For years, you have been told by coaches and consultants that the rule of referrals is: ask and you shall receive. Or at least, you won’t receive if you don’t ask.

But new research from Toronto-based Advisor Impact Inc. suggests that this is not necessarily true. Asking apparently has little or no bearing on the number of referrals generated. Get your clients engaged in the relationship and the referrals will come, the research says.

“I’ve always thought the idea of asking clients for a referral is odd,” says Mitch Anthony, president of Advisor Insights Inc. in Rochester, Minn. “Build-ing a business is the advisor’s job — not the client’s.”

If you focus on demonstrating your expertise in specific areas, referrals are sure to follow.

“It’s more subtle,” Anthony says.

Al Nagy, an advisor with Investors Group Inc. in Edmonton, has a common apprehension toward the subject. “I never directly ask for referrals,” he says. “I don’t want to appear desperate to take on clients.” He does make clients aware he’s interested in taking on new business, however. “I consider that prompting, as opposed to asking.”

But if you’re too subtle, you risk not getting ahead, counters Darrell Cook, director of sales for the Strategic Coach in Toronto. “Advisors should always be asking for referrals,” he says.

But the topic should be broached only after the advisor has confirmed the client recognizes true value in their relationship.

Still, it doesn’t hurt to ask, says Ted Rechtshaffen, president of TriDelta Financial Partners in Toronto. He has found clients are more likely to give referrals without being asked once they recognize the value in his services.

Whether you ask is up to you. Either way, engaged clients are more likely to deliver. — MAUREEN HALUSHAK