To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.
Elbert Hubbard
In his book “Marketing Your Services, Anthony Putman describes marketing as “the intentional process of creating and maintaining the relationship of “customer”. For marketing to be effective it has to be consistent and sustained. In other words it has to become part of business as ususal. Sporadic marketing or just “doing marketing” when you need to find new clients, just doesn’t work reliably, so if you can’t sustain it, you’re probably better not starting in the first place.
Turning prospects into clients requires you to adopt a range of strategies to take them through the know, like trust stages of the relationship. Whether you start with a “virtual” relationship through social media or your website or in a face to face environment, creating an effective “marketing funnel” is the key to generating a consistent flow of enquiries.
The starting point is loading prospects into the top of the funnel. Not all these, of course, will match your ideal client profile which is where segmentation helps you to focus your attention just on those who are, your target prospects or niche. The language you use on your website, for example, is a great way to get prospects to recognise that your service is (or isn’t) aimed at them.
The next stage is to get those target prospects to become qualified prospects. These are those people who have said something or done something that tells you they are interested in your services or expertise. The most effective way to do that is to offer them something of value, such as, for example, a downloadable guide to IHT, or Investment, or managing risk, in return for leaving you their contact details. Once they have done that you effectively have their permission to nurture the relationship by offering them the option to receive regular communications from you such as your newsletter, occasional emails or your blog (provided of course they have the option to unsubscribe).
Regular communication with these qualified prospects is the most effective way to convert them into clients. By making them occasional offers or further “resources of value” you enhance your reputation as a helpful expert, nurture the relationship and build trust as well as keeping your name front of mind for the time when the qualified prospect is ready to take action and seek advice.
It takes consistent effort, time and energy and this activity needs to be planned and scheduled, otherwise, as we all know, other “stuff” will just get in the way.
If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.
Frank A. Clark
Delivering your client proposition consistently and profitably relies heavily on what is probably your most important resource… your people. Getting the best from your people in terms of “discretionary effort” requires you to create a compelling vision of the type of business you are trying to create, that staff can understand and buy in to. You also need to be crystal clear about the standards of performance you expect (accountability), have in place an appropriate performance management framework and develop a range of effective reward and recognition strategies.
As Jim Collins says in “Good to Great” the best performing businesses are those who ensure that they have the right people on the bus and that each person is sitting in the right seat.
Here are a few questions to get you thinking about whether your team is really firing on all cylinders and what you might be able to do to start to increase their level of engagement and performance.
I have come across many advisory business owners who are frustrated that their people don’t share their passion for excellence and customer service. Providing clarity of vision, clear objectives and expectations of performance and incentives linked to individual contribution and team performance are just some of the keys required to unlock the potential of your people.
People seldom see the halting and painful steps by which the most significant success is achieved.
Anne Sullivan
The one thing all advisers tell us they need more of is time (and of course, better quality clients). There is no doubt that time pressures are increasing on advisers, particularly where the advisers are also the business owners.
At a recent conference I saw the results of some research that suggested that, on average, advisers only spend around 37% of their time with their clients. A broad generalization maybe, but pretty typical I would suggest. And an average that is probably distorted by advisers who don’t carry the additional responsibilities that ownership brings. Maybe there are tasks that you could delegate to other people in the business, but what if they lack the capacity or capability to get the job done to the required standards. That’s where outsourcing can be the answer.
For a financial planning business there is a range of services that could potentially be outsourced:
What are the advantages?
Outsourcing has many advantages as it allows the business to focus on it’s core processes and strengths yet access the other services it needs in a carefully controlled way. Done well it will:
Keys to Success
To get an outsourced relationship to work well, will take time and effort to find the right supplier and build a working relationship.
1. Define your core strengths
Which parts of your proposition can only you and your team reliably provide? There may well be parts of the financial planning process that you do not need to be personally involved in delivering. Rigorously challenge your own beliefs about what you (and only you) really must do within the business.
2. Don’t rush
The advantages of outsourcing will obviously depend on what service/process you are trying to outsource, the type of business that you run and the quality of the supplier that you partner with. Therefore it is worth taking some time to do your homework and trial the services you are using to ensure that they are what you are looking for. Careful due diligence is critical.
3. Work hard to succeed
Don’t expect that you can abdicate all responsibility for success to the supplier you choose. Consider this a partnership rather than an outsourcing contract, where both parties must contribute 50/50 to its success. If something goes wrong in the relationship get in touch and feed back straight away. Better still get your supplier to visit your premises to understand the problem more deeply if you believe that will help. A good outsourcing service provider will be prepared to visit your office to find out about you, your business, the type of clients you work with and your strategic and operational goals to help them to judge their ability to provide the support and service you need.
4. Communicate Regularly
Ensure you set up a regular two-way feedback loop to facilitate the discussion of operational issues and ensure that you are getting the level of quality and service you need.
Where you see a successful business someone once made a courageous decision.
Peter Daucher
Moment of Truth (2)
There are a number of key “moments of truth” in the process of developing profitable, long term client relationships. Some months ago I blogged about moment of truth No. 1 – When someone asks you… “What do you do?” Your answer is critical. Today I want to look at another key “moment of truth”, namely a first meeting with a potential client.
First impressions count and you only get one crack at it. This is no place for a sloppy or casual approach. This meeting is the opportunity to do two things.
Therefore, what you say and what you do in this meeting is crucial. It’s important to be able to see their world through their eyes. There’s an old American Indian saying “You are my friend when you walk in my moccasins.” Getting inside their head and engaging with them on an emotional, not just an intellectual level is the key to converting prospects into clients. Ask yourself how they are likely to be feeling ahead of the meeting, particularly if “financial issues” are something they aren’t used to dealing with regularly…
Very probably.
They’ve probably already checked out your website (which probably looks like every other advisers website they looked at) and have probably read media articles that are highly critical of the adviser community. They’ve probably also had their fair share of helpful “advice” from family, friends and drinking buddies, all of whom they probably trust more than you right now. What questions are likely to be uppermost on their mind if that’s their mindset?
Who are these people/this firm?
Will they still be around 2 years from now?
Are they any good/will they know their stuff?
Can they be trusted?
Will they be able to help me/us/our business?
What’s likely to be involved?
How long will it take?
How will things be different afterwards?
What will it cost?
If they’ve used other advisers before they are also likely to be thinking… “Will they be any better (or worse) than their previous adviser?
The agenda for this meeting has to cover off all these questions and what you say and the way that you speak to them has to allay the feelings of concern and apprehension mentioned earlier. Having a consistent process for talking prospects through, who you are, what you do, how you do it, what it costs and how they will benefit will ensure you do this. The challenge for most advisers is doing this in language that clients understand and relate to rather than technical “adviser speak”.
How do your clients feel after their first meeting with you?