The long courtship of prospects

According to Kevin Sullivan, vice president and portfolio manager with MacDougall MacDougall & MacTier Inc. in Toronto, lead nurturing is necessary because you need to add clients to grow your practice and to offset the effects of clients lost through attrition.

Prior to embarking on a lead-nurturing program, you should determine whether a lead is the right fit. “It depends, in part, on how you acquired the lead,” says Dan Richards, CEO of Clientinsights in Toronto. If you found the lead by purchasing a list, Richards says, the quality might not be high.

On the other hand, Dally says, if you selectively invited to a seminar people who meet specific demographic and psychographic criteria, such as age and income level, you reasonably can assume that you have qualified leads. In such cases, you can assume you have a relationship to nurture.

The engagement process that follows, says George Hartman, managing partner with Elite Advisors Canada Inc. in Toronto, should be designed to deepen and strengthen the relationship.

“You may have to customize your lead-nurturing program to meet the needs of different individuals,” Dally agrees.

Build your credibility with prospective clients by providing them with regular communication that offers “information of value,” Richards says. He emphasizes the importance of being selective about the information you provide. Add your leads to your newsletter list or send them an interesting article every month from a credible, third-party source. You also may wish to invite your prospects to a lunch quarterly to help to build familiarity and trust, he adds.

As well, Hartman says, you can invite these prospects to events that you believe might be of interest to them.

Prior to communicating with leads, Hartman says, be sure to get their permission and provide the ability to opt out.

Be straightforward, Sullivan adds, and ask your prospects about what information you can send to them.

In addition to providing various types of content, Sullivan tries to “sell” his story or value proposition, highlighting how he is different from other advisors – without being overbearing or intrusive. He also may invite prospects to connect on LinkedIn, on which he typically posts information that might be of interest. But, he cautions, “You have to tread carefully on social media.”

Once you have gained the attention of your leads, you might follow up with a phone call, Richards says. He suggests making contact with a lead every six to 12 months, depending upon your last conversation. But do not hound prospects to make a decision, says Hartman: “You want to demonstrate that you are not hungry for a sale, but have value to offer.”

You also might choose to send leads an email as a “light touch,” Sullivan says, or randomly call prospects just to find out how they are doing.

If you have personalization software, you can customize the online experience of leads by presenting them with relevant content based on their profile, personal preferences and online behaviour.

Depending upon how many leads you have in your pipeline, Dally says, you can implement some way to measure conversion rates, what type of content works and what doesn’t, and the type of feedback you’re getting.

“If you’re using email,” Dally says, “you can track the time leads spend reading particular content.”

You also should determine which leads are “early stage” and which are closer to conversion. Some leads simply want to be educated or to compare what you provide to what they are getting from their current advisor; these leads might never become your clients.

“There is an outside chance that they may find some value in what you offer, which can lead to conversion,” Dally says. “But the question is: ‘When?'”

There is an incremental cost of staying in front of a prospective client, Richards says. Another question that arises: “When do you stop nurturing a lead who does not make a buying decision?”

Hartman uses two qualifications for keeping leads in his pipeline. First, the lead must meet his “preferred client” profile. Second, there must be a reasonable expectation of doing business with that lead within a reasonable period of time.

You might keep a lead in your pipeline for as long as two years, depending upon the potential to convert the lead into a client.

© 2015 Investment Executive. All rights reserved.