Insights
Referral guides for professional firms - spotting the moment, referring clients compliantly, and earning a share.
Why referrals deserved better
Accountants make thousands of informal referrals every week — and almost none of them are tracked, evidenced or rewarded. Here's …
Why practices lose referrals they never knew they had
Most professional practices lose more referrals than they receive — and never find out. Here is where introductions quietly die, …
How to check a financial adviser on the FCA Register
Every legitimate adviser appears on the FCA Register. Every clone scam depends on you not looking. Here's the checking routine.
The business owner with no succession plan
Business owners pour years into building something valuable, then leave its future entirely unplanned. For any professional worki…
Why a tracked referral beats a name on a compliment slip
Informal referrals leave no trail, no protection, and no value. Here is why, seen through the lens of a file review, a tracked re…
The dying-intestate risk any professional can flag
Dying intestate is not a rare misfortune; it is the default for anyone without a valid will. Understanding the basic risk lets an…
The competitive edge of a good referral answer
Clients rarely choose between firms on core competence alone, because they cannot easily judge it. They judge on the moments they…
What a client really thinks when you can't help them
When you tell a client something is outside your remit, you experience it as a small, honest moment. The client often experiences…
What an introducer actually is (and what they must never do)
An introducer connects a client to a firm that can help; an adviser tells the client what to do. Understanding exactly where that…
The client whose assets outgrew their old will
As clients accumulate wealth, the will they wrote years ago can become dangerously inadequate. Noticing when someone's assets hav…
Vulnerable clients and the case for a consented referral process
Vulnerable clients often need regulated advice most and can protect themselves least. Here is why a consented, recorded referral …
Professional referral networks: lessons from the ones that failed
Referral networks fail in predictable ways. The autopsy is worth reading before joining, or building, another one.
Second marriages and blended families: the estate referral
Second marriages and blended families create some of the trickiest estate situations there are, and clients rarely appreciate the…
Turning I don't do that into value for your firm
Every firm says 'I don't do that' several times a week and thinks nothing of it. Those three words mark the boundary of your serv…
What is an introducer? The rules for referring clients, explained
The referral world has its own jargon and its own rulebook. A field guide for professionals who'd like to be paid without becomin…
The tax year end checklist that isn't about tax
Allowances expire on 5 April. So do openings. A listening guide for the busiest advisory window of the year.
The stale will after a life event: your cue to refer
Many clients believe that once they have made a will, the job is done for life. In truth, a single life event can leave that docu…
The informal-referral problem: why the name on a card fails everyone
Almost every firm already refers, in the loosest possible way: a name passed across a desk, a number on a compliments slip. It fe…
“Do you know a good financial adviser?” — the compliant answer
You can refer. You can't advise. The gap between those two sentences is where most of the confusion lives.
The SRA rules on referral fees, explained
Solicitors often treat referral fees as forbidden territory. Here is a clearer view of what the rules actually turn on and where …
The client questions solicitors hear most — and where to send each one
Solicitors hear financial questions the moment a matter concludes. A guide to the ones that recur, and the referral that answers …
No lasting power of attorney: the safeguard clients skip
Estate planning is not only about death. A lasting power of attorney protects a client if they lose the capacity to make decision…
The reputation upside of a well-handled introduction
Firms spend heavily on reputation through branding and marketing, yet the reputations that actually stick are earned in small mom…
The client questions marketing agencies hear most — and where to send each one
Marketing agencies hear founders' money questions constantly — exits, surplus cash, what happens next. A routing guide for the on…