Posts filed under 'Web Financial Advisor Lead Generation'
Just got a call for help from an advisor in Oregon who took a look at a new brochure for his firm, and it left him cold.
“It looks like every other financial advisor’s brochure,” he complained. So Andy (not his real name) went surfing on the web and found us.
Deadly Brochures
What’s wrong with the typical brochure? Three big myths are perpetuated in producing the usual advisor brochure.
Myth #1 - An Eye-Catching Brochure Makes Things Happen
You need more than a drop-dead gorgeous design to get the pay-off you are looking for from your brochure. Or to say it another way, design alone cannot rocket your brochure to the results you want.
Myth #2 - The Ultimate Goal Of My Brochure Is To Showcase My Professional Status.
Two costly mistakes here:
1 - It’s all about me, the advisor.
2 - It becomes a boring recitation of name, credentials, and experience.
Yes, you do need to present your best case. Yes, you do need to counter the suspicions and mistrust (some of it justified) about financial services that are epidemic. Yes, you do need to demonstrate how you put your clients’ interests first.
But you don’t need to bore them. With precision, select your desired audience(s) for your brochure. They won’t be bored if you can talk directly to them with concern about their stresses and anxieties. They will listen if you show them exactly how you can make their lives easier.
Myth #3 - My Readers Are Smart: They Will Figure Out What To Do Next After They See My Brochure
We call it relying on “Wishful Thinking.” What’s the answer?
Face the fact that your readers will not bother to figure out what action you want them to take next. You need to decide what that is ahead of time and spell it out in your brochure.
Then, you must do what it takes to prompt them to take that action.
Warning: These myths are failures that are most common in template brochures, brochures left to your printer to produce, or brochures created by a graphic designer who is not a savvy marketer.
So when we work with Andy, we will steer him away from these fatal flaws.
How To Avoid A Deadbeat Website
And Andy’s brief message introduces a failure we find in most advisor websites. It’s rampant not only in template websites but also in those produced by many web designers and developers.
How did Andy find us on the web? He’s in Oregon, we’re in Philadelphia. He’s never heard of us, we never contacted him.
So he did a search for financial advisor brochures. Out of “about 1,300,000 results (0.17 seconds),” according to Google, we came up first in a natural search (not paid advertising).
Wow! Was that lucky?
Well, no. We’ve been intense students of Search Engine Optimization since we put up our first website in 1996. We knew exactly what to do to attract financial advisors to the page on our site that talks about brochures that can pay off for you.
Again, this is not on the same planet with a template site that puts only your company name in the title tag on every single page and calls it Search Engine Optimization. We can’t tell you how many websites we’ve seen that fit that description. There is much more to SEO than that.
While surfing the web, Andy found us in first place and checked us out. Our website met his expectations (that takes more than Search Engine Optimization), and he made the call immediately!
For a brochure and website that pay off, contact us at 215.753.2620 or Shirley@marketingplanfinancialadvisor.com.
January 31st, 2012
“If people don’t want to come out to the ball park, nobody’s gonna stop ‘em.”
- Yogi Berra
I find Yogi Berra irresistible because he makes me laugh and think.
Most people who come to a web page leave within about 10 seconds. How are you “gonna stop ‘em?”
In about 10 seconds they scan your website, maybe glance at your images, and leave . . . or not.
Jakob Nielsen, “the reigning guru of Web usability,” has this to say: “Users are skeptical. They know that most web pages are useless, and they behave accordingly to avoid wasting more time than absolutely necessary on bad pages.”
Whether your website is a starter template site, where you spent a few minutes filling in the blanks to get on the web right away or it’s a custom website patiently crafted over months, chances are you are not holding on to your website users.
“Unless your writing is extraordinarily clear and focused, little of what you say on your website will get through,” Nielsen warned.
So how can you be extraordinary? For answers I invite you to go to my new concise, complimentary checklist, “One Dozen Must-Haves For A Website That Gets Results For You.”
The checklist is at
www.marketingplanfinancialadvisor.com/webmusthaves.pdf
There you’ll discover a system that stops your website users in their tracks by giving them what they are looking for and, then, hands you what you expect from your website.
