Stop the Prospecting Madness

In my business, I decided that if I just committed myself to prospecting for strategic alliances–regardless of how long that took me–I'd be running my business smarter than my competition and in a much more enjoyable way.

I realized that I was spending money on all kinds of marketing campaigns, all with the goal of creating a base of qualified prospects who both needed my help and saw me as the expert that could help them with their problems. By focusing my efforts on building strategic alliances, I realized the first of these two aspects would be accomplished very quickly, since I could tap into the CPA's base of clients, which became my "target market." Due to the fact that this was a very concentrated base of prospects, it made it much easier and much more affordable to implement the marketing strategies necessary to become known as the expert among the CPA's clients.

The reason that most advisors never really achieve market penetration in any demographic is because they are trying to market themselves to too many people in too many different ways. A perfect example is direct mail. Sending an invitation to 10,000 people for a seminar every other month lacks the consistency and frequency that a successful marketing campaign requires. However, you couldn't possibly expect to develop any kind of top-of-mind awareness with the people on your mailing list because there's simply too many of them. And you'd go broke trying to market to that many prospects with the frequency you'd really need to in order to have any lasting success.

The hard facts show that the vast majority of advisors today simply throw money at their marketing problems without a lot of thought as to what their strategy is or what they want their desired results to be. Sure, you can send out a mail campaign, or put up a billboard by your office with the hopes of generating a few calls or setting a few first appointments, but the problem with this and every type of "mass marketing" is that your "chasing days" never end. As long as you try and build your business using these and other mass marketing strategies, you'll always be frustrated on some level with either the lack of prospects you have to talk to, or the amount of money you have to spend to reach them.

This week's takeaway is this. Consider refocusing your prospecting time and efforts to "chasing" Centers of Influence instead of prospects. The reality is, each strategic alliance you form can introduce you to hundreds of prospects you never would have reached otherwise and position you as the expert much faster than you can position yourself while at the same time drastically reducing your overall marketing costs. 

Commit yourself to incorporating strategic alliances no matter what it takes or how long it takes, and you really can build the 100 percent referral-based practice. But in my experience, it all starts and ends with that decision. Many advisors set out with good intentions of building alliances with CPAs and other professionals, but the vast majority lack the follow-through and determination necessary to really achieve the high level of success that is possible through these relationships. Don't be one of them. Decide today to be better than your competition. For more articles and information on building successful strategic alliances, visit our website at www.WinningWithCPAs.com.

For more from Brandon Stuerke, see:

• Who Makes the Best Strategic Alliance Partner?
• Mass Marketing vs. Strategic Marketing
• Referrals That Work