The Two Ruinous Mistakes Advisors Make When Following Up with Prospects

Example: I’m doubled over in agonizing pain and I need to go to the doctor.

That is literally how much it takes to get buyers to take action.

I’ll give you an example. I have a popular YouTube channel where I answer questions from financial professionals. I do this for free; it’s my way of giving back. When I was younger I had no role model in finance, no mentor and nobody to guide me. This is my way of helping people in that situation.

But by the way I also have a business that pays the bills and three kids who need my constant attention. So the YouTube channel comes last. I get very involved questions (e.g., How do I start a hedge fund? How do I study for Level 3 of the CFA exam?), so I answer via a video that I post to my channel. I get such a high volume of questions that sometimes I miss one or two questions. Other times I can’t answer for a month.

When I do miss a question, I’ll always respond right away when the person emails me to follow up. But less than 1% of all people who contact me actually follow up though.

See the point I’m making? I’m one of the most popular commentators in the space so obviously it’s hard to get my attention. When nobody knew me, I wasn’t as busy so I responded right away.

Ponder this: If this is something I’m providing to my viewers for free and it’s that hard for people to follow up, just think about how hard it is for people to follow up when they’re asking you to buy something from them.

It’s just a natural tendency we have as human beings. Get past that because money follows attention. You have to follow up if you want to get a valuable person’s attention. Period.

Put your ego aside and do it. Here’s how.

2. They don’t follow up creatively

It won’t kill you. I promise. In fact, following up uncreatively is a waste of time.

I’m going to show you an example so you can see how totally pointless it is to follow up with no humor, branding or creativity.

I was recently asked by a client to contact magazines so my client could place an advertisement. Some of these are luxury magazine where you’re talking about investing $5,000 or more for one ad. I had a conversation with the salesperson during which there were no questions asked about my client’s goals, budget or business. Instead the conversation was about the ad, what it costs and the options.

Therefore I wasn’t surprised, given the failure of the salesperson to provide anything of value to me on the call, when the follow-up emails were like this:

Hi Sara:

I just wanted to follow through to make sure you receive a copy of XYZ magazine I sent last week. Kindly confirm.

Best,

Jill

Dull. Listless. Flat.

This communication goes in the “useless” pile. She should have taken the time to phone me. Second, she asked me a “yes or no” question to which I responded a quick “Yes. Thanks.”

She missed the opportunity to force me to think about the magazine. She could have tried asking something like, “What do you feel, in the magazine I sent, was the best opportunity for your client to get the word out about the message you’re trying to convey.”

Or, "Do you feel the magazine would be a good place for your client's message?"

Or, she could have tried something humorous. She could have used Photoshop and put my head on top of one of the people on the cover with a funny title or something.

Or, she could have taken the time to tell me where in the magazine other clients of hers have had success advertising and why it may or may not make sense for my client.

But she did none of that. In her mind, she’s being a good salesperson by following up. But all she’s doing is wasting my time and hers.

Then, a few weeks later, I get another email.

Happy Monday Sara and thank you for confirming receipt of the recent magazine. If your client is interested in the summer issue, the deadline is next Monday, March 19. Kindly let me know if you have questions or wish to arrange a phone meeting.

Best regards,

Jill

That’s very polite but nothing prompts me to want to have anything to do with your summer issue.

Tell me something of value, for example that the summer issue talks about travel and vacation issues or why placing an advertisement about how we help people with foreign exchange issues makes sense.

Tell me that the summer issue in the past has been used by financial services firms to advertise informal outdoor events in their local area.

Send me an invite to an event where I can meet some of your clients and hear from them firsthand how well it’s worked out for them.

Salespeople: Please tell me something good. Give me something rather than just asking.

I ignored her. She spent minimal time preparing her follow-up email I spent zero time responding.

Until I got this email a few weeks later:

Dear Sara:

I hope you had a lovely weekend. I would like to check in with you to see the status of your client's plans. Let me know if you'd like to arrange a phone meeting. I will also be in New York the week of April 8th if you'd like to meet in person.

Best regards,

Jill

This is why people get annoyed by persistent salespeople. She’s continuing to ask me for my time (and even worse, my client’s time), paying no attention to what matters to us. All of this is couched in pleasant-sounding language.

But it’s a bit rude.

I wanted her to ask me if what she provided was enough to take to my client, or if there is information missing. Or maybe what I think of her magazine as compared to others that we are considering. The truth was we had already arranged to speak with another magazine, so we had the time – just none to give to her because she's given nothing to us of value.

Clearly I’m holding back, but she’s not listening. She doesn’t pay attention to my needs, only hers.

To reap more sales than just the orders that are easy to take, you’ve got to get more creative and take some risks.

Maybe that means using social media. In the example above, she would have garnered some points with me if she had taken the time to go to my website or see what I’m posting on social media, and maybe even liked a blog or two of mine on LinkedIn.

All advisors should connect with clients and prospects on LinkedIn – all the time. You never know who will notice you or what you post that will pique somebody’s interest. You can find out so much about what people are doing.

Other ways to use creativity would be to get visual. In the past, I’ve sent people pictures of Mount Rushmore with prospects’ heads superimposed on Abe Lincoln’s shoulders. Humorous? Yes.

Once I sent a fax to a prospect. That worked well because nobody sends faxes anymore. Unusual? Yes. It got his attention.

You can even go so far to ask them if they’d like to be interviewed as a guest contributor on your blog. I’ve done this several times and it’s led to business.

If creativity isn’t your thing, I can still help. See my 90 Ways to Get the Right Attention playlist on YouTube.

Sara’s upshot

With sales follow up being so poorly done (or not done at all), the good news is that if you do this with some rigor and creativity you’re ahead of 99% of advisors. The times when I’ve worked the hardest to close a deal have been the deals that worked out the best in the long run. That is because, above all, proper follow is a wonderful opportunity to give of yourself and show the client that you’re committed and that you offer something of value.

Sara Grillo, CFA, is a top financial writer with a focus on marketing and branding for investment management, financial planning, and RIA firms. Prior to launching her own firm, she was a financial advisor and worked at Lehman Brothers. Sara graduated from Harvard with a degree in English literature and has an MBA from NYU Stern in Quantitative Finance.

Read more articles by Sara Grillo