Real Ideas for Staying in the Game

Desperation is the current reaction to Covid-19. I hear it in the voices of advisors. Advertising is filled with hyperbolic positivity. LinkedIn now has tens of thousands of experts in the psychology of everything. Everyone is brilliant, with multiple degrees. There isn’t a single person on LinkedIn who isn’t magnificently successful. They will teach you how to do everything. The language used is mesmerizing, all filled with ideas that are game changing. You will be amazingly rich, lose weight, become handsome, beautiful beyond imagination, live your dreams, have perfect children, save the country, save the world, clean up the environment, drive your perfect car, float around the world on your personal yacht, have a home with 10 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, a tennis court, and maids, lots of maids, if you will only buy their software or pay for their infallible advice.

I recently answered a nice inquiry to talk about my websites. Ok, they probably can be improved. I’ll listen. So, I looked at the fellows website before I talked to him. The home page had multiple spelling and grammatical errors. It also looked like my 10 year-old grandson built the site. Another expert bites the dust. Beware. The best way to get advice or excellent platforms is by referral from a trusted source.

Public seminars have been all but shut down. A few are trickling through, but many states are open enough to make them available to gain new prospects.

Other traditional marketing methods have also suffered, not because they don't work, but because of those who would exploit these difficult times. One such prospecting method is to bribe a prospect with a $100 gift card to a fancy restaurant. The efficacy of this method is dubious at best. Even if a prospect is willing to make, begging or paying for business exposes the desperation of the advisor. And we have online methods. The best source for business prospecting online is Facebook. Facebook has the most in-depth reach. Demographics and geography can be defined to target a specific type of audience. Organic outreach is possible, but requires patience. Paid outreach offers immediate returns. The cost is similar to that of a seminar mailing with similar results. That's if you pay for everything, both the ad buy and administration. You can save about half the expense by doing the admin yourself, but how to do it and the time necessary could be difficult to manage.

So, we come to the best resource available to you, the advisor. Your clients. An advisor in the Midwest has had the best year ever in 2020 because he had to pay more attention to his clients and their additional assets to invest. But, that source is tapping out. He has made one mistake that could cost him dearly. Encouraging his clients through nurturing could have added additional referrals. He neglected the nurturing process. While dealing with clients for additional business, nurturing those clients for referrals, delicately, should be part of every sales process.

The old-style one card system is great for prospecting and nurturing. What happened to it? Nothing, it’s still available. Google it. It's great for nurturing and understanding the process of gaining clients. But you'll notice while looking through the software that prospecting is hard work. Paying attention to details is important. Staying in touch for long periods of time is important. If a prospect has money, they are always a good prospect. If you can somehow remain engaged, do so. If they don't want to remain engaged they will say so. They will opt out. A wonderful tool for staying in touch is by video. You can easily add video to your communications. If you use Gmail for your email communications there is a free add-on from Cloud HQ. Typing out an email is good. Adding video is better. Typing happy birthday is good. Saying happy birthday, personally is better. Video from your WebCam or even mobile phone is highly engaging. Take a serious look at video. It could change the impact of your prospect nurturing. Video is a powerful communications tool. It is one step closer to personal one on one engagement. I have had dozens of conversations with advisors by way of Zoom. Many of them either don’t have a webcam or they keep the webcam off. That’s a huge mistake. Upgrade your webcam. Get the best available. Then get up every day and get dressed for video success. My son has a fantastic online business. His office is in his laundry room. He built an attractive bookshelf as a backdrop. He faces a window for natural light. His webcam is set up so that you aren’t looking up his nostrils. He bought an inexpensive but very clear microphone. Even on a Zoom call it looks and sounds great. So, all he has to watch out for is the spin cycle on the washer. Digitalize for success. Groom well, dress well, be prepared, know Zoom, GoToMeeting or whatever platform you choose.

Don’t despair. You have the means to remain as successful as you wish, but don’t let the lack of knowledge of technology give predators the ability to take advantage of you. Study technology, take advice from trusted sources, work hard. Stay in the game. It’s worth it.

Kim Magdalein is an advisor with 30 years of speaking and writing experience about prospecting and marketing in the industry. Co-founder of Seminars for Less nearly 20 years ago, he is a leader in seminar marketing, assisting financial advisors and insurance agents. Contact Kim at www.seminarsforless.com.