As entrepreneurs and business owners, we are hard-wired to be problem-solvers. When we find a gap, it is in our DNA to find an answer as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, it’s easy to be distracted by the multitude of “shiny objects” promoted by FMOs and marketing companies.
These typically promise a “magic bullet” solution to your client acquisition challenges. Many advisors give in to the temptation, turning from one program to another without getting any closer to following through or maximizing what actually is working. Many of these ideas are started without any evaluation of the strategic fit into the long-term business model.
The Digital Distraction
Social media and digital marketing have given us new, effective tools to get in front of qualified prospects. With that, it’s easy to assume that they’re the answer to all our prospecting challenges. However, it’s important to understand that these new strategies often require advisors to adjust their process and expectations to make them effective.
It also seems that there are variations of these programs hitting us every day from companies claiming to have cracked the code. The reality is that the companies who are successful in this area do it in very similar ways and the success of the program depends mostly on the advisor’s ability to follow through and implement best practices. We work with these companies.
Golf for Dummies
It’s not uncommon for advisors we work with to have success in a seminar program, for example, and after two campaigns they suddenly change course in order to try something else and find themselves never following through on anything and experiencing poor results.
As a comparison, let’s talk about the golf equipment industry. It’s been said that the biggest sucker in the world is a golfer with a credit card. What that means is that a golfer is much more inclined to spend $600 on a new driver instead of doing the work to improve their game and spending that money on instruction.
Golf club manufacturers understand this tendency and base their marketing around it. The fact is that technology in club design and performance doesn’t really change much year to year. The manufacturer knows that doesn’t matter. They know that in order to sell equipment they have to introduce some sort of innovation every year, whether it is actually transformative or not. They just need to give it a new name and sign a tour player up to promote it and…game over.
For the golfer, unfortunately, the problem is often the swing itself, not the equipment. The same holds true for a marketing program.
Though digital has given us marketers another tool to help us get advisors in front of qualified prospects, all the other traditional strategies like direct mail, radio, TV and print still work well if they are integrated into a well-designed plan to attract and convert your ideal client.
It’s funny, successful advisors seem to be successful at everything they do. The reason is that they develop a plan and stick to it. They also track their ROI closely and know how much they spend and exactly where their revenue comes from. We help advisors do that every day.
If you would like support in developing and implementing your custom business development plan, contact your Quantum Consultant at 800.440.1088 today.
For financial professional use only. Not for use with the public.
Scott spent 20+ years as a large market radio host, on-camera news talent and VP of content creation. He helps develop and manage all advisor client acquisition strategies for Quantum, including live events, digital, social and legacy media campaigns.
