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You won't find this idea in a book, even though I just released my new
book"
Guerrilla Marketing For Financial Advisors" in October with Jay
Conrad Levinson. You won't find this idea at a seminar.
Not even at a course or the Internet. In fact you won't get this
information from top performers, but you will find the idea where you
work. It will change the way you think. It will change your business
strategies. It will make you take a close look at what your doing right
and what you need to improve on.
The idea will help you grow, develop and
build your practice to heights you thought weren't possible. It will make
you understand your business better, even more than hiring a consultant.
It is a guerrilla marketing idea which is investing time energy and
imagination into your business. This one idea may change your business in
2004 and beyond. Once you start to apply the idea over and over, you may
need to buy a new truck to haul your money to the bank with.
If I was asked to give only one idea to build a dynamic financial planning
practice, this would be the idea.
Create a board of directors with your
top clients and centers of influence. Ask them for feedback and ideas on
every aspect of your business from advice to marketing, client
appreciation and client communication.
Invite from six to ten of your top
clients in one meeting for an hour and get valuable feedback on your
image, identity, business and marketing. Then hold a second meeting for
your top centers of influence or referral sources. Hold these meetings
three to four times a year and buy your "board of directors" lunch for
giving you valuable feedback on all areas of your business. It will cost
you less than $100 and a few hours of your time.
Each year change the
board to new clients and new centers of influence to build relationships
and gain insight as well as referrals from influential individuals. Just
like coaching and mentoring, it is feedback from the people that use your
services to tell you how you're doing. They may give you ideas that you
and your success coach, manager or mentor may not see and understand. You
can't get that from a book or a course.
For example, If I have never
experienced being one of your clients for a period of time, how can I give
you long term valuable feedback on what you are doing, how you communicate
with people and how your business is perceived? It is this valuable
feedback from your top clients and centers of influence that is going to
give you the edge over your competitors.
A secondary objective is a way to develop referrals and clone your best
clients by discussing the fact that you are looking for more clients like
them to build your business. Make it clear though that this is not a
referral session, but a genuine feedback session for your business.
Some
advisors have used this as a referral meeting by bringing in their top
referring clients and discussing their business plans and asking who or
what target market should they tackle next. The clients will tell them the
clubs their associated with, hobbies and activities and where they might
meet them in a casual setting to introduce their advisor to friends and
associates in different groups, associations or settings. You will learn
about several types of groups and associations.
For example if you are
looking to attract dentists, have a dentist focus group or board of
directors luncheon. If you have more than one market, then cluster
together different types of groups and or have several referral and or
focus group meetings.
Make sure you discuss your ideal client that you are looking for. Have an
agenda set up for the meeting and be prepared to discuss and disclose your
business ideas that you are planning to do. Depending on the group, you
may also hand out a client communication plan, Business plan or your
marketing plans for the coming year. Then ask lots of questions, take lots
of notes and build it the way your top clients and referral sources can
clearly benefit from and help you grow. After all, it's all about them.
Don't waste any time. Put this on your to do list this week!
Copyright 2003 By: Jay Conrad Levinson and Grant W. Hicks, C.I.M.,FCSI - Co-author of "Guerrilla
Marketing For Financial Advisors
", Trafford Publishing 2003.
You may use these articles in your
marketing, newsletters and web sites as long as you retain the copyright
information at the bottom, including the link to our web
site and inform us where it is being used as well as sending us a copy of
the publication.
Always check with your compliance office
and or branch manager before implementing any marketing idea. The
information does not constitute a recommendation for the sale or purchase
of any securities or insurance. |
