In business, it often feels like we’re chasing potential clients and trying to follow up with numerous leads over and over, even though we know they need what we are offering, and we have their best interests at heart.
We also spend way too much time trying to track down, follow up, and “sell” these leads, which distracts us from what we really should be doing (which is more time with clients).
A financial advisor client of mine recently asked me this question for our series of advisor questions about marketing: How can I get more people to contact me? (As opposed to the other way around.)
The reality is that we all dream of a business where there’s a long line of folks who are ready to sign on the dotted line and become our clients. But it often takes a long time to realize that dream unless you very consciously build a system that achieves just that.
Essentially, there are 2 ways that you can make the shift to where people are chasing you down for your time, your expertise, and the privilege to become your client:
- Have better marketing.
- Have more of that better marketing.
That may seem like an oversimplification but that’s really it.
Now, that #1 – the quality of your marketing – is where it really takes the heavy lifting and planning. You should have a very strategic, well-mapped-out funnel for your marketing where you know exactly where leads come in the process they go through. That includes how and when they receive the information they need, when they will be followed up with, better consistency, higher quality touch points like video instead of just endless text emails, etc.
We should also focus on being more helpful, making the shift from what we offer to what they’re going through on their side of the desk, including their challenges problems, fears, goals, and what they’re hoping to achieve.
Only once we have all of this in place and the quality and consistency of market is vastly enhanced can you turn on the spigot of adding more people into your marketing funnel such as with webinars, giveaways, landing pages, social media paid ads, events, media opportunities, etc.
At that point you absolutely will achieve the Holy Grail of business where you have a long line of people who are chasing you down for your time and desperately want to become your clients – not the other way around.
As always, please reach out if there’s anything I can do to help or have a question of your own to submit.
In service,
Norm