6 Lead Generation insights for 2007
Posted April 10, 2007 13:28 by Hoard Client Systems CEO.
About Hoard Client Systems CEO
Hoard Client Systems CEO's affinity for investing and financial matters began more than 20 years ago when he began investing in the stock market through a class in high school. Now, in 2006, he is being looked to for his innovation in altering the efficiency in which financial professionals communicate with clients.
I’m always on the prowl for marketing techniques that are working for our clients. Those ideas may be new or maybe old with a new twist and sometimes even old and nearly forgotten as we’ve found lately.
It never ceases to amaze me how many successful people find something that works…AND THEN STOP DOING IT! (Yes, myself included). So let’s take a look at the top 6 trends in marketing in 2007:
*** 6 Key factors to successful marketing in 2007
- Having a Brand Matters
- Know and dominate a niche within a niche
- Integrate your marketing
- It’s a lot easier with what you already have
- Cold Calling Still works if…
- Know the future of marketing and get there first
Having a brand matters – Being know by your target market is very important.
- Well known companies are 48% better at lead generation than “not very well known”companies. *
- 70% of firms say that they are not well known by their niche
- Contrary to common belief, traditional advertising like TV, radio and newspaper ads were ranked 33rd, 31st, and 29th out or 33 for effectiveness*
There are much better ways at reaching a target market that revolve around speaking to them directly.
Know and dominate your niche – You have to have a very clear picture of who and what you are going after. The shotgun approach of “I’ll get whatever I can,” will sentence you to mediocrity. You should have some basic research on them:
- Who are they? – age, income, hobbies, life’s experiences, etc.
- Who are the influence makers? – What are their trusted associations, organizations, etc. and who are the decision makers at those entities?
- What do they want? – What are their fears? What keeps them up at night?
If you cannot answer these questions in detail, you are going to have a problem marketing effectively
Integrate your marketing – Don’t just rely on one type of marketing. You should try to integrate several types into a cohesive strategy. The types of marketing that have proven most effective are (ranked by effectiveness):
- Referrals from clients
- Warm phone calls (to people that have received information from you)
- Seminars
- Referrals from professionals
- Newspaper ads
- Purchasing leads from lead companies
It’s a lot easier to work with what you already have – It has been proven that it is over 14 times more profitable to attain new business from a current client than from a new client. Utilizing current client for referrals or new money is far easier than going after new people but sales people continue to make the mistake of ignoring the diamonds in their own backyard.
Cold Calling still works if you… -- Cold calling has actually become more effective since the Do-Not-Call list made it unpopular. However, it has to have a purpose. The most effective purpose is to follow-up with a phone call on information that you have sent to someone. If you follow-up with a phone call within 72 hours of them receiving that information, you have an over 30% higher chance of setting an appointment.
Know the future of marketing – The future of marketing is NO MARKETING!
The future of marketing is finding ways to talk to the prospect one-on-one. People do not respond to marketing anymore. They do not want to be one of the masses. They want to be treated as a person. One of the best ways to accomplish this is through hand written notes.
Expert after expert has been touting the handwritten note for years but few professionals have figured out a way to do it both time and cost effectively. Until www.hoardclients.com devised a system to take what used to take hours and boiled it down to a simple 1 minute…choose a card…click your mouse…and presto…your note in your own handwriting is off to the doorstep of 1…10…or a thousand of your clients or prospects!Discuss
Comments
634 days ago jon kone wrote:
It really stops me tolook everytime I see the handwritten card. If it makes me stop it has to work. This seems to bring back the old philosophy of taking CARE of the client!
629 days ago Wade wrote:
If you could combine your handwritten notes with the marketing material from the guys at http://www.advisormarketingsystems.com it would be awesome - do you know those guys?
635 days ago Ray Harris wrote:
Marketing can still work but it needs a personal touch to it. After reviewing the hoard site I'd say it is marketing but personal because of the handwritten note. It seems so basic but very effective when trying to retain clients and attract prospects.