As a financial advisor, you’ve done everything right. You hosted seminars and webinars, filmed tv spots, recorded radio shows, sent out email campaigns, and scheduled social media posts. Now, you’re overwhelmed with leads! It’s not a bad problem to have, but where do you even begin with lead conversion?
Lead conversion is not a single action — it’s an involved process, a series of hammer-blows which eventually, finally breaks the rock. As important as lead conversion is, it’s easy to let it fall between the cracks and lose your edge. Keep focused and give your conversion method a boost by following our tips below.
Know Your Target Market
Before you convert those leads, first you have to find those leads. What market are you in? What are the needs of the extant client base? Are those needs being met? How might you better meet them, or be the first to address them in your market?
This is the time that you need to analyze who qualifies as an ideal client or who is in your client base. Once you have established the ideal client, choose to engage with the leads that match those criteria first. Then, move to the leads that have similar qualifications. “Lead conversion” doesn’t mean “lead buckshot;” highlight potential leads who best fit your skills and most need your particular assistance.
First Three Seconds
Lead conversion is all about the first impression. How are you coming off to a potential client? Do you appear hurried and disorganized, or prepared and professional? Are you ready to meet with them in the first place, and does that show in your first meeting?
This first impression with your client will set the tone for the rest of your relationship with them. The first three seconds are crucial in showcasing to your client what they will receive by working with you, compared to a different financial advisor. This is a good time to reflect on how you can set the bar. Practice your opening and have it down pat before every first interaction. You don’t need to have the entire conversation scripted out — that’ll appear rehearsed and boilerplate, which it would be — but know the beats you want to hit and how you want to hit them tonally. Impact’s Chief Marketing Officer Alex House recommends emphasizing friendliness and value when engaging with prospects.
Keep Your Promises
During some seminars or webinars, financial advisors will offer an incentive for calling after the presentation. It might be something like a guaranteed return call within forty-eight hours, or a complimentary tax guide during your first meeting.
Whatever it is, it’s vital that you keep your word. Be sure you deliver on that offer in a timely manner and in the same fashion that you initiated it. The prospect kept their end of the deal, so keep your word. Do not leave any room for doubt. By keeping your word, it will show prospects that you are trustworthy and have integrity.
Discover and Build Trust
Being a financial advisor means prospects are putting a lot of trust and faith into your professional guidance.
As you begin forming a relationship with your prospect, try to learn more about them. If you can build trust and a relationship with your prospect, they will be more likely to work with you and even recommend you to friends and family. This means creating a referable community within your practice, which is more business for you!
Show Concern to Create Desire
Now the prospect is interested. You’ve demonstrated your proficiency, you’ve come across as a bona fide professional, and you’ve made it clear that you offer something nobody else does. But what are you doing for them? What are you doing for this prospect, right here, when they become a client?
Prospects looking for a financial advisor might have concerns about their money or their financial future. Because you have been building a relationship and trust with your prospect, you have heard their concerns. This is the time to create an urgency to help, whether it is from a team member or yourself. Let them know you are the help they have been looking for.
Overcome Objections
Naturally, the prospect might not be fully bought in the instant you open your mouth. They’ll have questions and doubts, especially if they’ve been burned by an amateur in the past. But you’re a professional. You know what it is to convert a lead and not only earn a client, but keep them.
This lead has attended a seminar or picked up the phone to call you. If they have gotten this far and begin to back out, remind them that if they were satisfied with how they were doing financially, then they would not have called a financial advisor. If a prospect has contacted you, then reinforce the need for your guidance, especially if you have the right answer to their concerns.
Set the Appointment
After solidifying that you are the professional for their finances, it is time to set an appointment. However, only provide a few appointment options. If you give your client the ability to choose, it might make it easier for them to cancel their appointment later. If you provide only a few options, it’ll give exclusivity to your time. It’s always good idea to show that you are in high demand and that your time is valuable.
Provide a simple way to book an appointment! Have a form on your site with clear instructions on how to get in touch. Give the client an appointment card — custom-branded by Impact Partnership, of course — so they can keep track of the when, where, and who. A standardized follow-up system ensures that your entire practice is on the same page, as well as simplifies the process for everyone involved.
If you want more tips, or if you need a comprehensive program to put these ideas into practice, Impact’s Conversion Coach program is an excellent source to convert financial leads into clients. Check out our story and see if the program is right for you!
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