Article for the Hoopis Performance Network,
End of 1st Q, 2011

The Easy, Inexpensive, Essential Marketing Checklist for Financial Professionals

By Trisha Gallagher Boisvert

Take your eye off the calendar for a second and then look again. We’re in the 2nd quarter! If you’re like me, your first question is, “Where has the time gone?” Then the really troublesome questions start when you start projecting what that means: “Have we made at least a quarter of the income we hope to make this year? Have we had a quarter of the appointments we plan to have? Have we met a quarter of the recruits we hope to ultimately hire?” As we all know, in reality, it doesn’t shake out that way; sometimes the income doesn’t flow that neatly, quarter to quarter, and that’s not such a bad thing because it keeps us motivated to do everything we can to position ourselves for the best sales possible in the rest of the year.

Below is a marketing checklist with 10 items that I use with my clients to ensure that they’re “good to go” and focused on the big goals, while not neglecting the important smaller details of their marketing plans.

Before we get into the Checklist however, note that this approach presumes you’ve already done the important work of, 1) defining your market of focus, 2) researched its needs, 3) identified your unique differential in the marketplace and 4) honed your messaging. If you don’t feel like you have these important steps down, we need to work through a few preliminary steps first, but for those of you who are already initiated in good target marketing, no matter what stage you are in your career, let’s review where you should be focusing your attention over the next few months for greater productivity and results.

Marketing Checklist

1. Visit websites related to your market and flag the best ones for ongoing reference. Be sure to scan your favorites every couple of weeks for new information or contact names and keep a file for further cultivation/reference.
2. Set Google Alerts with key words related to your market so that you may receive relevant information automatically.
3. Get active--or get more active--on LinkedIn.com! If you’re not active now, you will be because it’s becoming increasingly more important and more credible so why not take the time to learn how to really leverage it for your business? Social Media Consultant Kristin Andree of Andree Media & Consulting suggests that you make your “Profile” section as reader-friendly as possible. In other words, avoid listing industry related terms or products whenever possible and emphasize the benefits of what you do for your clients. Is your Profile interesting to read or the same old, same old? Also, be sure to list the groups that you are involved in and easy but engaging features like following companies of interest or adding the books that you are reading. Importantly, don’t forget to post--at least once every 10 days in the beginning, and then more frequently as you get more active—about meaningful information you want to share, impressive professionals you have met, and even invitations to upcoming events. (Of course, be familiar with your company’s policies for social media first.)
4. Review all of the touch points you currently use with your prospects and clients. Could your voice mail or email outgoing messages be improved? Is the greeting policy at your firm as good as it could be or are potential clients/prospects/recruits walking into an empty, cold reception area? What is the quality of the information you are sharing? Does your messaging tell people how you can help them in an engaging way? All of your touch points need to be truly meaningful and consistent to connect with a busy audience in a noisy marketplace. Everything is important.
5. Re-evaluate the groups with which you affiliate. Are you active in a group in your community, at least one group related to your profession, and a charitable or non-profit group? If not, get active! (That goes beyond just joining and showing up.) If you are active now, set a new strategic goal for each group, as in joining the membership committee or setting up individual appointments with 3 of the board members this quarter. Don’t forget to “invite” as many professionals as possible that you meet through these groups to connect with you on LinkedIn.com. The people in your church or temple or the coaches of your child’s baseball team all count as be part of your network!
6. Build a “Top 15” List. Identify the centers of influence in your market you want to know and begin to collect data on them: Is there a bio on their website? What do they specialize in professionally? Whom do they know? Who are their clients? What do they like to do in their free-time? These kinds of details will help lead you to a warmer introduction. This is also where you strategically cultivate the all-important CPAs, attorneys and other professional advisors. Aim for at least 5 appointments a month from your Top 15 list.
7. Revisit your client cultivation strategy. How effectively are you today at servicing your current clients? What do you really know about their changing needs? How familiar are you with their professional specialties and how can you help them be more successful in their careers? Are you making it easy for them to provide you with more introductions? Do you have an effective cross-sale approach? Is your database up to date and capturing your clients’ changing information?
8. Remind people of your unique abilities. What is your process for getting the word out about what you do? Do you have a strong approach letter that conveys why you’re different and where you specialize? Are you getting any press for your efforts and achievements? Is your website up to date and does it convey the value of working with you? At the very least, do you have an approved, succinct and benefit-driven value statement, like, “We help our clients live more freely through wealth protection strategies.”
9. Have at least one fool proof, active (not passive) tactic that drives your productivity all year. For some, it’s seminars. Amazingly, when they’re done well, people still come and find value and somehow the persistent advisors who host them are able to repeat the process time and again. Another tactic could be your unique ability to engage your prospects and clients in a particularly helpful financial software program. Many of my clients use a tactic we call “TELL” for The Executive Lunch & Learn, where, once a month the advisor invites 4 – 5 professionals from a particular target market to join them for a nice lunch and an informal yet guided conversation about their business. The advisor repeats this process every quarter so they are always filling up the chairs with new guests from the market at each lunch. And, on the second month of the quarter, they host a very similar luncheon but in a different market of interest. In this way they know that every month of the year, they will have a productive and enjoyable means of connecting with important professionals in their most important markets. Be sure with any tactic you employ that you have a strong “pre, present, post” strategy for leveraging opportunities at every stage of the event.
10. Get people engaged in your marketing approach. The best thing about a written marketing plan or even a simple Checklist like this is that you can share it. You can delegate it. You can request feedback. You can ask for help. Most of the professionals in your circle want you to be successful but they can’t help you if they don’t know what your goals are. And, it helps them to help you even more when they see that you have a clear and measureable roadmap for achieving your goals.

Trisha Gallagher Boisvert is principal of The Gallagher Group, a consulting firm based in the Boston area that specializes in providing intelligent marketing and recruiting strategies for financial services companies. Trisha can be reached at trisha@thegallaghergroup.net., LinkedIn.com, or “The Gallagher Group” on Facebook.