3 Tips for Converting More Prospects

Integrating an advisory practice's meeting-scheduling tool and/or client relationship management software with the practice's website can potentially streamline the process of scheduling meetings with prospects online.

• Elevate thought leadership — and drive more prospects to your website — with online content: Regularly producing original, timely online commentary is a thoughtful way for advisors to demonstrate their expertise and value propositions — but from a marketing perspective, it is essential for bringing more prospects to an advisor's website.

According to Demand Gen Report, 47% of purchasers don't engage with a sales representative until they have viewed three to five pieces of online content. If advisors publish original wealth management-related content tied to newsworthy events or developments on blogs hosted by their websites, they can build credibility and trust with a global audience who could stumble upon blog posts through online searches. Leveraging social media to distribute blog-based content can increase the potential audience even more.

HubSpot has reported that companies publishing 16 or more blog posts per month receive about 4.5 times more leads than counterparts that published zero to four monthly posts — and some studies indicate small businesses with blogs generate 126% higher lead generation than those that don't maintain blogs. In addition, blog content never dies — according to HubSpot, 10% of blog posts continue to drive traffic over time via organic searches.

• Devote meetings to answering prospects' questions: If a mass-affluent or high-net-worth individual or couple have arranged an introductory meeting with an advisor, it means they have already been impressed by the advisor's financial knowledge and thought leadership. Advisors don't need to waste precious time by discussing their areas of specialty or past performance during face-to-face meetings with prospects.

Instead of taking a "salesy" approach in these meetings, advisors can accomplish far more by asking questions that help them understand a prospect's basic financial situation, and making the prospect feel comfortable asking for guidance on issues that are most important to them.

For example, if an advisor is sitting in front of a business owner who is nearing retirement, they can ask whether the prospect has a succession plan in place, or if the prospect is concerned about selling the business. Then, the advisor can explain what a sale process would entail, or what an effective succession plan would look like. The advisor also can ask how the business owner wants to spend their retirement, and then outline how much income would be necessary to make their dream a reality.

The only "salesy" talk during introductory meetings should involve how advisors have successfully helped clients in similar situations.

If advisors make introductory meetings about prospects, and not about themselves, they have a much better chance of helping prospects understand the value they can provide — and convincing them to become clients.

Independent advisors are understandably spread thin, but the survival of their businesses depends on prospecting for new clients. By adopting one or more of the above strategies and techniques to engage more effectively with prospects, advisors can potentially expand their client bases without significantly disrupting their other practice management and administrative responsibilities.

Angela Pecoraro is CEO of Advicent, the financial planning technology provider for more than 140,000 financial professionals across more than 3,000 firms worldwide.