Never run out of leads

There are two basic rules that get at the base of how to be successful in this business:

Rule #1: Always be in meetings.

Rule #2: Refer back to Rule #1.

If we're not meeting with clients and potential clients, we simply cannot grow our business into what we desire. And ultimately, in order to get prospective clients into the office, we have to have a system for generating leads. And, we have to be multiple in all of the ways we generate leads.

How dependent are you on only one or two marketing methods? I often speak about spokes on a wheel. If you only have one spoke, and that spoke breaks or becomes weak, what happens to the wheel? It could collapse under its own weight.

Many advisors in this business depend on primarily one marketing "spoke," and they suffer challenges when that spoke gets weak. In late 2004, this is exactly where I was in my career. I was depending primarily on public seminars, and I saw a future that could make those seminars less effective. So, I set out to create a much more multi-pronged marketing plan.

I now have seven spokes in my wheel:

1) Radio presence

2) Community education and teaching

3) Referrals from other professionals

4) Introductions from current clients

5) Web presence and social media

6) Media relations, including radio, TV and print

7) Community and charitable initiatives

All of these spokes are interconnected. For example, if you are speaking with a CPA about client introductions, and that CPA has heard you on the radio, do you think that helps you build credibility in the eyes of the CPA? Does being "in the news" help build credibility with the high-net worth investor that is frustrated with his or her own advisor? After all, according to the Wall Street Journal, over 80 percent of all affluent, high-net worth investors are actually looking to fire their current advisor.

Powerful interconnections

The power of interconnected spokes on the marketing wheel is very powerful. Furthermore, if any one of these spokes gets weak, the wheel is still strong and can keep right on rolling down the road to business growth. There is tremendous synergy in the marketing plan, as the whole develops much more momentum than the sum of the parts.

As you develop your marketing plan, analyze how many ways you obtain clients. Are you the best-kept secret in your hometown? Who are your most preferred clients, and how can you duplicate them? Who else is doing business with your ideal client?

As you develop a plan around the answers to these questions, the road to a never-ending supply of high-quality leads opens up to a seven-lane highway on the Autobahn.

For more from Jim Brogan, see:

Act as a Fiduciary

Put the Client First

Cultivate High-Profit Partnerships with CPAs