The "How To" of Investment Advisor Marketing
Financial advisor business plan - Everyone who's ever been in sales knows you have to market yourself first and sell your product or service second. The problem for many advisors is how to do exactly that...market themselves as well as a viable product. Simply so everyone understands...we're not particularly fond of the phrase "product"... but sometimes there's just not one other term to make use of (so bare with me).
Financial advisor business plan - It's been fun to look at the marketing gurus from the financial services industry pop up within the last decade roughly. The quantity seems to be growing like gangbusters, although i'm sure they've always been around.
And why not?
We've gotFMO's and IMO's, B/D's, system sellers, workshop sellers, conference sellers, software sellers.
Crap...there's many people hawking their wares available!
So, while we've done a few videos covering some of this - here's a "written" version of some of the what works and what doesn't in our oh-so-humble opinions:
Seminar Marketing
Like it or loathe it - this technique of advertising continues to be for most the crem de la crem. We talk below about Online marketing which has been a huge addition for individuals who relied solely on semniar marketing previously. This newest form of gathering client assets will likely overtake the seminar market in the years to come, but in the flesh seminar marketing is still the flavour du jour in financial adviser marketing. Please realize for anyone attempting as a fee only advisor it's not only the quantity of assets and/or clients - but the quality.
This is also true with all the seminar.
There's actually marketing hawkers out that have fooled the bulk of our industry in believing response rates, size, and booking appointments on the spot matter, though believe it or not? ?? ? Insanity!
Listen up: Everything that matters from seminar marketing is the way much assets are raised from how couple of clients. Yeah - you need to want lots of assets and extremely few clients. This is NOT brain surgery.
Remember one fundemental truth that escapes so many, the quality of individuals the seats is definitely more rewarding compared to the quantity or attempting to top off the space. The best client to get a RIA firm is someone who has significant assets and wants an advisor that is certainly different. This may be hard to believe, but being fee based is a start. Having something worthwhile to provide prospects is nice too. Once the path of least resistance is learned, it's not all too tough.
Some crucial steps to take when attempting a seminar:
The Place
Make certain the place is well known to your potential audience, the parking is simple and contains a genial atmosphere. A bit litmus test: Money is not an issue, and she is getting married - where do you have the reception, if you have only one daughter? That's a good starting point if it arrived at in which the seminar needs to be.
The List
Break a list up into two or three income and age segments...as an example 55-60 Incomes over $100,000 and 60-65 incomes of $75,000 or greater. In order to narrow down the search, Specify if possible a wealth finder. You should be able to mail to at least 5,000 households within no in excess of a 20 minute drive of your own location.
Obviously 20 minutes varies from your location. It may be 20 miles in Podunk or 20 blocks in Chicago.
The Invite
Go on and test this over and over again using a number offonts and types, pretty or ugly and what you'll likely determine what works the most effective is a sales letter. A lengthy one.
Many have been very successful with all the postcard above and over every other method, however a 4 page sales page generally seems to get rid of some of the...er, plate lickers, in addition to peak the interest of these you really, genuinely wish to come - but aren't the postcard types.
Use a large envelope with special type externally including "Tend Not To BEND" that seems to allude to the fact something important is inside and it is in our opinion. Before they get to the seminar is with the list and the mailer, remember that the only way to qualify people. In order to attend you must have at least $350,000 in investable assets, excluding your home in order to attend this free seminar to learn...", the mailer should have a qualifier mentioned several times within...for instance ".
The Setup
Generally speaking the most preferred evening seminars that include a free of charge meal please the vast majority of potential customers. Don't moan and piss about serving meals. It's an ancillary cost as well as the return on your investment continues to support offering a meal.
Most significantly - understand that seminars are a lot like competition. You might be competing with other advisors for clients. Some of those advisors are performing seminars. And many that are doing seminars are serving meals. The meal shouldn't be the focal point, but it should at least be up to par with your competition.
Starting the seminar at around 4: 30 and concluding having a salad and dinner served around 6: 15; after the seminar continues to be completed continues to be the venue associated with preference over the years for most. It's important never to allow questions through the seminar as that is what the meeting in your office is made for.
The Presentation
Speakers differ in style, looks and ability for that matter. In our opinion the presentation needs to be aimed toward your time and money Advisory business and really should not be intertwined with promoting commission based products of any sort. If you're seeking to raise AUM compared to the seminar setting can be a great spot to separate yourself from the herd.
Internet Based Marketing
It is our opinion that this mega producers of the future is going to be growing their organization is a substantial way online. You will find a huge opportunity as at this particular very moment over time - most advisor sites suck.
A web site really should be pretty simple. It ought to only attempt to do a few things - not every things. If you're wanting to have the site a massive brochure you'll be disappointed inside the results thinking simply because you have a website that you're now able to get potential clients.
The web site needs to have the onlooker a deal that motivates him or her to action. What can the offer be? A great example that might be replicated, albeit in an altered approach, is identical offer made at the seminar. By calling it something different and unique, offer a free personal consultation but alter it.
Simply put, if you're going to build a website make certain that somewhere there is a call to action that prompts the onlooker to want more information from you either in the form of a newsletter that they have to provide their name and email or some other form of continued communication. Below is really a short listing of website marketing strategies which will assist and hopefully protect you against wasting money in your effort to develop and internet based presence:
Seo - SEO
It is a critical feature necessary to organically grow an online presence. This feature will permit your site available and achieve greater rankings on the major search engines like Google. Someone searches for the investment advisor in the area; you would like to successfully can be obtained.
Article Marketing
One way to increase traffic to your site is to write articles that will potentially link your web site from others sites that is also known as linking. You will find online businesses that specialize in linking articles to other web sources that will easily draw attention to your site.
Pay Per Click Advertising Ads
Google AdWords enables online PayPerClick advertising which allows several test ads that rotate and likewise allows for a budget. Once that budget is filled the ad no longer shows up for the day thus if someone has a budget of $5.00 per day then. There is a science regarding how this works and exactly how to get the best bang for your buck.