Not surprisingly, the biggest challenge advisors and consultants who struggle is finding qualified leads who become their clients.
However, that doesn’t need to be your reality. Today, I am pulling back the curtain and showing you how to generate more leads.
Which Lead Generation Strategies Work for Advisors?
The first step is to create your financial advisor marketing strategy. The second is to create your plan to generate leads.
While there are many prospecting methods to generate leads for the financial services industry, some work better than others.
Cold strategies include cold calling and direct mailings. They generally are used with individuals who sell products versus providing financial advice.
Warm methods focus on connections. They include word of mouth, relationship marketing, and feeder workshops. A marketing strategy focused on a connector approach generally builds trust quicker, generates more high-quality leads, and produces a better conversion rate and return on investment.
Warm Introductions
Most experts agree that the best lead generation is warm introductions and referrals. One of the easiest ways to generate referrals is to become the go-to expert in a niche market.
Cold Calling
Most people would agree that receiving a cold call is as enjoyable as running your fingernails down a chalkboard. And while it can work if you are selling a product, it is not an ideal strategy to build an advisory business or get warm introductions.
Buying Leads
Purchasing leads as a financial advisor may seem like an ideal option initially because it is ideal to meet people who want help with their money. The problem with buying leads include:
- The prospects not being qualified
- The amount of time it takes to reach them
- Receiving inaccurate contact information
- Not getting referrals from the leads
Digital Marketing
Another viable option for generating leads is online marketing.
Facebook continues to move into the “Pay to Play” field, meaning you need to pay to reach people. If you choose to run ads, it is generally better to offer a free resource versus an initial meeting or product. Before spending a lot of money, test your offer on a smaller group to confirm it works.
Regardless of your methodology, begin by creating an effective sales funnel.
How to Create a Sales Funnel to Generate Leads
The best place to begin generating more leads is a sales funnel that is focused on attracting your ideal avatar.
1. Identify Your Ideal Client
The first step is to determine who you want to serve. The next is to determine what your prospective clients need, so you can determine how to best attract them. This begins by conducting research.
2. Conduct Research
Once you identify your ideal client, you need to talk with them to determine what they want.
The groups you will research include:
Interviewees
These are prospects in your niche that may never become your client. They provide valuable insight into what they want, where they go, how they feel, and what they worry about.
Referral Partners
This group includes two types of referral partners. The first is reciprocal referral partners (RRP) who give and want to receive warm introductions. The second are centers of influence (COIs) who generally only provide referrals. Because COIs do not have as much vested interest in the referral process, they are not as ideal as RRPs. Reciprocal referral partners are ideal as they have a more vested interest in your success.
Clients
Your clients should include new and existing, as each will generally provide a different perspective.
Sample questions to ask your ideal avatar include:
- What do you love about your current advisor (if they have one)?
- Do you belong to any groups?
- Are you associated with or attend any church or synagogue?
- Where do you get your news?
- What do you do in your free time?
- Do you subscribe to any publications?
- What concerns or worries do you have?
Now that you have conducted research, the next step is to select the strategies that provide value and attract your ideal client.
3. Choose Your Lead Generation Strategies
When conducting research with prospects, ask how they would prefer to meet a new advisor. While the most common response is through a warm introduction, there are other excellent strategies, so ask, listen, and take notes.
Website
Creating an SEO website that is inviting makes attracting your ideal client easier. During your research interviews, ask what topics they would like more information about.
Begin by researching keywords and creating cornerstone pages that your ideal client is searching for on the internet. For example, if you offer, “The 5 Best Tax Planning Tips for Business Owners,” create posts that will link to your cornerstone piece.
Offer valuable, free downloadable resources on each page and post what your ideal clients want and need. In exchange for their contact information, they get the resource.
Sample Offers
For example, offer “The 5 Best Tax Planning Tips for Entrepreneurs” to business owners who plan to retire in five years. Your free download might be “The Top 3 Exit Strategies of Entrepreneurs.”
If you serve doctors, your article may be “The Financial Guide for Doctors.” The free resource offered could be “The 3 Biggest Financial Mistakes Made by Doctors.”
During your research interviews, ask enough questions to determine what information people want. This helps to ensure you are providing valuable information that your prospect wants enough to provide their contact information.
Here is another example (Note that it is ideal if you have an image of the guide!):
If you want to learn how top producers generate a consistent flow of ideal, affluent clients, click here and download the Lead Generation Guide.
Financial advisors and money coaches who want the inside scoop will click the link, provide their name and email, and get the Lead Generation Guide. It is that simple. And the best news of all, you attract people who are serious about taking action.
Content
In addition to the content on your website, determine what weekly content you will provide your current and prospective clients.
People need an advisor about 3-7% of the time during the year. By providing consistent content, you will be top of mind when your services are needed.
During your research interviews, ask them which format they prefer for receiving content. The primary options include:
- Newsletter
- Blog
- Podcast
- Video
Next, ask what topics they are interested in learning more about. While this seems obvious, you will get more ideas by diving deeper.
Plan your content out six to twelve weeks, so you can batch your content and save time.
If you want more insight on generating leads for your financial advisory or money coaching business, click the above to watch.
Related: Finding, Attracting and Serving Wealthy Women Clients