Lead Generation for Financial Advisors

There you sit, staring at the wall wondering "How do I generate more leads?" You don't need to be a genius to know that the success of any business depends upon prospecting for new clients. Without active prospecting your pipeline can stall and stop producing results. This notion applies to any business no matter whether you've been around five months or five years. We all need activities that generate leads. 

Proper planning can help any advisor attract the type of clients that work best for his/her practice. It all starts with a business plan that details your five year vision, strategies for achieving the vision, the goals that will motivate you to keep going, and the marketing activities that will get you there.

Sounds great, except – What should you be actually DOING day in and day out? What are the activities that generate leads?

LEADS, LEADS, LEADS…

Lead generation is a numbers game - You have to get in front of as many people as possible, according to the strategy in your business plan.  This means creating an enticing offer, a client attraction device, and a way to move prospects down the relationship funnel. It means getting out of the office and meeting with new people. It means leveraging the relationships you already have. It means constant action and meaningful follow up. It means NEW strategies, actions, public speaking, events, social media, and good old hard work using your noggin.

In case you think I'm talking about brand new advisors, I am NOT. I hear from advisors every week who have become somewhat comfortable in their ways. They may have grown their business by referrals, or cold calling, or seminars, but now they are coasting and they want to grow again. It's tough to get back out there once you've become accustomed to having business come to you. Times have changed. What worked in the past may not work now. You may need to get with the times and try something new.

If you need help creating a weekly action plan and growth strategy, please review my program 90 Days to New Clients. I provide you the tools to get focused on the essential activities to grow your practice. The program includes a 13 week motivational course that will challenge you and keep you on the move.

Suzanne Muusers

Entrepreneur and Business Coach

How to Make Advertising Work – Advertise Your Highest Price Point

If you know me you know that I don't care much for advertising as a marketing tactic. Advertising, no matter if it's print, TV, or radio, can be very expensive, has a limited shelf life, and many times a long lead time. What I like least about advertising is that it is so expensive with print ads running thousands of dollars with hit and miss results.

In a former life as a gift shop mogul, I chose to advertise in several tourist publications. At that time one of my specialties was a very unique product – a mother-of-pearl antique gambling counter – once used like a poker chip to gamble with in China in the 1700-1800's by the British aristocracy.  Set in 14K and 18k gold to be worn as pendants, these antiques ranged in price from $500 to $5000. I featured this product in print advertisements and lo and behold they sold very well. I developed a reputation for having a great selection.  My advertising investment certainly paid off.

Then, in a not so brilliant move, I chose to feature a different line of merchandise in my advertising which retailed for hundreds, not thousands. What I found was that I still had the same response rate, only sales were a small fraction of what they were before.

As a financial advisor, what does this mean to you?

Advisors are not advertising something tangible. Planners and investment managers should focus on the offer and the end benefits consumers would enjoy by hiring an expert. One way to make print advertising work would be to make your advertisement "visual" by using images that portray retirement if the consumer hires you as their advisor. Then, combine the ad with "advertorial" in an article on the same page.   

If an advertisement is combined with an article written by the advisor that is targeted to the unique challenges the target clients face, then Credibility Marketing will be working in his favor. The advertisement focuses on the highest price point (advice and money management) and brings the consumer visually to the place they'd be if they hired the advisor. The credibility demonstrated in the article backs up the entire message.

To make this tactic even better, select a publication targeted to the advisors ideal client and fine tune the message. In other words, to make advertising work, get creative, speak to benefits, advertise your highest price point, and target, target, target.

Suzanne Muusers

Business Coach for Financial Advisors

3 Ways to Reduce Stress and Focus On Success

We are heading into March, a time for spring cleaning and organization. How has your New Year's been going?  I hope you've had a great start to the year.  My New Year's consisted of celebrating my success by going to Cabo San Lucas with my husband for a week in the sun. What a great way to unwind and enjoy life!

During my vacation, I came to the realization that it is very important to celebrate when business and life have been good to us. I also realized that it is necessary to find ways to reduce stress in our daily lives. Ordinarily our calendar is hectic with multiple appointments, busy activities, and too much to do. When we give the mind time to clear and become more focused we can see things we may not have noticed before.  We must learn ways to reduce stress and focus on what we do best. Here are three ways:

Meditation

If you have never tried meditation as a form of reducing stress, you might want to give it a try. Search for beginning classes in your area and discover the wonderful benefits of mediation such as lowering your blood pressure, steadying your concentration, and clearing your mind of negativity. Although you could teach yourself to meditate, I have found that when you take a class you will receive the right kind of training necessary to be successful at meditating regularly.

Joy

One reason stress creeps into our lives is because we don't take the time to have fun and do the things that naturally reduce stress. When we don't take the time to experience joy, our lives become continuous days of harried activities.  So how do we experience joy? By going for walks in nature, connecting with friends and relatives, writing about our hopes and dreams, getting a massage, and generally treating ourselves well. If you don't regularly experience joy, think about how you can incorporate more happiness in your life.

Say No

Is your schedule full of activities? Are you running from one appointment to another? Do you find yourself saying yes to all activities and requests? If so, you could be stressing yourself out by simply not having boundaries that protect you.  I find that when my clients are too busy, it's because they say yes to everything. If you have too many appointments, reduce the number that you generally allow yourself to schedule. When asked to be involved in an activity or project, what you might try instead of saying yes, is to say you'll think about it. The key is to be very selective with what you are willing to do with your time.    

