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Every study I’ve ever seen in the financial services industry demonstrates that the number one way a prospect would prefer to meet you is through a recommendation from someone they already trust. Build your business based on borrowed trust. Therefore, these strategies and tactics all fall under the umbrella of relationship marketing (arranged under five categories).
Communicating Your Value
Your ability to communicate relevant and compelling value that’s tailored to your ideal clients is fundamental to marketing success.
1. Narrow is almost always better.
From a marketing messaging standpoint, the narrow the market the better – the more relevant and compelling the message. If you have more than one market, segment your marketing.
2. Be clear on the bullseye(s) within your target.
Determine one, two, or three bullseyes within that market (often called “avatars” or personas). Develop your personas using demographic and psychographic descriptors. Clear intentions produce clear results. Vague intentions produce vague results.
3. Focus on clear and critical challenges.
Your message will always be more effective when you address problems they know they have and that they deem critical.
4. Be clear on the aspirations and goals.
Your prospects’ aspirations, goals, and opportunities are the flip side of the same coin. When you help them solve their concerns and challenges, they open up to the more positive side of things. While solving problems is a stronger driver for most prospects, helping them reach their goals is also important. Let your message address both.
5. Communicate benefits of your differentiation.
Never assume that a prospect will immediately see the benefit of what makes you different. Always draw a straight line between your differentiation (the feature) and how it will impact your clients (the benefit.)
6. Bring your value to life with case studies and anecdotes.
Without revealing the names of your clients, you can follow this story formula:
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The client’s concern or problem and how they felt about it.
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The solution you provided.
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The result of that solution and how the client now feels about it.
Your success stories are your biggest marketing asset!
Networking
Business networking is not just about going to events.
Business networking involves building relationships with individuals, businesses, and organizations to gain exposure, expand knowledge, and create opportunities. This can be done by attending events, joining online platforms, and participating in professional organizations.
Effective networking focuses on providing value to others, such as sharing information, giving referrals, or offering support. The goal is to create mutually beneficial connections that foster partnerships, collaborations, and professional growth.
7. Find the right networking groups for you.
There are many organizations designed to help the members provide each other with leads, referrals, and introductions to prospects. Some groups don’t have the types of members who feel comfortable making recommendations to financial professionals. So, the makeup of a particular chapter or group is critical.
You also need to be super referable. These potential influencers need to have a solid grasp of your full value. They need to be educated about who you serve the best, how to recognize those folks, and how to execute an effective introduction. Use case studies and anecdotes to foster referability.
8. Become productive at networking events.
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Work the registration table at events. You’ll meet many of the members as they sign in. Chat with them a bit. It becomes easier for you to approach them later.
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Attend with a colleague or a friend. Encourage each other and brag about each other
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Find other ways to volunteer that will get you in front of people, such as distributing literature, helping with the food`, and being helpful to the event’s speaker.
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Join the Membership Committee. You’ll meet all of the new members. Bring a giving nature and they’ll never forget you.
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Join the Fundraising Committee. If the group has such a committee, now you are in front of people with money. Some of them will be curious about you and your work.
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Always follow up on your promises. Be the type of person that people like to do business with.
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Be patient. It can often take time for this activity to produce tangible results. On the other hand, don’t waste your time with a group that isn’t a good match.
Presentation Opportunities
Presenting valuable content to a group of prospective clients is a tried-and-true business development strategy.
9. The 3 Goals of a Presentation
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Educate – Bring relevant and compelling information.
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Entertain – Don’t tell jokes, just be lively and encourage some humor.
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Embolden Action – Always recommend the next action step. Never assume, direct.
10. Get Referred In
Whenever you engage your prospects, clients, and influencers in a conversation about possible introductions, don’t forget about exploring presentation opportunities. This is often an easier introduction for this person to make because they’re not dealing with personal financial matters.
I often joke that the only people making money using LinkedIn are the folks teaching others how to make money on LinkedIn. Slowly but surely, that’s beginning to change. Some advisors/brokers are now able to draw a straight line from their activity on LinkedIn to tangible results.
11. Dos and Don’ts of Relationship Marketing with LinkedIn
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Don’t use generic messages that you copy and paste without personalizing your message.
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Do look at their profile to find something in common or interesting.
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Don’t come on too strong and offer yourself as a resource too soon.
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Don’t ask stupid questions like, “How are you doing?” or “What keeps you up at night?”
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Do use LinkedIn in conjunction with your target market – your messaging will be more relevant and more compelling.
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Do look at your clients’ and influencers’ LinkedIn connections and identify candidates for potential introductions. Increase your odds by looking at who endorsed them or folks in the same company or same industry.
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Do let your clients and influencers know that you would like an introduction.
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Don’t do the introduction through the LinkedIn platform; use email, 3-way calls, and/or in-person introductions. Getting this off of LinkedIn tends to produce better results.
Referrals & Introductions
The fastest way to more from incremental growth to exponential growth is to multiply your best clients.
12. Become Super Referable
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There is a low correlation between satisfied clients and the giving of referrals. Satisfied clients are loyal, and they often give lip service to providing referrals. Engaged Clients provide referrals and make introductions.
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From the minute you meet a new prospect – and throughout the entire lifetime of the relationship – continue to reinforce and strengthen the value connection and the personal connection.
13. Promote Introductions
While promoting introductions should never be confused with actually asking for introductions, this activity does serve a purpose.
Things you might say:
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I’m never too busy to see if I can be a resource for someone else you care about.
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I believe in the important work that I do and am always looking to bring my value to others, to help them make educated financial decisions.
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Don’t keep me a secret.
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Teach others how you would handle their willingness to recommend you to others. Everything will always be confidential, and you will make sure you work together with them to create an introduction where everything feels comfortable every step along the way.
14. Ask for Introductions
The good news is that you can ask for introductions without pushing, begging, or looking like that “creepy referral guy.” I’ve been writing, teaching, and demonstrating this for 30 years. Here’s the formula that works – meaning – it produces results and NEVER hurts a relationship.
My V.I.P.S. Method™.
V Value Discussion – Check in to ensure expectations are in line and value is being recognized.
I Importance – Treat the request with importance through your confidence and not rushing.
P Permission to Explore / Discuss / Brainstorm – Make sure they are open to the conversation.
S Suggest (Specific) Names & Categories – Come prepared.
15. Secure Effective Introductions
Referrals are worthless unless you’ve been effectively connected to your new prospect. As you know, it’s difficult to get through to prospects. An effective introduction is the best solution we have to address this challenge.
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You’re not done with the “referral” until you’ve negotiated an introduction to the prospect.
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Have a favorite method but be flexible to what your introducer thinks will work the best.
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Discuss what they are going to say and how the prospect might react.
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Discuss a time frame so you know when to nudge the introducer if necessary.
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Gently remind the introducer. If they keep stalling, see if they’ve changed their mind.
I sincerely hope that this brief guide has given you some specific action steps. And remember, ideas will not make you more successful. Only taking action on those ideas will bring you the success you desire.
Related: Thanksgiving Networking? Don’t Be the “Creepy Referral Guy”