Financial Advisor marketing is not easy right now - but you can change that
Predictions for 2012
The housing market will not pick up. Economists are predicting a rocky
2012 with little to no growth. It won’t matter what the government does, there
are too many external factors at play.
Redundancies will continue, including in the government sector. Most people will slow their spending, focus on reducing debt and many will develop a ‘fortress mentality’ with no major changes to their lives, such as new houses.
Doesn’t sound too good does it? If you put 2011 at the start of the paragraph above, then it would also hold true. We are in for a déjà vu year. So whatever you did last year income wise is probably what you will do this year.
And I am betting that 2011 wasn’t your best year! With the market not expected to change, if you want income growth then it’s up to you to make changes. The good news is that the changes do not need to be expensive or time consuming if you know how to make them.
So how do you prospect in this environment?Which prospecting and marketing ideas work and which ones are you wasting your time on? Do you find it difficult or embarrassing to ask for referrals? You are not alone, most find this extremely difficult.
I have been working with financial advisers since 1994and have seen the good, the bad and the ugly of marketing, prospecting and client communications. It quickly became glaringly obvious to me that there are TWO COMMON FACTORS that inhibit growth.
Redundancies will continue, including in the government sector. Most people will slow their spending, focus on reducing debt and many will develop a ‘fortress mentality’ with no major changes to their lives, such as new houses.
Doesn’t sound too good does it? If you put 2011 at the start of the paragraph above, then it would also hold true. We are in for a déjà vu year. So whatever you did last year income wise is probably what you will do this year.
And I am betting that 2011 wasn’t your best year! With the market not expected to change, if you want income growth then it’s up to you to make changes. The good news is that the changes do not need to be expensive or time consuming if you know how to make them.
So how do you prospect in this environment?Which prospecting and marketing ideas work and which ones are you wasting your time on? Do you find it difficult or embarrassing to ask for referrals? You are not alone, most find this extremely difficult.
I have been working with financial advisers since 1994and have seen the good, the bad and the ugly of marketing, prospecting and client communications. It quickly became glaringly obvious to me that there are TWO COMMON FACTORS that inhibit growth.
The FIRST is: there is NO SINGLE SILVER BULLET
despite so many advisers searching for one. Rather it is a series of small improvements that are not costly to make, but which add up to a BIG gain in income.
I have identified TEN such areas for improvement that cause roadblocks to growth, but that can be overcome and lead to gains. Rather than write a single volumous book about them that will just sit on shelves (and is usually never read, despite all the best intentions), I have created a set of very focused e-books that I have called The Financial Advisor Growth Path Series, covering various aspects of making money from a successful financial services practice.Each one concentrates on a key issue I regularly encounter.
For example, you may have a good number of clients but they are all B and C grade and you lack good meaty A clients of substance. This is unsustainable as I explain in the first book, "The surprise revelation about why most financial services practices CANT grow and what to do about it." Small clients are quite simply killing your ability to make money.
It may be that your business planning consists of turning up on Monday and staring at a blank desk pad for awhile, then making a cup of coffee, checking emails and then wondering what the week will bring. I have a ONE PAGE Business Plan that puts thing in perspective for you. Business plans of more than one page generally just sit and gather dust. The best way to use such ideas is to pick just ONE and focus on that first - then move onto another growth area, then another. Its a case of doing each step right and making small improvements along the way. Just a 10% improvement in each of 6 areas of activity gives a cumulative impact of 177%!!! There is NO single silver bullet!!! and never will be.
The easy-to-read eBooks are filled with practical ways to grow your practice in 10 specific areas. Click here to see the list.
I have identified TEN such areas for improvement that cause roadblocks to growth, but that can be overcome and lead to gains. Rather than write a single volumous book about them that will just sit on shelves (and is usually never read, despite all the best intentions), I have created a set of very focused e-books that I have called The Financial Advisor Growth Path Series, covering various aspects of making money from a successful financial services practice.Each one concentrates on a key issue I regularly encounter.
For example, you may have a good number of clients but they are all B and C grade and you lack good meaty A clients of substance. This is unsustainable as I explain in the first book, "The surprise revelation about why most financial services practices CANT grow and what to do about it." Small clients are quite simply killing your ability to make money.
It may be that your business planning consists of turning up on Monday and staring at a blank desk pad for awhile, then making a cup of coffee, checking emails and then wondering what the week will bring. I have a ONE PAGE Business Plan that puts thing in perspective for you. Business plans of more than one page generally just sit and gather dust. The best way to use such ideas is to pick just ONE and focus on that first - then move onto another growth area, then another. Its a case of doing each step right and making small improvements along the way. Just a 10% improvement in each of 6 areas of activity gives a cumulative impact of 177%!!! There is NO single silver bullet!!! and never will be.
The easy-to-read eBooks are filled with practical ways to grow your practice in 10 specific areas. Click here to see the list.
The SECOND secret to growth is VERY HIGH LEVELS OF CLIENT CONTACT - like every MONTH!
Gone forever are the days of annual calls and a Christmas card. Now the pace has to be stepped up dramatically! Short, relevant, interesting to read newsletters are the answer. Keep them going to clients at the rate of one a month and they will learn about what you can offer and the value you can be to their lives.
I offer an insurance related 2-page monthly newsletter that you can email or post, to generate more business from existing clients and generate referrals. Clicks here for details.
And for good clients and "referral on steroids" as it is sometimes called, Facebook can be the answer. Click here to see how I can help you with this important element of client contact.
I offer an insurance related 2-page monthly newsletter that you can email or post, to generate more business from existing clients and generate referrals. Clicks here for details.
And for good clients and "referral on steroids" as it is sometimes called, Facebook can be the answer. Click here to see how I can help you with this important element of client contact.