Why build a website if you don’t know how to accomplish the first goal.

Thinking of building your website, ask the question :

What is internet marketing?

In a nutshell, Internet Marketing is using your website as the most cost-effective income-generating small business marketing strategy.

The internet is full of websites. 90% of all websites are archived projects. What this means is these websites have no marketing plan. These websites will not get traffic. These websites will not get high rankings by search engines.

When you learn internet marketing you will understand:

• The importance of keyword research and being the #1 ranked spot by search engines
• Tools and techniques to enable lead generation
• How to write attractive copy that educates and sells
• How to market your business using your website.

Ask yourself this question – Should you build your own website?
The simple answer is knowing what stage your business is at right now and how much income your business is presently making.

If you are at the start-up stage or have less than 1M in sales, you should build your own website. Make it a DIY project. When building your website, focus on making money and functionality and less on design and flash.

Once you have your fully functional website up and running and making money – then decide if you want to add design and brand your website.

Work on your business…not in your business.

You are marketing in various places. You are receiving leads and referrals.
Your lead generation strategies are working. Statistics show that most financial advisors are easily converting 30% of lead traffic.

The important questions for every financial advisor are -

• Am I satisfied with just the low hanging fruit?
• What do I do with remaining 70% of leads generated?.
• How can I easily increase the lead conversion percentages?
• What strategies can I utilize to not loose sight of the harder to convert leads?
• How effective are these strategies?

To fully understand the amount of money left behind on the table… ask yourself these questions.

• How much does a lead or referral cost you? If you are part of a networking organization, the cost of the lead is not just the cost of membership. It is membership plus the time you spend attending the meetings.
• Are you purchasing leads and at what cost?
• Do you use rented lists and at what cost?
• Do you use telemarketing to contact these leads?
• Do you use direct mail to contact these leads?
• How can I make more income from my present lead generation?

Given that not all leads will not convert into business – What effective marketing strategy can you employ to increase the hard to convert leads. Read on to find out how professional financial advisors are using event planning as the leading trust and credibility building tool that revs up the lead conversion percentages and increases your income.

Here are some simple steps to accomplish this. When you speak or meet the lead/referral for the first time, ask questions about leisure activities and hobbies. Listen, observe, ask questions about their families.

After the first 3 attempts put this lead on your prospecting program. Most financial advisors have a minimum of 100 – 150 prospects. Your program should consist of a combination of direct mail, email and events. Events are the #1 attraction drawing, trust & credibility building strategy. Create a unique event. Don’t use this event as a sales and marketing pitch. Use this event as a relationship building tool. Event planning for financial advisors can be a fun activity.

What’s in it for me the financial advisor?

Higher conversion percentages leads to higher income for you. The big question is – how much money have you left behind on the table if you are not making yourself attractive to these prospects and converting higher percentages.

Why should I spend my precious time trying to convert these leads?

The big concern is the time factor for financial advisors. This is where outsourcing your event planning makes sense. Don’t just use any event planner. Please read Don’t Spend Another Dime…

Why should I spend my precious marketing dollars to convert these leads?

The next biggest concern is return on investment. Most financial advisors marketing consists of phone calls, emails and newsletters. Most email recipients complain about the amount of junk, spam and unnecessary emails they receive each and every day. Event planning is the only face2face marketing strategy. Event planning allows the prospect to make an arms-length decision versus an appointment in your office or his/her workplace or home. There is no power struggle between the two parties.

If you can crank up the lead conversion by even 10% – would it be worth the cost of the event.
Once you have given your prospects an opportunity to become your friend, the probability of conversion rises rapidly. The old saying still holds true: “Friends buy from friends.”

Use various events to test the conversion rates. Once you have found the event that makes conversion easy then make this your hallmark and branding event.

Check out some of our unique event products.
We customize events that will add fun and make your hard to convert leads fall in love with you.

Who are you inviting to this event?

What do you hope to get from this event?

If you don’t have clear answers for these questions, then you might as well throw your money away.

A common mistake made by many financial planners, especially newcomers to the profession, is to go out and spend a wad of cash hosting large, costly galas where any Tom, Dick and Harry attend, but with little or no benefit to you, the financial advisor. That’s where your Professional Event Planner comes in to the picture and can save you time and money.

If the event planner you have is just keen on booking sites, speakers, meals and entertainment, then it’s time you hired a new Professional Event Planner. A good, Professional Event Planner will strategize with you, analyze your goals and tailor an event that will bring you the results you seek.

Another common mistake made is confusing an “appreciation event” with a “prospecting and /or sales event”. Appreciation events must not have even a hint of a sales or marketing pitch. People like to hear those all important words “Thank You”. Today, it is more important than ever, to thank your clients for the trust they continue to place in you. They have placed their money in your hands and they want to feel appreciated for that.

The type of event you have is the next most important consideration. Today, all investors have been to many luncheons and dinners at fancy locations where there have had to listen to high-pressure sales pitches from powerful speakers. You need to step back and think of a way to make your event different. Remember that clients and prospects are busy and there must be some compelling reason for them to decide to come out to your event. Here again, a Professional Event Planner can make your event unique, with a lasting impact on the attendees. Some memorable client events I have heard talked about are attending a golf tournament where a sales rep let the clients try out the latest equipment. Or a limo service to a dinner where there was a taste of fine scotch whiskeys available. Though definitely pricier, these events carry that exclusivity that makes clients want to attend. When done properly and repeated at regular intervals, these specialty events develop a loyal following of clients and can become your signature, where clients and customers come to identify with you and you alone. Soon, people are clamoring to be invited to such exclusive events. What an enviable position to be in.

