It’s no coincidence that among the most successful investment and insurance businesses in financial institutions, the ability to achieve more referrals is a critical factor in setting them apart from other providers of financial services. In fact, in 2010, the banks and credit unions in the top quartile of net income contribution from investment and insurance referred 36 percent more of their customer or member households to their financial advisors than their less successful counterparts. This paper* will discuss the advantages—and challenges—of referral generation among these “best practices” institutions.