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When I think of online lead generation, I think of a fishing trawler out in the open sea.
On a fishing trawler, they drag a large net in the general area where they think the fish are swimming, and it catches everything in its path.
After hauling it back on deck the captain is initially pleased with the size of the catch, but as the crew sift through it for fish, it becomes clear that the sizeable catch is made up of mostly minnows (and junk).
With online lead generation these days, it’s easy to haul in a large amount of leads in a short amount of time and think you’ve hit the jackpot.
But as you try to convert them into paid clients, often over multiple sales conversations and meetings, it becomes apparent that you’re expending a lot of effort for very little return.
Of the hundreds of advisors I’ve coached and mentored to become Trusted Authorities in their space, solving this problem of low-value and unpredictable lead flow is their most important priority.
When you become a Trusted Authority, you don’t generate new ideal clients by dragging in any lead you can from the general market, you only generate it from a highly niched pool of your most ideal clients.
Instead of fishing in the open sea where you catch mostly minnows and junk, you need to start fishing in pre-determined ponds populated only by the fish you want.
There might be fewer total fish, but they’re the most ideal fish and they’re easier to catch.
This means when you attract the most ideal prospects only, you increase your conversion rate of turning them into paying clients, and you do it in less time, and for less effort.
This non-traditional strategy unleashes a cascading effect of net gains into your business.
The diagram below sums up what positioning yourself as a Trusted Authority is all about.
Taking a Trusted Authority approach to your business, you’re focused on finding and to some extent creating your own exclusive pond to fish out of, populated by your most ideal potential clients.
And when you achieve this, you create a positively reinforcing feedback loop where marketing in the right place, to the right people, with the right message, generates more clients for less expense.
But without an authority position, you’re forced to take your chances out at “sea”, to catch what leads you can, which forces you to sift through them all hoping enough of them will become clients.
And that sets up the exact opposite kind of loop where you’re essentially marketing in the wrong place, to the wrong people, with the wrong message, which generates less clients and costs you more and more each time.
So, to make your business look more like the diagram above, the questions you need to ask yourself are:
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What niche can I position my advisory business around as the “pond” that I get to fish out of exclusively?
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What are the traffic sources where my most ideal prospects are concentrated, and how can I adjust my marketing system to attract a consistent flow of prospects from them?
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How can I tweak my sales process to convert these ideal prospects into clients, as smoothly and effortlessly as possible?
Related: Stop Wasting Your Money on “Presence” Marketing
Get your Free copy of Ari’s best-selling book "Trust In A Split Second!" here and you’ll also receive a Complimentary Sales and Lead Generation Consultation (value $995.00). Ari Galper is the world’s number one authority on trust-based selling and is the most sought-after high-net-worth new client acquisition expert for financial advisors. His latest book, “Trust In A Split Second!” has become an instant best-seller among financial advisors worldwide.