Check out this checklist now for a valuable, not a useless website
For more information contact me at
Shirley@MarketingPlanFinancialAdvisor.com
215-753-2620
September 18th, 2011
This article is by Bob Hanson
We have talked in a previous article about email for financial advisors and why most will see diminishing effectiveness unless they embrace what we call Email 2.0.
Email 2.0 for financial advisors is the next step in the evolution of how you can benefit from email marketing to build a community, convert more prospect to clients, and get more referrals.
Let’s imagine it is the end of the year and you are taking advantage of the potential of Email 2.0.
It means you have an (automated) way of building an opt-in email list of prospects (and clients). You are generating new prospects and clients through your website.
Your email database is integrated with your CRM and you can easily run reports on who is a client and who is a prospect.
You can run marketing campaigns such as “prospect meeting campaigns” which get anywhere between 2% and 10% response.
You are driving attendance at events and stimulating referrals from clients. Clients are up-to-date on your latest perspective on the economy and markets.
Sound far-fetched. It is not. Many of our clients and advisors we meet have made this transition — one that has transformed their marketing and the way they communicate with clients.
= = = = =
New, Live Webinar - The 30-Minute Financial
Advisor Marketing Plan
Register now and get your top questions answered!
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/750359331
= = = = =
Want to discuss Email 2.0 or other ways of growing your practice this year so that you reach your yearly income goals in 2011?
Send an email to request a no-obligation consultation to bhanson@marketingplanfinancialadvisor.com or call 1-617-901-6886.
August 12th, 2010
This article is by Bob Hanson
“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
- Sir Winston Churchill
Opportunity is everywhere. Especially for financial advisors and their marketing.
Many advisors will only focus on the downside of news, and not the opportunity for them to grow their practice. Here are 10 examples.
Which ones are right for you?
> Markets are volatile.
*** Opportunity - Communicate how your investment strategy is right for today’s volatile markets.
> Scared of a double dip recession?
*** Opportunity - Financial advisor gets PR and clients by offering protection strategies in a downturn.
> Bear Market?
*** Opportunity - Many clients will be unhappy with performance and communications with current advisor, looking to switch.
> Merger means many local employees at big company will be moving on…
*** Opportunity - 401(k) rollovers galore.
> “Do not call” list ends cold calling…
*** Opportunity - Get permission from prospects to market to them (opt-in email for example), and you’ll have virtually no competition for their attention.
> Only have a small advisor marketing budget?
*** Opportunity - Use low-cost, no-cost marketing strategies to fuel growth.
> Too many clients to service them all correctly…
*** Opportunity - Weed out the bottom 20% who aren’t profitable anyway and give the others extraordinary service.
> Dinner Seminars no longer working…
*** Opportunity - Move to another event strategy, such as webinars or educational workshops with complementary professionals.
> Print magazines and newspapers ad revenue down.
*** Opportunity - Propose a win-win joint event or ads based on lead guarantees for you, the advisor.
> Disruptions and information overload form the new Web 2.0, CNBC Economy
*** Opportunity - take advantage of Web 2.0 to attract prospects
Join us next Wednesday (May 26) …
New, Live 30 Minute Webinar on Financial Advisor Marketing in 2010
How to Gain More Prospects, Assets in the New Web 2.0, CNBC Economy
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/889450131
Includes 15 minutes of your questions live, max 100 registrants.
While it is all too common that we in business are able to discover opportunity in other people’s businesses, we all have a tendency to get stuck in the daily details of our own practices.
Seeing and taking advantage of just a few of the opportunities from news - good and bad - will help you gain clients and income.
So where’s your best marketing opportunity?
May 22nd, 2010
This article is by Bob Hanson
copyright 2009
You are invited to a . . .
Free Webinar Tuesday, October 13: How to Market and Sell (Financial) Services (through Events) and Webinars
http://learn.gotomeeting.com/forms/101309-NA-G2MC-WBR-L?ID=701000000005FWM
You may be looking to generate new prospects and convert existing names or leads to clients.
