Why Your Database Is REALLY Your Relate-abase ...

Maintaining connection 15 times a year is imperative for building emotional safety, business preference and market separation. Attracting prospects to you — happens most successfully when you have no less than 750 names in your database (1500 is preferable) with whom you keep in constant connection.

A prospect database of 750 can easily yield 40 new clients per year.

Some clients are more affable than others, but most will buy again if you stay connected and relevant. When that stops, you've lost your positioning, eliminating future referrals and additional business. Prospects are no longer “found,” they are evolved. The Internet taught us to self-educate before buying, but we still buy service products from people with whom we have a relationship. If you want high success, build a prospect database and keep adding to it. But not just any names, email addresses and phone numbers — WHO you choose to comprise your database is key!

The following shows how much more productive some groups are over others:

What Your Clients Who Have Frequent Connection with Their Advisor: (150 responses per 1000) You should incur 15% (150 clients) responses to a financial e-Storyboard or e-Checklist the first year they are in your database. Second-year responses drop to 7% until a life-event sparks their interest again. When that happens, clients will buy from whoever is in contact with them. Stay connected.

Friends and Acquaintances: (70 to 150 responses per 1000) Same as above - 15% first year and 7% thereafter. However, as these people become more familiar with your work, pick the phone up and call. The frequent familiarity yields an easy coffee appointment and progresses from there.

Prospects in Target Market Organizations: (120 responses per 1000) Every advisor should focus on at least two specific target markets. Your place of worship has many people who would buy from you if you connected with holiday cards and familiarized them with the work you do via e-Newsletters and Weekly Market Commentaries. Some will warm up immediately, others will take time. Additionally, join the Young Executive Association, Home Builders, a civic club, NAWBO, SHRM, Chamber of Commerce and add these names (make sure the organization includes emails in the member list). When you’re a member of the same cause, you benefit from what is referred to as a “halo effect” in marketing. You’re 'one of them'. Join the organization, get involved and get their names into your database. These are your “future clients” if you educate them and stay connected.

Introduction Call to Orphan Clients Advising You Are Adding them to Your Database: (50 - 80 responses per 1000) Orphan clients are rarely happy clients. They feel abandoned. However, they quickly rebound with an introduction phone call and a dialogue that you’re placing them into your connection database to keep them up to date with ideas on saving taxes, increasing after-tax income, insurances, etc. Make the call and your orphans become incredibly profitable.

Non-Called Orphan Clients: (10 responses per 1000 – 1st year) Orphan policyholders rarely respond to a solicitation for information to someone they have not spoken to. Make the front-end introduction call.

Purchased Prospect Lists: (5 responses per 1000) Don’t! The results are horrible. Even those who respond won’t grant an interview unless you’re selling a commodity product such as final expense or Medicare Supplements.

Not enough prospects? Give us a call at 1-800-851-8169 and learn how easy and profitable it is to add contacts EVERY week via the e-Relationship App. We'll help you find valuable prospects in ways and in places you've never thought of before!