Closing a Deal: How to Market, Prospect and Close 

A certified financial planner wears many more hats than just an advisor, a salesperson closing a deal, or the team administrator who ensures everything is done right. Depending on where you are in your journey, you may be wearing all the hats right now. Or have at least a few tasks delegated to a partner or staff member at the firm. 

Marketing, prospecting, and closing a deal can look different. That will depend on the type of client you’re approaching or the system you’re using. But, they generally follow the same stages. Many advisors shudder at this aspect of their business. However, the ones that embrace it see incredible business growth. 

We’ll often hear the same excuse from client or data-focused advisors: “I didn’t get in the business to be a whirlwind marketer or chummy salesperson. I’m here to give real, good financial wisdom based on your current needs.”

You can be a phenomenal certified financial planner with fantastic systems and resources to care for your clients. But if you don’t include the marketing, prospecting, and closing wheel in your business, you may find yourself having a bad year before you know it. Clients may get divorced, die, or leave you for another advisor that’s waved a shiny new toy. Unless you’re prospecting, you’re leaving your fate in the hands of your clients. And remember: their goals, feelings, or circumstances change all the time. 

Read on to learn about the critical business cycle stages that can get you one step further to closing a deal with a new client. 

Stages of Closing a Deal for a Certified Financial Planner

If you want to take control of your business, you need to be in control of your sales process. Now it is more important than ever. Advisors expect the most significant wealth transfer in history to take place over the next few decades. This will happen as baby boomers begin to pass their inheritance to the next generation. Alarming studies have revealed that 80% or more of clients’ children will leave their parent’s advisors. That accounts for 4 out of 5 of every client you have right now. 

Are you prepared to lose 80% of your business?

We hope you shouted, “of course not”! Prospecting is a never-ending responsibility for new business and to stay top of mind to your client’s heirs. 

Stage 1: Marketing

Isn’t prospecting and marketing the same thing? Well, not exactly. Those words can’t simply be used interchangeably. To clear the air right away, all marketing is prospecting, but not all prospecting is marketing. 

Prospecting is the process of speaking with or being in touch with leads to qualify them as a potential client. You’re gauging their interests and filtering out anyone who may not be the right fit and no longer pursue their business actively. Prospecting is typically done with the intention of the person you’re trying to engage with. In contrast, marketing is a broader action. It aims to bring awareness to your service or product that begins the prospecting process if they engage. 

Marketing can refer to LinkedIn promoting, direct mail, or email marketing as part of the obvious strategies. But some more subtle marketing can be the way your office looks. Have you ever walked through the doors with a “fresh perspective”? What about the common areas might promote your products or services? Are there any resources or items that someone may see that encourage your messaging: you’re a trusted certified financial planner? 

Marketing isn’t just about big-ticket expenses that slap a billboard up in the centre of town. The way your email signature is displayed is often overlooked. But it can leave a significant impact on marketing. Does it have a CTA (call-to-action) that promotes referrals, signing up for a webinar, or your next appreciation event?

Tip #1: Engage your team in your marketing strategy

The way your team answers the telephone, the gifts you give clients during the holidays and your follow-up process are all cogs in your marketing wheelhouse. They work together to get your brand’s intention across. 

Your marketing shouldn’t only be a focus when the business has “downtime”. Or you want to hit a higher revenue goal. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Therefore, implementing marketing tactics today can have the right payoff at the right time later. Stuck on what to do? Here are a couple of tried-and-true strategies we’ve helped advisors deploy: 

• Start an engaging and informative blog.
• Be present on social media. This doesn’t mean post and ghost- you’ll need to interact with others too. 
• Join small business groups in your area.
• Attend local networking events. You never know who you may meet!

Stage 2: Prospecting

Prospecting can bring about the worst emotions if you approach it with dread, despair, and an “I have to do it” attitude. We don’t blame you! But if you’re interested in closing a deal, you need to get comfortable with this part of the process. A certified financial planner will typically avoid prospecting for one of two reasons: fear of rejection or lack of preparation. 

One mentality switch can move you from “I have to” to “I get to,” which can come from tracking your numbers. Do you know how many phone calls or social media interactions it takes you to get a new client? 