Another thing to remember when deciding to host an event is, “Small is Beautiful”.  In the many conversations I have had with financial advisors and their clientele, I have found that the ideal number is between 6 – 12 people. Admittedly, these type of events are more expensive. Sometimes this may seem like a waste of money, but time after time I have heard from financial advisors that larger crowds did not generate the results they had hoped for. With fewer people, clients feel that they are getting special treatment and this builds their trust in you better than if they felt they were just one among a large crowd. Admittedly, there are some events that lend themselves to larger audiences, but you should use such events with great care. Gone are the days when a financial advisor had a speaker address a room of 300 guests and had 30 sign-ups by the end of the night. Those happy days are as dead as the dodo.

The common thread that all successful events have is that they are unique and unforgettable.

People remember them as terrific experiences, long after they have forgotten the content of the talk or the taste of the food.

This remarkable experience then becomes your brand.

Check out unique event ideas for Financial Advisors.

Watch Dan Richards Video on Client Events.

It is Internet Marketing & Social Media Marketing.

What is internet marketing?

Reaching your target market by effectively using the internet as the primary source of advertising.

What is social media marketing?

Using all the available online networking sites as a means to educate and inform your clients.

How is internet marketing eco-friendly?

Why is it called, ”Green marketing?”

Imagine opening your mailbox and  sorting through it’s contents.   If your household is anything like mine:  I get some bills, lots of junk mail & advertising flyers and sometimes a letter or greeting-card or the ocasional magazine.  Most of the mail does not even reach my kitchen counter.   The bulk, about 85%, goes right out the door. Flyers, junk-mail, newsletters, envelopes, etc. etc. etc. It is not even looked at. It is sorted and discarded above my recycling box. (I’m fortunate to live in a town thet has a re-cycling program.)

The next time you open your mailbox, make a note of how much you throw out and how much of it you really keep. I’m sure you will be surprised.

Have you ever counted out the volume of junk mail and advertising you receive in a typical month?  Don’t get me wrong.  Direct mail is still one of the most widely used marketing strategies.   Direct mail is great for reaching an older demographic that is not online. However, that group is rapidly shrinking as more and more seniors are getting online. My mother is 73 years old and is now online.   She play games, listens to music and uses e-mail to stay connected with family and friends.   She even asked me about Facebook and loves watching clips on U-Tube. 

The internet is here to stay and is now the primary source of information for most people under the age of fifty.

95% of households in North America have at least 1 computer.

100% 0f people under 25 use the internet as their main source of social networking.

The average executive spends upwards of 30 hours a week at his computer.

Now imagine that you could reach all those people and not use a single piece of paper? Could you think of a more eco-friendlier way to advertise?

How many trees could you have saved last year if you moved even a small portion of your advertising and marketing online?

How is social media eco-friendly & green?

I love networking events.   I am drawn to them like iron fillings to a magnet.  Face-2-face events are best for connecting with customers.   They are a wonderful means of learning what other like-minded business owners are doing.   My thoughts on face-2-face events will be food for another blog.  

How many networking events did you attend last year?   How many miles did you travel? How much value did you get from your travel budget?  What is the carbon footprint you left behind?  Did you REALLY need to spend so much time, money and energy travelling?

Have you ever thought that perhaps you could be just as effective without all the hassle and expense of all that travel?

 The next time you have to travel, ask yourself, “Is there a better way to do this?”

There is! It’s easy! Once you learn how to find and connect online with your customers you will be a believer.

It is an awesome, europhoric experience.  

If you want to learn more about internet marketing, then register for our upcoming seminar on Internet Marketing.

You would be saving the planet and making money at the sme time.

Make  part of your marketing eco-friendly and green.  Wouldn’t you?

Learn internet marketing and how to build your website and grow your business.

I read a lot to my children when they were little.   Among the many books we read together were the Dr. Seuss series like, “Cat in the Hat” and “Green Eggs & Ham”.  It taught them to read with fun, rhythm and enjoy the play on words.   They became avid readers and remain to this day.  

Years later, I stumbled upon a quote also by Dr. Seuss on Authenticity that I really love.

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter, don’t mind” 

I shared this quote with my children.   It challenges them to be themselves and to become comfortable being their authentic self.  Over the years, they have told me stories of how challenging this was – how they have had to make hard choices in their relationships with their cousins and friends.   They have gained many insights and now are quite adept at assessing people they meet.   They have lost out on some friendships (which in hindsight didn’t matter) and gained lasting and rewarding friendships with others. 

How do we apply this same principle to business?  

When you are your authentic person, you will attract like minded people within your target audience.  You then become liked and the more likeable you become to your target audience. the more attracted they are to you and your products and services.   These people then become associates and then become your friends. 

In business, friends buy from friends.  Friends tell other friends about your business and how good it made them feel.   So speak and act from your authentic self and the people that matter will be attracted – it’s because you made them feel special, wanted and needed. 

This is especially important if you are building a business based on trust.

And here’s another quote from Thomas B. MaCaulay (reknown British War Secretary, poet and historian) on authenticity: 

“The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.”

When alone, would your thoughts and actions be the same as when you are with your family, friends and business associates?  

Do you find this challenging?  Even more in this world filled with uncertainty?  

Live life to its fullest!  Dance through its uncertainties as if no one is watching.

Authenticity is the key to building trust!