Dripping
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How do you – or do you – drip on prospects.
Example: You meet somebody, introduce yourself, then follow up with a phone call or two. Prospect has assets and either no advisor or a seemingly weak relationship with an advisor but won't agree to meet. But he doesn't say no, either. How often do you get in touch with that prospect? Do you call or use mailers? (At EJ we were taught to contact every good prospect every two weeks with an investment idea, but I've never run into anyone who calls that frequently.)BH,
I never do that. Part of it depends on the degree to which you feel they are a true prospect. If there seems to be some interest at some point, great. Here's what i do...my goal is to gather as much information about them as possible, each time we speak. My goal early on (if they are clearly not going to become a client right away) is to just position myself in their mind as "the guy" if they ever need help. I send the monthly newsletter, and particular Strategy Reports or other articles of interest that I send to clients. I send BDay card (if I got the date). Bascially, I try to stay in front of them as much as possible. Recently, when mortgage rates got real low, I was calling all my prospects (and clients) just to say "hey if you haven't checked mortgage rates lately, it might be time to refinance." If they have a 401K, I try to get all the plan options so I can give them informal advice over the phone. I just try to get to the point where they want more. Find their pain, their concerns, etc. Then angle your conversations that way. Unles someone says "I will never, ever consider using one of you crooks", consider them a prospect. To me, there are only two extremes in prospecting: the camp that says keep them a prospect until they tell you not to, or just keep smiling and dialing until someone agrees to buy. But I base my frequency of contact on them. It depends on our previous conversations. It depends on how close I think they are to considering talking.B24, how many do you have in your system? Do you try to add a certain number of new ones per week?
thnskI drip on everyone weekly (e-mail). How often I call depends on my last conversation with them. It can range anywhere from tomorrow to one year from now. There are also some people whom I will never call.
I don’t “drip.” I look for people who want what I sell, right now. Think about how cheesy it would be to get an email every week from some beggar, like anonymous presents himself to be. Why screw with your own head, hoping that some non-prospect will cave in and you a shot.
[quote=buyandhold]B24, how many do you have in your system? Do you try to add a certain number of new ones per week?
thnsk [/quote] BH, I don't know the exact number, because I have a lot of other contacts mixed in with my prospects (i.e. vendors, COI's, etc.). But if I base it off my Green Prospect list, it's about 50. I would like to have 100 max, but I end up dropping and converting some (to clients) as I add some, so the number seems to hover around 50. Some are stronger than others.That would be optimal. But if I knew how to find only people that want to buy now, I might not have anyone in my pipeline for the future. Plus, the dripping sometimes leads to referrals by people that are not yet clients.I don’t “drip.” I look for people who want what I sell, right now. Think about how cheesy it would be to get an email every week from some beggar, like anonymous presents himself to be. Why screw with your own head, hoping that some non-prospect will cave in and you a shot.
Anon, what would your content be if you are doing it as often as weekly? Seems like it would be no more than a re-hash of the week's financial news. Do you write it, or is it a compliance-approved service?I drip on everyone weekly (e-mail). How often I call depends on my last conversation with them. It can range anywhere from tomorrow to one year from now. There are also some people whom I will never call.
That would be optimal. But if I knew how to find only people that want to buy now, I might not have anyone in my pipeline for the future. Plus, the dripping sometimes leads to referrals by people that are not yet clients.[/quote][quote=Hank Moody]I don’t “drip.” I look for people who want what I sell, right now. Think about how cheesy it would be to get an email every week from some beggar, like anonymous presents himself to be. Why screw with your own head, hoping that some non-prospect will cave in and you a shot.
It's a mindset. If you're only talking to people who want to do business now, you don't have to have a pipeline.
True. But that’s like saying I should only buy stocks that will go up. I gotta find 'em.
[quote=B24]True. But that’s like saying I should only buy stocks that will go up. I gotta find 'em.[/quote]
You’re pretty good at finding people who don’t want to do business. You should stick with that.
“I don’t “drip.” I look for people who want what I sell, right now. Think about how cheesy it would be to get an email every week from some beggar, like anonymous presents himself to be. Why screw with your own head, hoping that some non-prospect will cave in and you a shot.”
Bobby, since when do you care what people think? With e-mail, it's just as easy to do this with 10 people as it is with 2000. My e-mails go out to a few thousand people. They have all given me permission to e-mail them. It surprises me that so few of them ask to be removed from my list. Many, I'm sure, delete my e-mails without reading them. Anon, what would your content be if you are doing it as often as weekly? Seems like it would be no more than a re-hash of the week's financial news. Do you write it, or is it a compliance-approved service? This is the one area of my practice that I don't want to talk too much about because it would give away my anonymity. It is written by me, but I do get it compliance approved. I don't keep accurate stats, but I would say that every week 2-3 people ask to be removed from my distribution list. More importantly, I get 2-3 clients a month from it. These are people who have contacted me. Unless, it is a referral, I only call attorneys, CPAs, and business owners. If someone is on my list and they don't meet my criteria, they don't get called. I would guess that half of my list is people who I will never call. I'm still happy to work with them if they call me.