People before products.
Time in the market, not timing the market.
Ignore the noise (including Budget predictions!)
All financial advisers and planners have hills they would die on. And we’re the same when it comes to marketing.
These 10 hills will improve your marketing and help you get closer to your business goals.
#1. Successful marketing means agreeing and implementing a plan, which:
- Fixes issues with your marketing foundations
- Puts the right tactics in place to achieve agreed objectives.
Explainer:
If a new client wanted you to help them plan for retirement, but didn’t have a will, power of attorney, or emergency fund in place, you’d advise them to fix those financial foundations first.
The same is true with marketing. There’s no point diving headfirst into lead-generation tactics if your marketing foundations are weak.
#2. Growth comes from three key areas (in order of priority):
- Upsells and cross-sells to existing clients (where appropriate)
- Referrals and recommendations from existing clients
- New enquiries from other sources.
Explainer:
The opportunities for cross-sells are limited, but they do exist; investment management to financial planning, mortgage advice, and estate planning are three examples that spring to mind.
Upsells to older family members and downsells to younger generations are more available but are rarely maximised by most advisers and planners.
#3. Maximising referrals requires a clear strategy
That strategy should be built on client education, communication, and appreciation.
Education (which takes time and regular reminders) should help clients understand:
- Who to recommend you to
- How to make recommendations
- When to make recommendations.
Explainer:
Most financial advisers and planners never maximise referral and recommendation opportunities because they don’t have a strategy.
That means they spend more money on marketing and work less efficiently.
Sound good? No. Thought not.
#4. Lead numbers are only half the story
You need to focus equally on lead conversion. If you do, you’ll spend less on marketing and run a more efficient business.
Explainer:
In our experience, most advisers and planners focus too much on lead levels and too little on the outcome.
Record every single new enquiry that comes into your business. No exceptions. Then monitor the outcome to calculate your headline conversion rate.
Anything lower than 25% means there’s an opportunity to improve.
#5. To maximise conversion, nurture prospects who don’t become clients straight away
If you don’t do this, the time and money spent generating the enquiry are wasted.
Explainer:
Every new enquiry can go into one of three categories:
- An immediate conversion
- Unlikely ever to convert, unless something significant changes
- Good fit, you want to work with them, but they don’t immediately convert.
You have two choices with this last group:
- Do nothing to nurture them (the wrong choice)
- Nurture them by adding value and demonstrating your knowledge (the right choice).
Nurturing the prospect means you’ll be the go-back-to adviser/planner when they’re ready to engage.
A monthly newsletter should be the foundation of this nurturing.
#6. Showing the benefits of working with you is always more powerful than simply telling people
And the best way to show value is through social proof.
Explainer:
It’s getting better, but most financial advisers and planners still don’t have Google or VouchedFor reviews, collect client testimonial videos, or publish their client survey results.
Do all three and you’ll set your business apart, while impressing potential clients on their digital journey to your door.
#7. 70% of a prospect’s buying decision is made before they meet you
So it’s vital to impress them on their digital journey to your door, from Google search results (where they first find you) to your website (where they decide if you’re the right adviser or planner for them).
Explainer:
Sat between someone becoming aware of you and them taking action is Google, and more recently, AI tools such as ChatGPT.
If you or your business is invisible when potential clients look you up online, or you don’t impress them, that’s a problem.
#8. A website isn’t automatically an effective website
Your website is your shop window, where people decide if you’re the expert they need. It must empathise with visitors, showcase your clients as heroes, and position you and your team as their guides.
Explainer:
Too many advisers and planners think websites are tick box exercises, selecting the cheapest option and doing the bare minimum.
That’s a false economy, costing them lost clients, revenue, and reducing the value of their business.
#9. When you can, make decisions about marketing based on data and evidence
Sources of data include Google Analytics, Hotjar, newsletter MI, your enquiry register and so on.
Explainer:
Myths, misconceptions, and misunderstandings hold your marketing back.
Instead, review the data and consult the experts before making decisions about things that are, let’s face it, not something you probably do day-to-day.
#10. Effective marketing requires several attributes
These include an open mind, patience, and consistency built on good habits and processes.
In contrast, advisers and planners who believe in myths or give in to limiting beliefs will always be less effective.
Explainer:
“My clients won’t appear in videos”.
“My clients don’t use social media”.
“My clients won’t leave a review online”.
Every week, we speak with advisers and planners who leap to the most negative conclusion rather than engaging their undoubted abilities to think critically.
The result? Less effective marketing.
Watch this space!
These hills are based on our work over the last eight years.
Are we camped out permanently on them?
No. We’ll change when there’s reason to. For example, AI will revolutionise how potential clients find your business.
However, right now, each of the 10 will improve your marketing, generate new leads and build value in your business.
And, if we still haven’t convinced you, you should register for next month’s webinar.
Join us on Wednesday, 17 December at 10 am, and together we’ll work on your marketing mindset. It’s a session for anyone who wants to overcome self-doubt, address imposter syndrome, and learn to feel the fear and do it anyway.
Click here to register, and we’ll look forward to seeing you at our last webinar of the year.
