By John Capuano, Co-Founder of Simplicity Lone Beacon Marketing
Every Advisor wants more and better leads. Leads are an essential part of our business at Simplicity Lone Beacon, but equally important is providing support that helps our clients CLOSE THEM. Consumer behavior has changed SO MUCH in just the last few years, but the financial world is applying sales systems and processes that are 20 or 30 years old!
So before you spend another penny on lead generation…ask yourself these questions:
Question #1: How much time and money do you spend on better understanding your consumer and improving your firm’s ability to close business per month?
Question #2: How much time and money do you spend on marketing for leads per month?
Question #3: Has your firm’s closing ratio increased or decreased in the past month? (If you don’t know the answer to this you have a closing problem.)
Question #4: Do you think if you spent more time understanding your consumers on a consistent basis and had a trackable plan to close business at a higher percentage you wouldn’t be as dependent on leads?
We see firms get super frustrated with the quality of leads when they should be focusing on their firm’s ability to be a real “sales organization.” Especially when it’s multiple leads from multiple sources.
Sometimes ego prevents us from accepting responsibility in these situations… “It can’t be me. I just need more and better leads!”… That’s harmful, especially when the issue is solvable.
It’s like the golfer with the slice who goes to the range and hits hundreds of balls with the same swing. All they managed to do was get better at NOT hitting the ball on the fairway.
My advice… spend less MONEY on leads and more money on learning. Spend less TIME on looking for your next lead and more time understanding your clients and teaching your staff.
In the end, it’s far more efficient and will save and make you more money.
About the Author: John grew up in Schenectady, NY & received a scholarship to Norwich Academy. He began his broadcast management career at WOR, learning spoken word marketing from the best in the business with a specialty in financial and long form. John managed broadcast sales for some of the best known sports teams in the world, at the most legendary stations. However his true passion is in the world of direct response advertising to baby boomers and their parents. In this space he has worked with some of the best brands in America. John lives in Boston with his wife, Melissa who is also a broadcast executive, and French Bulldogs Lou and Sal.
