Keeping Your Prospect List Full Without Emptying Your Pockets

Keep your pipeline full: That’s one of the first rules of sales. However, building a nice, long prospect list can be challenging and sometimes expensive. There are ways to make this foundational stage of the sales process easier, without spending a great deal of money.

Reach Out to People You Know...With Better Questions

“Reach out to people you know” may be another basic sales rule, but there are ways to do this more effectively. If you know your best prospect personas and target industries, you can make your referral requests more specific and easier to answer.

Asking your personal network, “Know anybody that needs investment advice?” is vague and also, frankly, awkward. However, asking your people if they know any parents of college-bound children who may need advice or any local companies with a partial or fully remote workforce will probably start them thinking and lead to further conversation.

Use Your Online Community to Speak Up

Speaking to groups via seminars and workshops can be a very effective way to build your prospect list. If you host seminars yourself, you have all the work and expense of finding people to fill chairs, setting up a venue, providing food, etc.

Think beyond this strategy. Try finding events hosted by an outside organization that handles all the planning and costs, while you simply show up and educate a group of new prospects. Online webinars also offer a lower-cost solution to in-person events.

An amazing number of groups are looking for speakers to address their members, and a little effort will uncover many of them. Ask your personal network for ideas. Then, research your online community for Chambers of Commerce, service clubs (Rotary, Lions), special-interest clubs, professional groups (lawyers, architects, executives), trade associations, churches, community education classes, networking groups, MeetUp, high schools and colleges, etc.

If you keep working at your list, you are very likely to find groups interested in having you speak to them. It’s a good idea to develop a list of potential topics that target different interests and demographics to maximize your speaking opportunities.

Spend Less Now for Better Results Later

Leveraging your networks and online communities, and taking advantage of hosted speaking opportunities, are good strategies for reaching a large number of prospects for little or no money. If you spend less money on building your preliminary prospect list, you leave more for converting the middle levels of your funnel into paying clients.

Build Good Client Relationships from the Start

The client experience actually begins in the final stages of selling. This is your opportunity to show how well you understand what is important to your clients and how you can help them Live Richly^SM.

United Capital can help streamline and enhance the customer service experience, as well as help you focus on being a positive influence in your clients’ lives. Learn more about how we help advisors.

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