Only two things matter when you seek to improve production. You have your choice of one or both of two strategies:

A. Increase Sales Activity

B. Work with Larger Cases and Larger Clients

If you cannot meet with more clients than you do at the present time, examine your activities. Look for tasks you do that could be handed to an assistant.[1] Your role is simple; meet with clients, design strategy, and implement solutions. Marketing and selling[2] to different groups requires different strategies and tactics, and as a group, high net worth individuals[3] require different strategies and tactics.

MARKETING

Top-performing professional service providers possess many common denominators, including a focus on marketing to High Net Worth (HWN) people, as well as a marketing and follow-up strategy that includes the following five steps for growing a practice and increasing the bottom line:

1. Provide a Personal Touch In Your Marketing Strategy – To develop relationships, you must know your clients. The more personal your communication with clients, prospects and centers of influence, the more effective your message will be.  The secret in your personal touch is to know your clients and focus on the value and benefits you bring to relationships.

2. Communicate Your Benefit-Based Defining Statement (BDS) – Successful professional service providers understand how important it is to differentiate themselves from the competition. Your marketing message needs to communicate your unique value proposition in the form of a BDS, which is short, repeatable and focused upon the needs of the client, not what you do. Communicate your BDS through traditional and online strategies. Traditional strategies should include postcards, letters, cards, and tasteful, appropriate gifts.[4] Your online strategies will include e-mails, social media and article marketing. Make sure that your marketing message is consistent, stands out and resonates with your target audience.

3. Know Your Market – The core of your marketing strategy needs to focus upon a niche market or markets. Once you identify the clients you want to serve, you can then find out everything you need to know to dominate that market. By working with a group of people with similar needs, you can learn exactly what they see as challenges and opportunities, which allows you to provide a better service experience. When your affluent clients experience this level of care, they provide high quality referrals.

4. Networking – One of the easiest methods for receiving highly qualified referrals and introductions from other professionals in the same niche is to network with the purpose of building professional relationships, which provide opportunities for sharing referrals. Networking, professional, and community events provide tremendous opportunities for business expansion. In addition, using social media marketing strategies designed to identify potential mutually beneficial relationships results in an amazing amount of new business.

5. Maintain Consistency In Your Client Contact Strategy – Top advisors touch their affluent clients between 18 and 36 times per year. Depending on your clients needs, you may need to touch them even more or less. To achieve this goal, it’s essential that you include an automated follow-up process in your marketing plan. Use technology to automate and drive your marketing activities. Task an assistant (preferably a dedicated assistant) with managing your marketing program. Meet at least semi-monthly with this assistant to review results and schedule activities.

SELLING

Marketing to HWN’s differs from broad based marketing. The same can be said for presenting and selling to these people.

1. Approach – Introductions and referrals work far better than direct calls and letters. Letters can be effective, but avoid form letters at all costs. If you choose to use letters make certain the letter is personalized. In addition, use introductions for mutual acquaintances whenever possible. For maximum impact, send the letter by overnight or priority mail.

Often HNW’s do not open their mail, and you must overcome secretarial screening.  Often a personal card can be effective. There tends to be widespread warm response to personalized, signed, stamped letters. Some HNW’s are receptive to highly targeted, well thought-out brochures, but they must be brief, direct, to the point. Given their HNW status, these individuals receive many solicitations every week from the typical providers who try to sound like an old friend. The main point is to be memorable.

2. Expertise – Many HWN’s are skeptical about the ability of others to make better decisions than they do. Financial advisors must demonstrate superior knowledge and experience. Prospects in their 30’s and 40’s are more likely to defer to recognized authorities; but prospects in their 50’s are more likely to see themselves as the best judge of an offering or solution. It is not necessary for an advisor to be an expert in all areas of service to the client. It is necessary for the advisor to be able to bring in specialized expertise seamlessly when it is needed. Regardless of your expertise, you must demonstrate confidence in your recommendations, with a solid plan and backup information if the HWN wants more detail or documentation.

3. Informed Decision Making – Few affluent individuals want to turn major decisions over to another party. Many prefer to be educated as to the process and the choices in a time-efficient manner, and to stay in control of the decision-making process.

4. Access to a Wide Variety of Solutions – Many affluent individuals want access to the widest possible variety of products and product providers, rather than proprietary products. The intelligent firm may offer its own funds or products, but will also have the flexibility to go into the market and access any service or product the client may need and desire.

5. Client Focused, Holistic Orientation – HNW’s typically have complex personal and financial profiles. Most advisors focus on their own functional area of expertise. The advisor who integrates and coordinates different aspects of the client’s situation and sees to the complete and accurate implementation of recommendations, with ease of implementation for the HNW, provides a valuable and rare service.