I often speak about the three primary ways to generate meetings (qualified prospects coming into your office). They are a White Paper or Article Strategy, Meeting Request Marketing Campaigns, and Events.
Today, let’s turn to Events.
5 Ways To Attract
More Prospects And Clients From Your Events.
1. Profit from the “One-Talk, Different Audiences” Model for more prospects and a higher conversion rate to clients.
This has the advantage of saving your time and enables you to benefit from a proven model.
2. Speak at others’ events.
Many financial advisors are joining with an accountant and estate attorney to get more leads at one-third the cost.
3. Improve the title and invitation copy of your events to be more benefit oriented.
Our tests show that even changing only the copy bullets can improve attendance by 18% or more at each and every event.
4. Avoid being addicted to a compiled list of suspected investors — a list that anyone can rent or buy within target zip codes.
Instead, consider responsive lists and your Influencer lists.
5. Go beyond live, free dinner seminars.
Consider, for example, CD recordings, live webinars, and webinar recordings.
If events are at all part of your growth plans in 2009 and beyond, you must attend our free webinar next Tuesday, October 13.
For ‘How to Market and Sell Services with Marketing Events and Webinars,’ with Citrix Online, QLM has reserved 100 seats for “Client Attraction” subscribers of the 1,000 available.
Click below to register now for this free event:
http://learn.gotomeeting.com/forms/101309-NA-G2MC-WBR-L?ID=701000000005FWM
In this new webinar you will learn:
- how leading services firms are creating a winning event and webinar program,
- 5 easy ways to get more leads from your events and webinars, and
- how services webinars are different from product demo webinars, seminars, and trade shows and what you can do to take advantage of the differences.
Register now so you don’t miss-out.
http://learn.gotomeeting.com/forms/101309-NA-G2MC-WBR-L?ID=701000000005FWM
For more information . . .
Bob Hanson
bhanson@marketingplanfinancialadvisor.com
+1-617-901-6886
October 8th, 2009
This blog is by Bob Hanson
This week we reach into the mailbag for questions from our readers. Let’s get right to it.
“What’s working now for marketing for financial advisors?”
The biggest thing we see working is tapping into a prospect’s uncertainty about what to do, and having a roadmap to deal with the uncertainty.
Whether you are working with retirees to secure income or helping affluent accumulators to invest in the markets for the long-term, many prospects (especially on days when the market is up) are more ready to create and act on a new plan.
Your marketing communications must tap into the frustrations and hopes of your prospects. Otherwise they will have the same effect as a limp handshake, (best forgotten).
“I’ve been in business for many years, and have built a nice practice, but with the market down I want to increase my client base beyond just referrals, what do I do?”
Likely, this individual is spending a lot of time and the majority of marketing resources communicating with clients.
That’s OK, but generally you must reach out to new prospects with the profile of your “A” clients through influencers, meaning you create a relationship with someone who has your potential “A” prospects as clients, and “co-market” with them.
For example, high-end restaurants are generally starved for business right now. An advisor could present investment strategies to the restaurant loyalty list and offer to buy appetizers and drinks at his seminar to the restaurant’s loyal customers. Win, win, win.
“What’s wrong with my marketing, I have a website, am doing direct mail, and sending newsletters to my clients, but getting virtually no response from prospects?”
Generally that is because your communications are geared to clients rather than prospects. You may be working to keep clients, but not getting a response from prospects. These are two different audiences and generally need 2 different communication plans.
And for websites, we ask how much traffic is generated in a given month beyond the client base, and it is usually virtually zero. So without attracting new eyes on your site, you will get no new clients from the web.
“Our experience has been that influencers like CPAs have not been a good source of referrals. How do we tap into this source?”
CPAs are typically over-solicited by a variety of financial advisors. So there is little need for a “6th financial advisor on their list” . . . even if you did have a great introductory pitch.
And, how many CPAs are actually looking to actively refer or want to grow their business through marketing? Very few.
But influencers, in general, are a great source of business. Bankers, mortgage professionals, real estate professionals, small business groups looking for monthly speakers, etc, are all examples of the types of influencers our clients have much better luck with.
What’s your big marketing question for your financial advisory practice?
