HOW SOON AND HOW OFTEN SHOULD A FINANCIAL ADVISOR FOLLOW UP WITH A PROSPECT?

by Dr. Donald Moine

Rapid and Effective Business Building Strategies

HOW SOON AND HOW OFTEN SHOULD A FINANCIAL ADVISOR FOLLOW UP WITH A PROSPECT?

I recently saw a post on LinkedIn where someone asked "How soon and how often should a financial advisor follow up with a prospect?"

There is no magical formula such as "Follow up every seven days."

The frequency and type of follow-up (phone call, Zoom meeting or in-person meeting) depends on the type of prospect.

Your prospect will tell you (both directly in words and indirectly through tonality, enthusiasm, vocal hesitations and body language) how soon he or she would like to hear back from you or book another meeting.

A Basic Typology of the Variety of Prospects.

There is a huge range of prospects from hot to trot to slow to warm up to "I think I made a mistake in agreeing to this meeting."

Let's take a little closer look at them.

1.) Hot to Trot:

This is a term that originated in horse racing where "hot to trot" described a horse that ws eager to run.

Why might a prospect be super-eager to get started NOW?

Maybe they got burned or disappointed by their current advisor.

Or they might have been working as their OWN advisor and made a really bad investment that cost them a lot of money. They know they need professional help and they need it NOW.

In other cases, they are super-eager to get started now because they just came into an inheritance or they sold an investment property or had some other SUDDEN WEALTH EXPERIENCE and the money is burning a hole in their pocket.

They want to invest that money now!

Whatever their reason, book the next meeting ASAP with Hot to Trot prospects.

If you have an opening in your calendar, you can book the next meeting for later the same day.

I've done this in my consulting business for financial advisors, top insurance agents and entrepreneurs who want to improve their marketing and increase their sales as soon as possible.

Honor the prospect's wishes. Treat them with respect.

If they want to become a client and they meet your criteria, let me become a client today if possible.

2.) "I want to think about it" Prospects:

These are what I call the "slower to warm up prospects."

First ask them exactly what it is they want to think about.

The problem with "I want to think about it," is that it is much too general.

Ask them exactly what they want to think about and you should be able to address their concerns right now.

With nothing left to think about or at least less to think about, they may decide to become a client now or, if not, with less to think about, they can book the next meeting sooner rather than later.

If you are dealing with what I call a slower to warm up prospect, don't rush them.

Give them time to get to know you and to understand the tremendous value in what you offer.

Also, don't get discouraged by Slower to Warm Up Prospects.

Yes, they take more time to make a decision. But when they make that decision, they are likely to stand by it. They tend to be loyal.

They are unlikely to run off with another financial advisor who waves a shiny object in front of them.

3.) The Cold Prospect.

I sometimes call these the "I made a mistake in booking this meeting" prospect.

While they will seldom tell you this directly, they will tell you indirectly through their minimal engagement, lack of emotion and wanting to cut the meeting short.

Dealing with cold prospects can actually be a very valuable learning experience.

Ask yourself, "How did this person get through my screening process?"

"What did I do wrong in my presentation?" "How did I not convey my value?"

"What were they looking for that I did not provide?"

In answering these and other questions you will be able to significantly improve your sales process.

Although the meeting did not go as well as you wanted with the cold prospect, you can tell them about your newsletter and let them know that many other people have found great value in it.

Let them know if they would like to sign up and that they can unsubscribe at any time.

Some will take you up on your offer, will subscribe and you will be able to communicate with them and prove your value over time.

Some of these seemingly cold prospects will later become your clients.

Dr. Donald Moine

Rapid and Effective Business Building Strategies