Let’s say, for example, you’ve tracked your results from the last 100 calls, and you got one new client out of it. Let’s ballpark that each new client is worth $2000. If you want to earn an additional $500,000 on top of your projected income, you’ll need to make 25,000 calls, or rather, 69 per day. These numbers will vary in your situation, but knowing them can help with a crucial mindset shift. 

It’s a lot more fun to cross off your 57th no and take it in stride to call your next one, knowing that you’re 43 calls closer to that big yes. Here’s what any top certified financial planner should do when they’re prospecting: 

Tip #1: Use a CRM

You’re only human – you can’t be expected to remember everything about everyone. Use a CRM to take detailed notes during your prospecting activities to pick up exactly where you left off with a lead. It’ll help foster a relationship rather than making them feel they’re just another call to get their business. 

Tip #2: Get involved in your community

You can only do so much with cold-calling or blind social media interactions. Getting out there to meet real people in your community is a great way to prospect. And perhaps you even meet some high-net-worth individuals. The key is to join something you care about and not intend to get a client. The local animal shelter isn’t the best place to volunteer if you’re allergic to cats and dogs. But if you love the idea of building homes, Habitat for Humanity can be the perfect fit. 

Tip #3: Perfect your pitches. 

When someone asks what you do, do you tell them you’re a certified financial planner or do you phrase it with benefit-first statements? This means sharing the benefit other people receive from working with you. A conversation can take a new route if you simply change your answer from “I’m a certified financial planner” to “I help people grow their wealth with individual strategies based on their goals, such as paying less in taxes or saving for their child’s university. Have you ever worked with a certified financial planner before?”

Having a few scripts in your back pocket to overcome objections and meet new people during the marketing process can take the weight of the lack of preparation off your shoulders and give you more confidence to get new business.

Stage 3: Closing a Deal

Closing a deal is often the most rewarding part for a certified financial planner. Aside from watching their clients rave about the results of your purposeful financial strategies. This is where you’ll overcome objections and move your prospect from qualified lead to current client. 

When someone is open to working with you, do you freeze at the next part of the process? There are a few ways you can help your new potential client feel confident about using your services and empowered to move forward. Here are a few simple phrases that can move someone from the “maybe” pile to the client database. 

Two Types of People Scenario you can encounter while closing a deal

People often want to fit into a type they understand. So when you phrase “there are two types of people in the world,” you can inspire them to be the person that uses a great financial advisor. It can look like this: 

There are two types of people in the world, [Insert Prospect’s Name]. Those who want to design their future by pairing up with a certified financial planner and those that hope by chance they’ll be able to save enough for retirement by restricting their lifestyle. 

This technique puts it in simple terms what the positive outcomes can be if they pair up with a financial advisor. 

Action with Positive Outcome

A positive outcome statement can help potential clients understand the reaction or feelings they’ll have during the process with you. 

Your spouse/children will thank you later if you add this to your portfolio. 

If you don’t do something this year, premiums may go up when you’re interested later.

If you give me a chance to be your advisor, like 35 other couples have this year, I’m confident you’ll be able to save enough for your child’s education.

Most People Strategy

A big reason many individuals don’t have a financial planner is that they don’t understand how they help, what they do, or there aren’t a lot of people in their life that have one. Using the “most people” strategy can help them feel confident that others have taken this path and found success. 

What most people do is place a small order with X policy to be covered entirely. Then they’ll often ask me about life, disability, and other products to protect them.

Most people fill out the forms with my help today, and then you’ll receive a follow-up welcome package to get you ready to move forward. 

During your marketing, prospecting, and even when closing a deal, you’ll want to be available to help every step of the way. People can’t get cold feet if you’re constantly handing them slippers. What we mean by that is when they get stuck or frustrated at a part of the process or don’t understand it, you can be ready with your objection-overturning scripts to give them the confidence to invest in their future. 

 

At Leading Advisor, we’ve been helping financial planners create a clear plan for consistent practice, growth, and more profit. We offer tons of free tips and advice to build relationships with your clients, perfect your marketing strategies, and implement great systems in your business. Sign up to get access to our forums, newsletters, and webinars today!