Five ways to make leads count

Bellevue, Wash.-based advisor Douglas Nickson knows first-hand how that can work, based on a meeting that came out of one of his seminars. "One time a couple years ago, I met with a fellow who really liked his stockbroker and just wanted a particular thing tweaked. I informed him exactly what to tell his stockbroker to make it happen and that if that's all he needed, he really did need me. As I was leaving, he mentioned I was seeing his good buddy, who also attended my seminar, a couple days later. His buddy and wife turned out to be a $500,000 client, and I always figured the first guy must have called him and told him that I was a straight shooter."

At the first appointment, Nickson gathers basic information on a standard one-page form. He tells a prospect at the beginning there is no charge, and he informs him at the end of the hour if he can help or not.

"My objective on the first appointment is to listen to their story and determine if I can help them. I take pride in the fact that I am honest enough to tell them if I can't help them or if it wouldn't be a good fit," Nickson says.

3. Be Conistent and Persistent

The way you would ideally draw it up, that first individual meeting leads to a second meeting where you come back with your solutions to their issues. Then, or perhaps at a third meeting is where paperwork gets signed and whatever parts of the plan you agree on begin to be implemented. But landing a new client doesn't always happen by the book. It takes many prospects longer to become comfortable with making this kind of commitment.

"Where most professionals seem to fall down is in following up consistently and persistently," Hayden says. "They forget that it typically takes five to seven contacts to close a sale, and drop a lead after placing a call or two. Or they follow up only in bursts when business is slow, so a prospect might not hear from them for months and months, and any relationship they've established drifts away."

Hayden says if you want people to rely on you to look after crucial aspects of their lives–their investments, their retirement plan, their insurance coverage–then you need to be as reliable in your sales and marketing as you are in the service you provide. "Let your prospects hear from you on a regular schedule, with a helpful message, and an attitude of generosity and caring. That will do more to land clients than all the marketing tricks and closing techniques in the world," Hayden says.

4. Target Your Leads Wisely

Just because you have a bunch of leads does not mean you have to work your fingers to the bone trying to convert every one of them. Often, it is better to move on quickly rather than trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

"I only see those people who want to see me. I don't bug anybody." says Nickson, who has done more than 200 seminars. "Personally, I've reached a point where I don't want everyone as a client. After the first couple hundred clients, I realized they almost all had three things in common: 1) they were smart people; 2) they were nice people; and 3) they appreciated my services. Nowadays, if they don't have all three, I really don't want them. I don't get upset about anyone not buying. It all works out over time."

Not all advisors can afford to be that particular, though, and most need to convert as many leads as possible to get to where they want to be. For those advisors, not following up properly is in effect throwing away the time, effort and money spent to collect those leads. So follow up and give the lead a reason to do business with you instead of someone else.

5. Effective Follow-Up Techniques

The way you would ideally draw it up, that first individual meeting leads to a second meeting where you come back with your solutions to their issues. Then, or perhaps at a third meeting is where paperwork gets signed and whatever parts of the plan you agree on begin to be implemented. But landing a new client doesn't always happen by the book. It takes many prospects longer to become comfortable with making this kind of commitment. "Where most professionals seem to fall down is in following up consistently and persistently," Hayden says. "They forget that it typically takes five to seven contacts to close a sale, and drop a lead after placing a call or two. Or they follow up only in bursts when business is slow, so a prospect might not hear from them for months and months, and any relationship they've established drifts away."

Hayden says if you want people to rely on you to look after crucial aspects of their lives–their investments, their retirement plan, their insurance coverage–then you need to be as reliable in your sales and marketing as you are in the service you provide. "Let your prospects hear from you on a regular schedule, with a helpful message, and an attitude of generosity and caring. That will do more to land clients than all the marketing tricks and closing techniques in the world," Hayden says.