Written by: Nigel Reid | Econnexx
Effective processes enhance the rewards and lessen the work
For financial advisers sometimes ambition and a drive to grow their wealth is thwarted by the processes they use. The financial services sector is one with many skilled and self motivated individuals who have a desire to grow but face limitations due the processes they implement, processes that they have inherited from their peers, processes that were once effective but significantly less so today.
Through the integration of online technology and the evolution of marketing strategies financial advisers are now entering an era of exciting opportunities. By embracing modern processes financial advisers will be able to grow their client bank and their wealth with less, but more concentrated effort.
Here is a simplified 4 stage process that if adopted will bring immense results.
1. Attract prospects to you
The first and most important part of developing a process that drives results is to have an online profile. Many believe that by having a website or profile page that explains the service they offer and provides their telephone number and email address constitutes an online presence, but this simply is not effective and the likelihood is those who have such a profile will have seen little to no benefit from it.
For consumers to take action you need to give them a reason to do so. The internet has become the starting point for almost 90% of consumers who seek financial services. They search online before they even consider choosing a financial adviser because they want to learn about services that appeal specifically to their needs so they can understand what their options are.
So the key to attracting prospective clients is to provide them with information. This can be in the form of downloadable offerings such as ‘5 Steps to a Wealthy Retirement’. But how do you get people to your online profile so they can get the information they seek? The answer. Prospecting on social media.
Social media is filled with endless prospects who seek financial services. But currently social media is mainly used by financial advisers to connect with industry colleagues or share content that is irrelevant to prospective clients.
To attract prospects social media channels such as Linkedin and Twitter should be used to pinpoint your target client types, connect with them, then message them inviting them to visit your online profile by offering a relevant, enticing offer such as the one mentioned earlier. This process promotes you the adviser, and attracts your potential clients to learn more about the services that you provide that resonates with them.
PROCESS 1 – Have an online profile that provides value and promote your profile through social media engagement.
2. Convert visitors into contacts by giving them information
Consumers no longer want to be sold to; they want information that enables them to make a decision based on the knowledge they have gained.
By providing consumers with a platform to learn and further their interest in a service; you immediately appear as a resource for information that they will continue to revert to.
By providing content offerings in exchange for the contact details of each visitor you gain a contact that can be nurtured to eventually take action. Nurturing prospects is significantly more effective than contacting them immediately as it enables you to keep in contact through emails, blog posts, social media and provide each contact with further information that ensures they only takes action when they are ready.
PROCESS 2 – Become a resource for helpful, educational information that is beneficial to your visitors, which promotes you as a valuable asset and an expert in their eyes. Collect your visitors contact details in exchange for providing the information they download.
3. Close prospects to clients through automation processes
Once you have attracted visitors to your online profile and gained their contact details in exchange for providing them with content offerings you now have the ability to nurture those prospects until they are ready to take action.
To do this you will need to incorporate marketing automation software into your strategy. Through automated marketing you are able to collect and score data on every prospect, and schedule and deliver personalised, relevant content to meet each prospects needs, helping qualify their interest and move them closer to taking action.
This process provides 3 valuable results.
PROCESS 3 – Incorporate an automation strategy to build profiles and deliver pinpoint material to every prospect, helping them move closer to becoming your client.
4. Delight prospects with your service
By following the first 3 processes you will have attracted visitors, converted those visitors into contacts and nurtured those contacts until they are buyer ready. Therefore when it comes to actually speaking to a prospect you have already built a relationship with them and you know the service they want, making it easier for you to secure their custom.
Clients attained through these processes are also much more likely to be influenced by your content as you are now their authority for financial services. This means you can continue to remain in contact and use the data you have collected to build further personalised content strategies promoting other financial services that are applicable to their needs.
This process is entirely customer focused and helps build positive relationships. This makes your firm ‘recommendable’, which means the clients you have delighted through your customer focused processes will share their experiences with family, friends and even strangers through social media recommendations.
PROCESS 4. Now that prospects are nurtured and sales ready you will be able to close a greater proportion of contacts into clients. Clients attained in such a manner are much more likely to recommend your firm to others.
By implementing these 4 processes you will have a financial firm that generates clients efficiently and effectively, enabling you to simply focus on servicing their needs. You no longer have to wonder where your next client is coming from or have to chase up cold leads, saving you time, effort, while securing your wealth and your firms future.