We invite you to get more articles like this in our free report for financial advisors at
http://www.MarketingPlanFinancialAdvisor.com
April 13th, 2009
By Bob Hanson
Long-time subscribers to our Financial Client Attraction eNewsletter
know that one of the ways our clients create a winning marketing plan
is to capitalize on the power of eMarketing.
Our clients get more leads through the web, automate the conversion
of prospects to clients, and lower marketing costs by using email,
web seminars and other eMarketing tactics.
We are now sharing this full eMarketing system, we’ve been developing,
perfecting, and proving since 2001, for the first time. If you are an
independent financial advisor looking to grow your client base
this year, this webinar is for you.
How Independent Financial Advisors Can Profit from the
eMarketing Revolution
Free Webinar on Wednesday, March 18 at 4pm EDT, 1pm PDT
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/531038729
In this free, webinar, you will learn:
- Why we live in a “Permission Marketing” world and how that is
changing the marketing strategy of virtually every financial advisor,
- A simple way to dramatically improve your website overnight to
get more leads, and
- The single, biggest eMarketing tactic which should be in your
eMarketing arsenal, yet is one most financial advisors ignore.
And, get your top Marketing questions answered in a live
Q and A session.
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/531038729
March 18th, 2009
This article was contributed by Bob Hanson, Jr.
Principal in the Client-Attraction Marketing System For Financial Advisors
Many of our clients say seminars would work as a tool in their marketing plan, but they are too expensive. Or they find that the room is filled not with prospects but retirees looking for a night out or a free meal.
Others say, “I’m more comfortable on the phone. I don’t sell well in front of a group.”
While still others recognize that most younger or dual-income couples planning for retirement won’t take the time from a crammed schedule to travel to attend your seminar at the exact time and location that you hold it.
So what is a financial advisor to do to get a flow of new prospects from events?
Consider a Teleseminar or Webinar.
>>> 5 Advantages Of A Teleseminar or Webinar
Over Your Traditional Dinner Seminar
1. Better Quality Prospects
Because your information is the star of the show, not the social or food benefits of a seminar, your prospects will be of better quality. These events naturally position you as the expert and focus on solving their financial problems quickly and efficiently.
2. Save Time
Pick up the phone, dial, and talk. It can be that simple. You save time, and so do your prospects, so your response rates go up as well.
3. Save Money
Every time I get dragged back into the seminar world by a client, we will have a long discussion about the size of the room. Predicting how many people will register then show up is like picking interest rates in a year or forecasting the weather for a night 2 weeks out. One thing is certain: You know it will be different from whatever you project.
It is equally frustrating to book half a room then turn half the people away. But with an online event like a teleseminar/webinar you can make it work for tens or hundreds. It doesn’t matter. And the delivery costs in either case are virtually the same, saving hundreds and even thousands of dollars for bigger events.
And, there’s no need to do a second event for the 50% who don’t show. Simply email them a link to the recording and then sell them like an attendee.
4. Take Advantage of Online Marketing
I’m sure you have been following other industries like information marketing, training, technology marketing, and even the big financial houses for their investor webcasts and internal and product training. They are moving all of this online because it is cheaper, easier, and more effective.
And best of all, everyone who registers for these events will give you an email address so that you can follow-up with them in bunches for free via emails and then set up calls or appointments.
5. Reach the Majority Who Will Never, Ever Attend Your Seminar
Let’s face it, some 80% or more of your target market will never, ever register for one of your seminars.
But what percent can get on a call in the car on their way home or to their evening activity?
What percent will sit down in the evening and watch your presentation on their computer?
The bottom line right now is that the basic law of economics applies.
Supply and Demand.
You can be among the leaders who deliver events people want to sign-up for and attend while the laggards try expensive, ineffective, or less productive seminars.
Bob Hanson
bhanson@marketingplanfinancialadvisor.com
508-625-1712
Box 68
Hopkinton, MA 01748
P.S. What is your biggest question about teleseminars or webinars? Send me an email with your question and we will cover it in an upcoming Client Attraction newsletter. You can reach me at bhanson@marketingplanfinancialadvisor.com
August 21st, 2007
