Question from a subscriber: “I am struggling to onboard new clients all at once. I want to set up a wait list but am worried it sends a negative message to new prospects.”
Straight talk:
Be careful with this.
The financial advisor onboarding waitlist: too much or a good idea?
A well-explained waitlist of clear and reasonable length (no more than 2-3 weeks) is acceptable to most people. It is also a leeeeetle bit of a success signal, which doesn’t hurt.
However, I have seen advisors with four month (or longer) waitlists.
That’s too long.
And to be real, it’s more to placate the advisor’s ego than out of regard for other people, because if you really cared you would have referred the prospect to another advisor who could help them sooner.
Whoops? Did I say that? LoL.
I told this was real talk.
People come to you because they are having a crisis like divorce or retiring in a panic about the market crashing. And you tell them you can’t help until the problem has ballooned out of control?
Heck no.
Take this action TODAY:
- If you do set up a waitlist, be clear upfront about how long it will be. Overestimate the wait time so you don’t have to tell them to wait longer.
- Publish the waitlist terms on your website.
- Establish regular check-ins so they don’t feel like you forgot them.
- Make sure they are on your email newsletter and following you on social media to help you reinforce your value to them while they wait.
- If your waitlist is longer than a week and they need urgent help, consider referring them to another advisor. Put their interests first and do the right thing for them, even if it means losing their business.
BOOM – there you go, today’s marketing tip for ya!
-Sara G
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Thanks for reading. See you in the next one!
-Sara G
