Ep 463: Generating 10-15 Referrals Per Week By Coaching Clients To Make More Effective Introductions with David Stevens
Financial Advisor Success
Michael Kitces
4.8 • 696 Ratings
🗓️ 11 November 2025
⏱️ 90 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
While many advisors seek client referrals, an intentional approach can lead to a steadier flow of leads. Today's guest breaks down how coaching clients on making introductions and small communication tweaks can turn satisfied clients into proactive advocates, driving steady, qualified opportunities week after week.
David Stevens is the President of Stevens Capital Partners, an RIA based in Omaha, Nebraska, managing $500 million in AUM for 475 households. Listen in as David shares how he's built a thriving referral engine—receiving 10 to 15 client introductions per week—by teaching clients how to make meaningful connections instead of simply "asking for referrals." You'll learn about the timing and phrasing he uses to normalize referrals during onboarding, how he uses text messaging in this process, and how his firm has adapted as it has added clients across a range of segments.
For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/463
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Financial Advisor Success Podcast, where you go behind the scenes with |
| 0:07.1 | financial planner, speaker, and consultant Michael Kitsis to hear stories of how leading |
| 0:12.4 | financial advisors navigated the inevitable challenges that arise on the path to success |
| 0:17.4 | and get insight from leading industry consultants about how to break through to the next |
| 0:22.2 | level in your advisory business. And now here's your host, Michael Kitsas. Welcome, everyone. |
| 0:29.4 | Welcome to the 463rd episode of the Financial Advisor's Success podcast. My guest on today's |
| 0:35.2 | podcast is David Stevens. David is the president of Stevens Capital |
| 0:39.0 | Partners, an RIA based in Omaha, Nebraska that oversees approximately $500 million in assets |
| 0:44.2 | under management for 475 client households. What's unique about David, though, is how he is able to generate |
| 0:50.2 | 10 to 15 client referrals per week by coaching his clients to make more effective introductions |
| 0:54.6 | to friends and family members who might be good fit clients for his firm. In this episode, |
| 0:59.2 | we talk in depth about how David helps clients understand that making referrals is a normal |
| 1:04.0 | practice, encouraging them to do so without being asked directly by their advisor. How David |
| 1:09.1 | raises the topic of referrals during the discovery |
| 1:11.6 | phase with prospects sometimes introducing the possibility of aggregated fees for family |
| 1:16.6 | members that come on as well. At the recommendations meeting with new clients, after his firm has |
| 1:21.3 | been able to show that they're able to address the client's pain points, and at the 60-day mark |
| 1:25.8 | with clients, after they've had firsthand experience |
| 1:28.0 | with the firm's service offering, and how David encourages clients to make a warm introduction |
| 1:32.3 | through texting with the referred prospect and the advisor on the message, which he finds |
| 1:36.5 | tends to produce higher response rates compared to an email or simply passing along the firm's |
| 1:41.3 | phone number. We also talk about how David's firm has developed four |
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