients. So, if you would, could you think of, or find, two or three people just like you?” This is the opportunity for me to lay down the criteria that I need them to adopt when they are looking for new prospective clients.

They are also managing directors, owners of their own companies, a recent inheritance received, a certain level of assets, certain amount of net disposable income — whatever criteria it is you’ve used to determine that this person you are speaking to is one of your highest net-worth or most important clients. That is the criteria you lay down when encouraging them to look for new business opportunity. They may not necessarily come up with a name or two straightaway. What you will find when you have this conversation is that the vast majority of these people you are speaking to, you have never actually asked them for a referral — or personal introductions as I’ve preferred to call it in the past.

Alessandro M. Forte, FPFS, is a 22-year MDRT member with 22 Top of the Table qualifications. He has built one of the U.K.’s most successful and highly respected businesses, with many individual and corporate awards to his credit. His book “Dare to Be Different” has sold more than 400,000 copies across more than 60 countries and is now published in eight languages. His success strategies and Success Masterclass programs have made him one of the most sought-after speakers in the world today.