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Are you still trying to build your practice by cold calling?
Remember how it goes. Either you or an assistant pile through lists of phone numbers and start making calls that go something like, “Hi. My name is Steve M. and I’m with M & Associates Wealth Planning. We are looking to meet people who need and want financial advice. We offer a complimentary review of investments to investors. Is this something you might be interested in?”
Very few, if any, advisors make cold calls like this anymore. Not only is it a tedious, soul-sucking process but it is usually less effective in generating clients – especially women.
Cold calling fails with women for two reasons;
- Women are no more likely to engage with you than they would with a physician who called randomly and said “send me your health records and I’ll assess your health”. For women, all relationships matter and investing her money with a stranger is equivalent to trusting her health to a random caller.
- The offer is impersonal and is essentially transactional – it has nothing to do with her as a person, her life, or her life goals.
What is a better approach then?
Many advisors already rely on referrals to get new clients but that too can dry up and it is difficult for new advisors who do not yet have a huge client base or an established reputation.
There is, of course, an alternative to both cold calling and waiting for referrals – it’s establishing personal relationships ahead of time in your quest to find new clients. It means getting to know individual women on a human level before you even consider talking about what you do and offering your services.
You could say you need to take one step back before moving forward. Women operate on the belief that “if you don’t know her or understand her life circumstance, you’re likely to try to sell her something that benefits you rather than her.”
The key is to meet as many women as you can and get to know them first. For some, this may be a scary proposition and certainly out of your comfort zone. For others, this will be among your best skills. This very personal approach allows you to enter her world and communicate that you are willing to meet her on her terms so, when the opportunity arises, turning her from a friend into a client will seem natural.
The real question is “are you willing to try a new approach or remain rooted in the past”?
For more information, about how to meet HNW women visit our website www.strategymarketing.ca or buy our book INVEST(in)HER The Smart Financial Advisor’s Guide to Winning Female Clients in 6 Easy Steps, available on Amazon.
Related: Is This a Good Time for Financial Advisors to Prospect?