6. Relationships with Advisor – HNW’s value a strong bond of trust with their advisors, and transition to a new relationship can be problematic. HWN’s expect advisors to act as advocates. They also expect new, creative, customized ideas or opportunities about new products or services that may be of benefit to them. For the most part, HNW’s are not concerned about the age and gender of the advisor, but rather their competence, communication skills, and ability to identify solutions. In addition, premium service delivery and kept promises create loyalty and keep business.

High net worth client development calls for a particular focus and attention to detail to client contact and needs, and an attentive, personalized relationship. There is no understating the importance of knowing your clients at a deep level, and tailoring your marketing, ideas, and recommendations to meet their unique needs. When these principles and strategies are applied to a professional services practice, business grows exponentially.

[2] Many professionals feel they don’t “sell.” However, when business is done a sale takes place, even if the person only buys you, and ultimately that is the sale that matters

[3] This applies to individuals, couples, families, and businesses. ALL interactions are ultimately individual – and personal – interactions.

[4] Make certain to know the compliance guidelines for gifts in your profession.

Marketing is serious business, and you should always be serious about serious business. Yeah, right…

Logan Crawford portrays a comical news anchor in a series of TV commercials for AT&T’s the Backflip, from Motorola. Crawford is seen “reporting the news that’s important to you…” with impeccable sources such as Facebook and Twitter. The key feature of the Motorola Backflip is advertised as “Facebook, Twitter, text and more, streaming on a single screen.”

The commercial spoofs the common absurdity of social media posts with lines like, “This just in via text message and wall post: “The search is on for cute boots.” Another line reads, “This just in on Twitter and Facebook: A local bachelor has just enrolled in Karate.”

Here’s the paradox; so many social media posts are trivial dribble – and AT&T is using that fact to SELL. We buy from companies that get us to laugh at ourselves. The question is simple; do you take yourself a little too seriously in your marketing and sales presentations. The work of an advisor is serious business, but too often advisors treat every recommendation as if they are a doctor telling a patient they have terminal cancer. As a professional it is perfectly acceptable lighten up, use a little humor, and let your clients see you are real, even when you are making important recommendations. Don’t try to be a comedian, just relax and be yourself.

Good selling!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE AT&T COMMERCIAL

Mayo Clinic is the largest integrated, not-for-profit group medical practice in the world. More than 3,300 physicians, scientists and researchers and 46,000 allied health staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has sites in Rochester, Minn., Jacksonville, Fla., and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Collectively, the three locations treat more than half a million people each year.  In 2008, Mayo treated over 338,000 patients in 1.5 million outpatient visits. So how does one of the world’s preeminent medical groups get their patients?

In a presentation given by Lee Aass, Communications Manager at Mayo Clinic and social media guru, he shares some interesting data concerning patient acquisition.  Most people assume Mayo’s patients result exclusively from physician referrals, but 84% of Mayo’s patients are influenced to choose Mayo as a medical services provider as a result of  word-of-mouth advertising!

Sources of Information Influencing Preference for Mayo Clinic

Word of Mouth                  84%
Stories in the media          57%
MD Recommendation         44%
Advertising                       27%
Internet/Websites             26%
Mailings to Home              18%

The implications are huge for provider of professional services. Word-of mouth advertising offers a powerful, cost-effective means of attracting business. With social media tools like Facebook and LinkedIn, word-of-mouth offers tremendous potential. Consider these questions:

• What are your clients saying about you?
• How can you manage word-of-mouth messaging for your business?
• Can Word-of Mouth be a part of your business development strategy?

Like any marketing, you must be strategic when crafting your word-of-mouth marketing. Consider these five steps to grow your business:

1. People love to share memorable experiences – good and bad.  How do you create a memorable experience for your clients? Make a list of what you do for people that makes you memorable. If you wonder what your clients think, send them an email asking them why they choose to work with you.
2. Craft a defining statement of 25 words or less that is benefit-focused, conversational and repeatable. A defining statement is not an “Elevator Speech.” Elevator speeches are too long in today’s world. You don’t have 30 seconds to get people’s attention – they make a decision about whether or not to listen in six to eight seconds. If you lose them, good luck regaining their attention.  Use the defining statement with clients – frequently.
3. Train your team to use the defining statement in client conversations. This includes phone greetings, service calls, and routine client interaction.
4. Incorporate this defining statement into all of your collateral sales and marketing materials.
5. Utilize social media tools to help spread the word about you and your business. Many resources exist that make word-of-mouth advertising easy. Consider outsourcing your social media marketing to a team member or social media service vendor.

Make it easy for your clients to tell others about your services. It certainly works for Mayo Clinic!

Good selling!