| 8 Habits Of Highly Successful Financial Planners And Advisors |
1. They see themselves at operating a small business. There are to types of
planners, those that adopt the business owner mindset which includes planning and
implementing fundamental business practices and those that just see themselves as
just another planner or advisor. Which mindset you adopt will have a profound impact
on how successful you become. If you fail to recognize the fact that you are
operating a small business, you will never achieve your full sales potential.
2. They set specific goals for their business and their personal life. Setting sales and personal goals is a critical step in building up a solid, loyal client base. Yet far too
many advisors don’t take the time to set measurable goals. They just move from one
sale to the next without keeping the big picture in mind. “Goals are like magnets they
attract the things we need to make us successful”
3. They have a written marketing plan. Finding new sales leads or highly qualified
prospects and developing relationships with your current clients is key to building a
large book or portfolio. The most effective way to do this is to develop and implement
a specific marketing plan. A study by the U.S. small business association found that
businesses with marketing plans did about 34% more in sales than those without a
plan. Your marketing plan should be your roadmap to finding new business.
4. They use contact management software programs to manage and strengthen
their relationships with past clients and future prospects. Keeping an up-to-date
client database or list is probably the most cost effective way to build a lasting career
in financial services. Programs like ACT, GOLDMINE or MAXIMIZER are well worth
the investment.
5. They keep in touch with past clients and potential clients on a regular basis.
Communicating with your past clients and future prospects at least once a month will
help you develop long-term relationships that can lead to an increase in referrals and
repeat business. Getting a steady flow of referrals and repeat business is crucial to
the long-term success of all financial planners and advisors.
6. They are relentless about following up on sales leads. Several studies have found
that over 50% of all lost sales are due to a lack of a proper follow up system. Contact
information on pieces of paper go missing, phone calls aren’t return in a timely
fashion and emails are not replied to.
7. They find ways to make themselves and their services standout from the multitude of other planners. Selling financial services is like selling a commodity.
Most advisors are offering the same basic products and service. The question you have to answer is why someone should give you their money to invest instead of one of the other
hundreds of planners in the city. The answer you come up with can be the thing that
makes you different from other advisors.
8. They embrace new technology and look for ways to use it to increase their sales, improve their services and operate a more efficient business. For example the internet can be a very powerful and cost-effective marketing tool. Top advisors all
over Canada are using the internet to generate sales leads, offer better and more
convenient services to their clients.
However, many planners are still sticking their heads in the sand when it comes to
internet technology. For some of the older planners learning new technology can be
uncomfortable and a little overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Partnering with a Marketing Coach like me can make it easy and simple. (shameless
plug)
You probably already know all this because you have heard it all before. Are you
using your knowledge to take daily actions? It’s one thing to have the knowledge, but
implementing it into your business is the step that will take your business to a higher
level and give you the success you desire and deserve.
