I’m so sick of the term lead that I’ve declared it a 4-letter word. Lead is ubiquitous in business and yet it’s definition is as vague as it is impersonal. In the advisory space, where we’re entrusted with managing not simply an individual or family’s personal finances, but ultimately supporting their dreams it’s past time that we drop the term from the financial services lexicon like a bad habit.
What we do is not nurture leads, but rather cultivate relationships and relationships, unlike leads, are based on trust. We’ve all familiar with the relationship piggy bank whereby you assess the value of your acquaintances, friendships, and loved ones based on the net of their emotional deposits and withdrawals. If someone makes consistent or significant withdrawals without making deposits then they’re taking more from the relationship then their giving running a net deficit and should be cut loose. While obviously not a scientific endeavor, I very much like it because as financial advisors it speaks in a language we’re all comfortable with.
I would like to posit that when cultivating a relationship it’s important/ imperative that the initial approach/ ask be a deposit and as much as you may like to think of your services as intrinsically positive and thus a deposit, your prospects often view your interest in becoming their advisor through a different lens, seeing you as a salesman first and foremost, believing they’re the product. Therefore, if your first approach is for their business they’ll view this as an attempted withdrawal.
in order to be the first mover it’s important that you give before you ask. Give something of value to build trust and credibility before you ever approach or “ask” them for their business.
Prospect Engagement: Gain Trust Before the “Approach”
How often do you feel like you’re waiting for your ideal customer to find you? Whether it’s filling seats for seminars, or Even if you have an extensive list of “Leads” who’ve been identified as ready-to-buy how do you engage them in a manner that differentiates you from all of your competition. It is so important to build trust and credibility with a client. This is why referrals are the gold standard as far as “leads” are concerned. When a trusted colleague, friend, or loved one refers you to a professional they are lending you their credibility and trust, knowing full well that if you don’t perform it will reflect on them and effect or endanger their trusted status.
Attract Millennials
As the average advisor age creeps ever upward it’s become more important than ever to attract the next generation of advisors, while simultaneously becoming more difficult than ever due to the allure of tech, perceived or otherwise. The opportunity to podcast provides a sense that your firm is not just thinking about, but adopting new tech and mediums.
Learning & Development
The most important skill for advisor and client success is the ability to truly understand your clients’ needs and dreams, both financial and otherwise. Often referred to as ‘Fact Finding’, at its core this is simply one’s ability to ask good questions and listen. In doing so you will be able to discover a clients pain points and best explain to them how your services can help alleviate their fears. This, in a nutshell, is interviewing. Like any other skill it only improves with practice.
Employee Engagement/ Retention
Supporting employees passions outside of work is an integral piece for 21’st century companies worried about the increasingly high turnover. Supporting employee passion projects is an incredible way to make sure your advisors feel like you care about them at a human level and not simply as a line item pumping up your bottom line. There’s no more cost or time effective way to do this than by providing a space and the resources for an advisor to pursue a personal podcast. You could also interview your own advisors and staff.
Identify Ideal Clients When They’re Most Likely to Be Open To An Advisor
The ideal time to get in front of a client is when they’re ready for the conversation. There are identifiable triggers including getting married, having a child, leaving a long-time employer, starting a new career, the death of family, friend, or loved one. These major moments and life events tend to cause us to think about our future in a way that the every
Build Strategic Partnership/ Referral Relationships
Many Advisors make the claim that they will act as a personal CFO, or financial quarterback, or “insert leadership metaphor here.” The reality for many is quite different. We all recognize the importance and benefit of having other professionals who work with our clientele, but struggle to develop truly symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationships. With a ‘Success’ podcast you can simply invite the successful CPA, Estate Planning Attorney, P&C agent etc. onto your show to begin developing a relationship by highlighting them and their practice or firm firstly.
If they work with the same type of clients as you do then they will be very interested to hear how you attract new clients with your show and that their target audience aligns perfectly with your podcast audience. This creates sponsorship opportunities, both free and paid. Build a team and promote all of your members through your podcast.
No Need to Worry About Compliance
Ever want to start a blog or podcast, or work with a company that promises consistent and relevant content creation for lead generation only to realize how much research, planning and time goes into creating compliance approved work (It’s often not approved!). Or you’re promised the world by a third-party marketing company only to discover they’re not an approved vendor.
One of the major problems with creating financial content is that many of your ideal customers or clients, especially the mass-affluent and high-net-worth clients only want to know enough to know who to trust. This is one of the major skillsets of the most successful people: Knowing when and what to delegate. They want to be the expert in their own field and leverage others time and expertise in areas like wealth management and financial planning. So why spend all of the time and effort to create compliance approved financial content that will only ….
If you want to target successful executives and VP’s, business leaders and CEO’s then why not create the content they’re interested in. The most beautiful part about this strategy is that you will not be giving out financial advice or even discussing financial products. In fact, there’s no need to even mention your work in the financial services industry, so there’s no issue with compliance.
Contact us today to see how we can assist you with your lead generation efforts!