Stress prevents us from living up to our full potential by occupying our minds and keeping us busy worrying about things that may never happen. By working on eliminating stress though mediation, joy and saying no, we can take control of our lives and focus on success.

Suzanne Muusers

Business Coach for Financial Advisors

How to Get More Appointments From Seminars

Too many financial advisors don't know how to get appointments from their seminars and workshops.  Today, let's look at how to overcome this issue and improve the number of appointments you set at your public speaking events.

You've just finished giving a great workshop or seminar. You presented interesting material that encouraged a shift in thinking and attitude about money, financial goals, and the future. You made jokes, got some laughs, and really connected with the audience.  NOW WHAT?

Presenting seminars and workshops is one of the most effective marketing tactics to grow the number of prospects in your pipeline and spread the word about your practice. Public speaking enhances reputation, positions the speaker as an expert in their field, and improves exposure to new prospects. The problem is that too many financial advisors do not know how to get appointments from their seminars.

A few things need to happen in order to perfect your seminar appointment rate. Here are a few pointers and shifts that need to happen:

*Make a time-limited offer. Let your audience know that you are available in the next week to meet with them. You could say something like "Thank you everyone for attending. For those who have questions, I'd like to offer one complimentary hour of my time if you come in to see me in the next week." Ask prospects to indicate their interest on the evaluation form and point them toward your assistant who has your appointment calendar in hand.

*Be OK with asking for the business. Yes, you are a nice guy and it's not easy to put yourself out there and ask for the business, but the prospects in your audience need your help. It's OK to ask for the appointment.

*No pressure. Tell attendees that there is absolutely no pressure and no selling will be done during the appointment. This will alleviate any anxiety participants may feel in committing to meet with you. Put yourself in their shoes – they don't want to feel obligated to hire you or be forced into a high pressure close.

*Be likeable and be yourself. I've seen too many speakers become a robo-presenter and fail to infuse their presentation with personality, humor, and likeability. If this sounds like you, please consider joining Toastmasters so that you can practice in a safe environment and learn how to be a good speaker. You will grow personally and professionally through Toastmasters and you'll make great friends.

Put these pointers to work in your own practice. Get out of your comfort zone and get out of your own way. Grow your practice in 2011!

Suzanne Muusers

Business Coach for Financial Advisors

Business Plan Workshop in Arizona

Here's a great opportunity if you live in Arizona to get your business plan off the ground in 2011!

There's nothing like focusing on your Goals, Strategies, and Marketing!

For Whom:  Realtors and real-estate related fields

What:  Business Plan Success – Create the Life You Want by Planning For It

When:  Thursday February 3^rd, 2011 1pm to 4pm

Where:  The Gecko Room 4600 W. Union Hills Drive

Learn how to make 2011 the year you take your business to the next level! Suzanne Muusers, ICF Credentialed Business Coach and entrepreneur with thirty years experience, will challenge you think about your business in a new way. You will set up goals and tactics that will create financial success in 2011.

You'll learn:

• What having a Business Plan can do for you
• Reasons traditional Business Plans are useless
• The six sections to include in your Mini Business Plan
• Why everyone should have Big Picture Goals in their Vision
• The "Aha" moment - Take a self test to determine how goal oriented you are
• Common goal setting mistakes

What you'll leave with

• Create your 2011 Business and Personal Goals

• Create your 2011 Marketing Tactics

Space is limited! RSVP to: info@AZWhiteGlove.com

Set Time Aside to Think and Plan Weekly

If you're like most people you fill your day with meetings, phone calls, research, and countless other activities. This is because managing a business is a time-consuming practice that requires juggling skills, fire fighting expertise, and good dose of business knowledge. Nevertheless if we want to improve and grow from year to year, it is absolutely essential to set time aside for thinking and planning.

Regularly taking the time to think about your practice allows the creative juices to flow and is one of the keys to moving beyond where you are now. While "thinking" about their practice, some advisors experience what I call "Mojo Moments" when they move from kinetic behavior (just keeping up with what they're doing now) to planning the future. It's as if a switch is turned "on" allowing ideas to come forward - ideas that were hidden before.

Alternately, this is another reason why it's important to let the mind rest. On the weekends, don't bring work home and don't think about your business. The mind needs two days of rest in order to clear out the clutter, form new pathways, and allow fresh ideas to percolate to the surface. 

I know you – you are just like me. In the evenings and on the weekend you go for a walk and all you can think about is your business. But you have to force yourself to NOT think about work. Learning to be really "present" and enjoy the moment is one of life's immense pleasures. We only have NOW. If you are thinking about the past or the future you are not living NOW. The key is to give your full attention to what you are doing at the time. When you are working, really WORK. When you are walking in nature, notice the things around you. Notice the trees, the leaves, the way the sun is bouncing off the clouds.

I'm working with a few superstar clients right now. Some are superstars despite not setting time aside weekly to plan out the growth of their business. Yet, they all realize that in order to create the practice of their dreams, they will need to overcome their existing work habits.  One way to do this is to block time on your calendar once per week to THINK DEEPLY ABOUT YOUR PRACTICE. 

*What needs to change?

*What are your Big Picture Goals?

*What do you need to focus on?

When you take the time to plan the future, you can then take the steps to make your dreams come true.  Do it now. I know you can.

Suzanne Muusers

Business Coach for Financial Advisors