Ellis Communications, L.L.C.

Short-Term, Long-Term Marketing Will Help Advisors
Hit the Ground Running in 2004 and Keep Going

It’s a new year and advisors serious about growing their book need to get cranking with their marketing.  They need to think about the here and now while also marketing for the long run.

“What are you waiting for?” asks Martin R. Baird, president of Phoenix, Ariz.-based Advisor Marketing and author of The 7 Deadly Sins of Advisor Marketing.  “There are plenty of short-term marketing techniques that can give you some early victories to savor and there are long-term tactics that will keep you going as the months roll by.”

Baird offers the following tips for short-term marketing.

No. 1.  Make some well-placed contacts with clients and prospects who said they need to do “X” after the first of the year.  “I know some of you are thinking that’s ‘order taking,’ not marketing,” Baird says.  “I’m not going to argue with you, but getting moving and getting a win is an important first step.”

No. 2.  Contact the top 20 percent of your clients this week.  “You need to answer their questions and position yourself as the active expert who is there to help them with all their financial needs,” Baird says.

No. 3.  These contacts are critical because other advisors may be looking at your top clients as great prospects.  “They will do whatever it takes to get your clients interested in doing business with them,” Baird notes.

No. 4.  Call the last 10 clients you lost.  “You need to know why they left,” Baird points out.  “Get the answer to that question and you may be able to get them back quickly.”

No. 5.  E-mail can be a great way to reach a targeted group of people quickly and get a response.  “I’m not saying you should send out spam, but think about sharing some great tax-saving tips that people can use now,” Baird says.  “What tax mistakes will many of your top clients and prospects make in early 2004 and how can you help them avoid those problems?”

No. 6.  Think about what you have to offer that steers clients and prospects away from pouring their money into certificates of deposit and then communicate those opportunities.  “Many people are still uncertain about the stock market,” Baird explains.  “Surly you have better options at your fingertips than CDs.  Now is the time to yell it from the top of the mountain.”

Baird offers the following tips for long-term marketing.

No. 1.  Do one marketing effort five days a week.  “It could be as simple as contacting a client or visiting a networking event,” Baird notes.  “The most important part is that you take action.  Studies show that those who keep marketing or increase marketing in slow economic times come out of the downturn faster.”

No. 2.  What are your clients’ greatest long-term financial fears and how can you reduce them or solve the problems so the fears vanish?  “Once you’ve figure all that out, communicate with clients about those fears and show them how you can help,” Baird says.

No. 3.  If you haven’t done so already, develop a marketing plan that focuses on your mission and purpose.  “What do you want to do to help people?” Baird asks.  “What do you want to offer that people will pay you to do?  You marketing plan needs to be driven by a more serious goal than just writing a document.  It needs to have passion that comes from your bigger purpose.”

Advisor Marketing provides a variety of services to financial advisors to help them improve their marketing methods and increase revenues, including seminars and conference speaking engagements on such topics as referrals, marketing, client communication and transitioning to fee.  The company also provides a service that tests multiple variables of a marketing campaign simultaneously so advisors will quickly know which elements of a marketing effort offer the best opportunity for success before they launch the campaign.

Advisormarketing.com is the premiere Internet-based source for marketing advice, information and tools for self-driven, success-oriented financial advisors who are demanding information that helps them market their practice, meet the needs of their clients and increase sales.  It offers such services as a free weekly electronic newsletter and reports on how to conduct different kinds of marketing. 

Advisor Marketing may be reached at 480-991-6421.