LinkedIn is a free way to get a ton of new clients. However, most advisors ruin their chances by acting like a solar-panel salesperson rather than someone who is cool to talk to about financial planning and wealth management. Stop making the following three mistakes.
#1 Spam-pitching Over Messenger
Correct me if I’m wrong.
You financial advisors all get annoying LinkedIn messages from vendors trying to pitch their wares.
Right?
Wholesalers, investment management firms trying to sell you direct indexing, lead generation firms, etc. And you always complain about how irritating they are.
So why do you turn around and do the same exact thing to the high-net-worth prospects you are trying to get as clients?
First, understand the point of a LinkedIn message: It is to understand, not to conquer.
Second, the LinkedIn sales cycle now has three parts: introduction, transition, and close. Most of you rush the transition after you make the initial connection, slamming the prospect with a meeting pitch before you understand one iota about them.
Imagine you met a wealthy doctor at your church’s coffee hour.
“Hi, I’m Marlene.”
“Pleased to meet you, I’m Bob.”
(Now the intro phase is done and we start the transition)
“Bob, I’m a financial advisor with 20 years of experience working with physicians like you who typically have investable assets of $1 million or more, and likely own their practice. Can we set up a time to get coffee so I can learn more about your retirement plans?”
Stilted, a bit?
You would never do this in person. So why on earth would you ever behave this way over the internet?
Use the Two Sentence Rule and ask a thoughtful question that shows your intention is to understand where they are in their life. This is how you move from introduction to transition and then to the close.
Two sentences:
- First sentence is a statement.
- Second sentence is a question.
“Beth, I see you own an engineering consultancy. Have you hired your first employee yet or still flying solo?”
You’re not just making small talk. You are trying to gain insight that may enable you to be a resource to the prospect, whether or not they wind up doing business with you. Who knows? They may wind up being your best referral source, or just a good contact who introduces you to your next huge client.
This doesn’t work: making people feel hunted.
But this does: making people feel welcomed into a nurturing and supportive community, by its leader.
#2 Unremarkable Profile Page
Most of you look the same on LinkedIn – and I don’t mean physically.
Pull up your LinkedIn profile page. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Ready?
Okay, now check out your headline. Does it say something about “retirement goals.” “roadmaps” or “living your best life”?
And then pull up the pages for three other advisors. Same thing, right?
So if I’m a busy doctor, engineer or business owner with no spare time, how would I have the mental energy to tell you apart from the rest of the advisors? Make an immediate impact by being different.
The headline should call to the prospect in a way that they can feel: “I help GE retirees make smart decisions about what to do with their 401(k)”
The banner photo, the space behind your headshot, shouldn’t just be a grey rectangle or your logo. It should be inspiring and feature people not objects. Here’s mine.
Your contact info, the field displayed right under your headline, should be updated. I’m constantly seeing old emails and websites here. Make it easy for someone to reach you once they decide they want a meeting.
Your “about” section must also be inviting. Don’t ruin this with some cliché such s “I work with individuals families and business owners to help them achieve their retirement goals.” Give it more personality and a sharp call to action.
Example:
“Did you know that less than x% of miliary veterans are able to retire off their benefit awards? Being a USAF veteran myself, I have a keen focus on the ins and outs of military pension plans and how to get the most of them. Join my email list to be notified of our upcoming webinars.
Non-awful Postings
Financial advisor LinkedIn posts are awful. Not only are they uninspiring, they are 20,000 feet above people’s heads.
You: Want to post about the DOL fiduciary rule and stretch IRA changes.
They: Want to know how much money they need to retire, or how to know a financial advisor won’t steal their money.
Moreover, the physical appearance of these postings is awful. The first line is all stuffed into a small space so the reader can’t scan it easily, or it’s a run-on sentence. It’s probably full of jargon and multisyllabic, complex words.
Make it easy for the reader.
- First line is five words and no word has more than two syllables.
- After the first line, include a blank space and then begin the second line on what is effectively the third line of the posting.
Why?
I cannot make it any clearer than this:
- If the first line stinks, 0% of people will read 100% of the posting
- If the first line stinks, 100% of people will read 0% of the posting.
You really want to isolate that first line, and make it a grabber. It’s all that matters.
Here is great example from financial advisor Will Murley:
Thanks for spending some time with me today. Here are some LinkedIn blogs to help you.
See you in next month’s blog!
-Sara G
Sara Grillo, CFA, is a marketing consultant who helps financial advisors marketing without sounding like washing machine salespeople. She publishes a free daily newsletter and has a LinkedIn ebook and a LinkedIn training program for financial advisors. She also offers consulting and marketing services for financial advisors.
