Financial advisor lead generation is a brutal task so make it easier by doing everything you can to increase motivation, starting with how your office is set up.
Advisors Hate Telemarketing
To all the advisors who are reading this, tell me how many times you’ve called back after you had a meeting and somebody didn’t respond?
Probably two people will say they’ve ever done this.
There is an abysmal lack of follow up in sales, in general, and financial services is no exception. I find that when I follow up more than twice, the prospect is often awed by my action. I’ve closed so many sales because I had to grit to make the call one more time, despite being ignored.
Look, I’m not going to sugar coat it. Financial advisor lead generation over the phone is brutal bloody murder. But the people who do it consistently, in conjunction with other forms of marketing such as social media or blogging, and with some degree of skill can get amazing results. I made a nice business for myself calling young attorneys at Big Law firms in New York City.
The Bottom Line:
If you want a bigger pipeline, get on the phone and call some rich people up. You can do this more easily by going through your LinkedIn connections and thoughtfully messaging them using tools like this.
Yes, I know it’s painful and easier said than done. But the simple fact is that you can write all the blogs you want, but at some point somebody is going to have to get the prospect on the phone and get them to come in for a meeting.
If you want to get better sales results then make sure that every single factor is working in favor of supporting the people who are in the hardest role at your firm: the sales people. Here’s how to do it using your office design.
Nap Rooms
When I was pregnant with my first child, I was at a point in my career when my job involved heavy phone prospecting. I used to get so sleepy after lunch (every single day at 1:30 in the afternoon) that I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open.
No lie, I had to hold my head up with my hand and doze off sitting in my chair for 5 minutes at a time (and hope the bosses didn’t see me).
It made the whole thing so tiring. I would call nonstop for 15 minutes at a time and then stop for 2 minutes, and then start again. If you do that, it’s easier to get into a groove and you get less distracted. But it’s pretty exhausting mentally.
Takeaway for higher financial advisor lead generation:
Take a little corner of the conference room and put a yoga mat on the floor. Tell your employees to bring their own blanket and pillowcase and allow the salespeople to take a nap after lunch.
Games
Do you know how hard it is to heavily prospect over the phone all day? I mean, to really sit there and dial staring at the wall, getting hung up on, blown off, treated like a second class citizen, cursed at, and shamed, over and over and over again?
The easiest way to motivate people is to make their jobs fun. By incorporate games into the office, you can help them structure their day with work/play intervals that chop up a block of boring phone calls.
If you really want to get them cranking, I recommend having your phone marketers call for 20 minutes, take a 2 minute break, and then start on the next set. At the end of very two hours they get a 10 minute break to go play ping pong.
Takeaway for higher financial advisor lead generation:
If you make work fun for people they’re more likely to be productive. Try a video game center maybe. Google has slides, no kidding, it’s a slide like your kids play on at the playground. Whatever you need to do to introduce an element of fun, do it.
Try ping pong tables, board games, video games, or even a full fledged game area.
Healthy Food
Do you ever notice that you tend to eat bad food when you’re under stress? In a bad moment, people tend not to appreciate weight gain from eating the first piece of junk they can get their hands on at work. Usually it’s soda or potato chips. Make this a positive rather than negative experience for them.
Takeaway for higher financial advisor lead generation:
At the end of the day we’re all animals subject to the same basic needs. Once in a while, let’s say once a week, hire a chef to come in and prepare meals. Offer your salespeople healthy snacks (vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian, organic, etc.)
Phone Booths
When I used to phone prospect, I was in an open plan office environment and everyone heard my calls. It was pretty embarrassing when I’d get rejected.
Takeaway for higher financial advisor lead generation:
Not everyone has thick skin so create a place where salespeople can have a discrete conversation with a prospect. It can be as simple as a conference room with a comfortable chair and a computer terminal.
Or, you could integrate a phone booth, yes an actual phone booth, into the design. This will be of great use to your financial advisor lead generation but it will also help your team in general. With open plan offices, it can get a bit touchy when someone has to take a personal call. Take the awkwardness out of the equation and improve the comfort level of your entire team.
Sara’s Upshot
Creating a fun work environment for your team can motivate them to take more action over the phone and expand your pipeline, and a great office design can make a difference. Financial advisor lead generation to some extent is about the numbers and about taking action. Advisors who whine about competition from the roboadvisors or about fee compression can beat these challenges by taking action and filling up the pipeline.
The phone is still a lethal weapon if you have trained professionals who are willing to dial the call. It’s a painful process but if you are willing to take as much pain out of the experience for them as possible you may find they see it as not so bad after all.
Thanks for reading!
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