The $10M Secret that Marketing Organizations are Afraid to Tell You
Did you ever stop and ask yourself the question –why do you see the same advisors at your companies recognition events? That got me thinking about an answer that many advisors search for year after year.
What do the best of the best do? What is the real secret to their success? I have had the privilege, and I do mean privilege, of working with over 1,000 advisors that are normally at those events. I’ll share with you the basics of their client loyalty marketing plan. If you ever have the chance to talk with these top producers, they’ll share this with you, too. Why would they share their secret with their competition? It’s not a secret, and they don’t view most of you as competition. They simply don’t think you are up to the challenge of consistently doing the things that produce outstanding results. My question is: What are you going to do to make each and every year a better one?
We have all heard “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Marketing organizations constantly roll out new sales systems and lead generation programs that will help you “never prospect again.” I encourage you to ask them one question: What are your top 10 producers doing to generate business? I am confident that after speaking with 100+ advisors with $5 million or more, you’ll see they have no magic bullet, just a strong work ethic and consistency in their marketing campaigns. They never change and never let up. They might tweak here and there, but they never abandon the marketing schedule that makes them successful.
In an industry full of “magic” marketing systems that have high-net-worth clients calling you and mentor programs that will “make you the next eight figure producer,” it’s hard to tell which of these revolutionary secrets will bring you success. Let me share with you the real secret to $10 million producers: focused activity, consistency and a team that holds each other accountable. That’s it. Now, I will give you the $10 million marketing program in this article, but until you commit to a high level of marketing and activity, you won’t need to worry about that magical seminar PowerPoint or the study group you think might be the answer to your selling prayers.
As a business consultant for six major carriers elite advisors, I have had a real insiders look into what makes them successful. It’s not one thing an individual does; rather, you’ll find the commonalities that make them successful. There are common traits that stretch across different product lines, and they may be successful in any marketplace and demographic.
Let me break down their weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual marketing activities.
Weekly
Schedule calls with your best clients. Each of your clients knows 250 people called the Law of 250. If your best clients are not referring you to at least five good people to see annually then you are not doing a very good job in client servicing. Survey your top clients annually to find out how you can provide better service. Stop using the excuse that people just don’t give me high quality referrals. Because you have a team you are able to select those referrals you will work on and pass along the other referrals to the most appropriate team member.
Monthly
Dinner/lunch or golf mini events. The second most powerful activity you can do to build your practice is through personal introductions. Depending on what climate you are in you should be holding mini events –doing things you and your clients’ enjoy. Realize that clients will help you if asked to help you to build your business. Call a client and invite them to a mini event. Ask them for the names of two other people that they would like you to meet. Oftentimes, top advisors take off July and December. Consider doubling up another month to make up for it. You should do at least two events each month. That would provide you with 4 new personal introductions each month. In 12 months you will be favorably introduced to 48 new people. This alone can take your practice to a whole new level.
Monthly newsletters. Most marketing organizations have pre-written newsletters you can customize and send out. Ask your marketing organization for help. They should be earning their overrides.
Quarterly
Concept event. This is a gathering of clients for an informational workshop. Use outside speakers like CPAs for a “Surviving Tax Season” workshop. You can speak, but you’ll get a better draw from promoting an outside speaker. Be sure to follow the Success Criteria/Pre/Present/Post process that you received at your workshop.
Yearly
Client appreciation event. These events work. We have taught you how to directly track business. I highly encourage you to keep them, and remember why you are hosting them — for appreciation. This is not the time for an additional informational seminar. Be sure to encourage your clients to bring a guest as you are programming them on the manner in which you want them to behave.
There it is; not very magical at all. The magical part is you. Can you commit and stick to a marketing plan? Use your team to hold yourself accountable, or your business consultant. You or your marketing organization will have to supply content for the campaigns, but I can assure you, even with mediocre content, this schedule will produce over $5 million of new business. And, your life will never be the same.
Here’s my challenge to you: Fill out your annual marketing plan in the template we provided. Write down your marketing goals and dates for the entire year. Give this to your marketing organizations, and ask them to hold you accountable. Everyone needs a push now and again; after all, we are all in this together. Every 90 days revise /update your marketing plan. Remember that marketing is the single most powerful investment you can ever make in your business. It has almost no downside risk. It should always be tracked and you should be able to easily calculate your ROI.
Marketing is an Investment in Your Future- be sure to have a marketing budget. Some teams take a small % of every case that can be used to fund their programs. This is the best single investment you will ever make as a dollar spent wisely on marketing will return a hundred times what you have spent. Team’s with a marketing mindset have become famous.
What I have outlined for you is the basis for a Client Loyalty touch point program. You can add E-Relationships for those clients that use email. Make sure you ask them during your survey if receiving the emails is something of value. Be sure to find out when they preferred to be called on. All of these little things add up to one big thing which is you are treating your clients’ the way they prefer to be treated. This makes you different and preeminent so that you really don’t have any true competitors-a position you should strive for in your market.
