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…
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…
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…
The unused pension allowance: quantify it, then refer it
Unused pension allowance is one of the clearest triggers a tax adviser sees. You can measure it precisely; you should not be 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…
Trust structuring: where the tax adviser stops and the specialist starts
Trusts sit at the intersection of tax and legal specialism. Tax advisers analyse the tax consequences; will and estate specialist…
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…
“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 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…
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…
Recurring revenue for accountancy practices — beyond the monthly fee letter
Practices have spent a decade converting clients to fixed monthly fees. The next recurring line doesn't need any extra hours at a…
The client questions IT consultants hear most — and where to send each one
IT consultants become trusted advisers fast, and the money questions follow. Here is which ones to answer and where to send the r…