Sales is a process. You have a funnel of prospects and bring them through the sales pipeline. Some drop out or go dark along the way, but others become clients, ringing the cash register. That's why your sales manager is always asking how many prospects you have in your pipeline. Sound familiar?
Sales can also come from outside the pipeline. Often this comes from your pro bono work, things you do without any expectation of reward.
This can be alien to some agents who think, "If I'm not getting paid, then I'm not interested."
My best story comes from a local business owner who is also very charitable. He was telling me about an advisor who served alongside him on a charity board. He praised the fellow for the time and effort he volunteered towards for the cause. Then he explained, "I wanted to thank him, so I moved the retirement account over to him."
Regardless if it was the company account or his personal account, the fellow was wealthy. Whatever the advisor received, it was huge. The moral of the story was the advisor was being a "good guy" and gave back. It paid off in unexpected ways.
Here are five examples of how adding value can lead to business.
1. Helping Someone Find a Job
A New England advisor coached in the town soccer club for children. He learned about a fellow parent who was downsized. By coincidence he knew another parent at a different firm, but in the same field. Without being asked, he took the initiative and brought the two parties together. The guy landed safely in his next job at that firm.
The unexpected reward: Three guesses where the retirement assets from the previous firm went when the rollover occurred.
2. Keeping in Touch
A California advisor would send vacation postcards to clients and prospects. They were personal, nothing about business. One day, he got a phone call from a prospect, opening up a retirement plan for his company.
