Chasing the Big Fish
It’s January. You have your sights set on a record year for your business. You want to be effective with your marketing dollars and make more revenue while spending less this year. Where do you start?
I’ve heard this time and time again – this time of year we get motivated advisors contacting our offices with grand dreams of wanting to only work with doctors, business owners or affluent families. In their heads they already see their business going that direction. And then I wake them up from that wonderful dream with a harsh question: Why would they want to work with you?
It’s not an intentionally negative question. I don’t mean to bruise egos or even question if you’re capable of working with such a client – I ask because if you don’t know the answer, how will they ever know the answer?
If you want to go after the big fish, here are my suggestions for what to do BEFORE making the connection.
1) Get your story straight. How can you help a wealthy family? What benefits can you bring to business owners? Why should a doctor want you to be their financial advisor? Do they even know about the problems you can help them solve? Clearly define the value you can bring to them and their finances. Make a list of all the problems or potential problems you can help them solve. Get it straight in your own head.
2) Speak directly to them. In your marketing to the affluent, don’t speak in general terms and hope that one of your services will stand out. Speak to the affluent directly. Call them by name. Have a special section for them on your website where you identify their problems and unique challenges. They probably don’t care as much about Social Security income planning as they do about protecting their assets from taxes, for example. Position yourself as a specialist in their unique issues. If they know that you understand where they’re coming from, they’re more likely to listen to what you have to say.
3) Offer something they want. If you want to get a prospect in your marketing funnel, offer them something interesting enough to make them want to take action. Do you offer the affluent a five-point review, for example, where you can make sure their assets are structured in the most tax-advantageous manner? Do you have a white paper that explains the 10 most overlooked and unnecessary expenses paid by the affluent? Create something that they want, and then go offer it.
Once you have this in place, then go where the fish are. Very rarely will the affluent answer one of your workshop invites (unless the workshop speaks directly to them and provides something that they want). Instead, when wanting to work with the high net worth, don’t just ask them to come to you – make an effort to go to them. I’ve seen advisors have a lot of success in client referral and networking events, and others who take their membership with the Chamber of Commerce to a whole new level. Professional referrals can be great in creating opportunity with the affluent client, and so can a targeted digital marketing campaign.
Regardless of how you get in front of them, the point is to get their attention when you do. When you have your story straight and clearly defined, a targeted, compelling message to share and a call to action process in place, the results of your marketing will look a lot more like your goals.
Happy fishing!
