The Fact:
About half of financial advisors communicate with fewer than 10 prospects on a consistent basis. Fourteen per cent do no prospecting.

The Implications:
If we accept that advisors will need larger books of business to succeed going forward, it will be important to grow businesses consistently and, in some cases, aggressively. Many advisors have slowed or stopped prospecting activity in order to manage their existing books of business, which suggests that they will lose momentum over time.

The Idea:
The number of prospects an advisor has in the pipeline is linked to the extent to which those individuals are qualified and the rate of growth that he or she is expecting. The marketing tactics you employ should differ for building a pipeline of qualified prospects and for establishing relationships with the individuals in that pipeline. In order to effectively build relationships, advisors should gather and track information on their prospects in the same manner that they would for their clients. To standardize the process, set guidelines for the information that you will gather on all prospects and then create fields in your contact management system to track that information. With a mandate established, everyone on the team knows specifically what information will help you get closer to your prospects and when to ask those questions.

The Next Step:
The Business Success Kit provides you with the tips, tools and templates that you’ll need to enhance practice productivity and profitability. It’s the most practical and comprehensive guidebook available for financial advisors. For more information, visit www.caifastore.com and click on the Business Success Kit.