As the year comes to an end it’s a good time to start thinking about evaluating your marketing. If you’re not satisfied with your sales results or you want to increase your sales next year, make sure you stay away from these common marketing mistakes.

1. Not operating their business like a business
Too many financial planners/advisors fail to recognize that they are operating a small business and

therefore you must use business best practices, principles and tools to help you achieve your full

sales potential.

2. Having no marketing plan
Here’s the irony, financial planners and advisors are always encouraging people to develop a

financial plan, but most financial planners do not have a detailed, written marketing plan to achieve

their own financial goals. Studies show that businesses with written marketing plans out sell their

competition by 24-30 percent. I suggest you start your marketing plan by doing an assessment of

where you are today and setting some future measurable goals. In your plan include about ten
different startegies to generate leads and attract qualified prospects.

3. Not clearly identifying your target market or ideal client
If you try to sell to everyone, you’ll end up selling to very few. I suggest that you identify a target market, and then create a profile of your ideal prospect. Focus your marketing activities on a specific
group of people.

4. Believing selling and marketing are the same things
 Marketing is all about generating and attracting people (leads/prospects) who are most likely to want

and need your products/services and can afford to pay for it. Selling is the process of converting your

leads/prospects into paying customers. Trying to sell your products and services with out marketing is

like boxing with one hand tied behind your back. Sure you might land the odd punch, but your

chances of winning are greatly reduced.

5. Believing that just “getting your name out” will bring in lots of new clients
Sorry to tell you, but most people don’t care about your name, they only care about themselves. They

want to know “what’s in it for me”; how your services will meet their needs and desires.  So for your

marketing to be effective at attracting new clients you have to tell them what’s in it for them. Your

marketing message must spell out clearly how your potential clients will benefit from using your

services. Focus your marketing message on the needs of your prospects, not who you are.

6. Forgetting to use testimonial in your marketing
In your industry building trust with your prospects and clients is a very important thing. People today

are very skeptical of advertising claims. Testimonials are a powerful tool to help break through their

skepticism, build trust and credibility. Ask your best clients for testimonials, and use them in your

direct sales letters, at your web site and during presentations.

7. Failing to set measurable goals.
Writing down your short-term and long-term goals is very important to your marketing success. If you don't set them and write them down they are just wishes. Your marketing plan should have specific goals for the short term (over the next 12 months) and long term (over the next 24 months). For example the number of referrals you want to get in a month, new clients in 12 months, number of leads from your web site or the size of your portfolio in 2 years.

8. Not using the remarkable power of the internet to develop your client base
Implementing an internet marketing strategy is probably the most cost effective way to market your

products and services. Yet few financial planners take full advantage of it. Over 60% of Canadian

households are on the web, so you must find a way to use this to your advantage.

9. Not having a specific strategy or program to generate referrals
If you’re guilty of this mistake, you’re missing out on one of the simplest, most effective ways to

generate high quality leads. I’m not talking about “word of mouth” advertising. I’m suggesting that you

develop a specific system that you put into place to encourage your current clients and other

influential people to give you referrals. Referral leads tend to be highly qualified and are usually easier

to convert to paying clients than any other type of lead.

10. Taking your current clients for granted
When you ignore your current clients you miss out on lost sales. How often do you communicate with

your current clients? I recommend implementing a strategy to communicate with your clients at

lease once a month. It pays to spend time and money nurturing and developing closer relationships

with your client base. There’s probably a significant amount of untapped sales hidden in your current

client base, what are you doing to capture it? Regular communications will help you uncover

thousands of dollars in the hidden sales. Focus your communication on the top 20% of your client

base.

Studies show that most businesses lose 15-20 % of their business every year. Communicating with

your clients often helps to increase your retention rate.  A survey on “why customers quit” found that

68% of clients left because they felt neglected and ignored, so don’t take your clients for granted.

If you’re guilty of making these mistakes it’s time to come up with a plan to correct them for next near.

help you.

If you need help developing and implementing your marketing plan  contact me for a FREE coaching session

* Set up an effective leads generation system
* Attract high quality leads and prospects
* Convert your prospects to clients
* Reduce your cold calling by getting prospects to call you
* Get all the referrals you'll ever need to stop cold calling
* Use the remarkable power of the internet to generate leads
* Brand yourself
* Develop closer relationships with your clients so they don't transfer their portfolio
* Work smarter not harder, while saving time and money

Call now! 204-783-6342