You're listening to Financial Adviser Marketing, the best show on the planet for financial advisers who want to get more clients without all the stress. You're about to get the real scoop on everything from lead generation to closing the deal. James is the founder of TheAdviserCoach.com, where you can find an entire suite of products designed to help financial advisers grow their businesses more rapidly than ever before. Now, here is your host, James Pollard. [00:31.7]
James: Financial advisors. I hope you're doing well. I am so happy to be back with you for another episode. I want to be a partner in your success. I want to know what you're doing. I want to know how you're succeeding. I want to know how you're getting clients and I want to help you. And just know I will always be in your corner, I will always root for you to succeed, I am your champion, I will tell you the truth, I will give it to you straight, never forget that. I know I can be hard on you sometimes, but it's tough love. A lot of you need tough love. You need someone to kick you in the pants every now and then. You don't need another tactic, you don't need some BS like that. You need someone to splash cold water on your face and tell you to get back to work. And I'm that guy. I am that guy. And I got something a little, a little funny to share. A lot of people don't know this about me. I have said in a couple emails, I've sent out recently and I had like a social media status update or whatever. I work pretty darn hard and I had a lot of stuff that I did just getting all my grind. Like I was literally building websites and making money from them when I was 10 years old, seriously. [01:40.0]
Jonathan: Wow.
James: And I'll get to what I am going to say, in a minute. I was doing farm work when I was five and getting an allowance; I was going to car shows and selling ice. It was like a dollar 50 per bag and I'm put it all together and I'd rent a little golf cart and take the ice around and say, Hey, you know, hot dog stand, you need ice? Lemonade stand, you need ice? I was slanging them bags baby it’s the ice to own.
Jonathan: Nice.
James: Not the ice that you drug Lords want to think about, but it was real physical, real ice. Okay. Something about this, farm work, monetizing websites, I use bags. Okay. Hmm. Well, some people might think, well, you're overlooking a lot of your privilege. Your family had a farm wrong. They did not. Neighbors had a farm that I walked to and did work with them. You say, Oh, well, your family had access to a computer such privilege. In the words of the professor in the Waterboy, Mama’s wrong again! Did not have one, walked to the library and did my work in the public library. [02:51.0]
I mean, really like seriously, like, well, you're, you're privileged, cause you had transportation to get to back and forth to the car shows and the fears you sold your ice. Aaahhhh…..noooo, I hitchhiked, like for real. And I took a ride with classic car owners and I think maybe twice that had an uncle that would take me, he'd be like, yeah, I'm going to take you to the car shows. I really don't want you going whatever, right. So I worked my butt off and it just, this is what you need to do. Like just get to freaking work. And every so often I'll hear from financial advisors, you'll be like, I'm only 22. What should I do? Or like I'm only 19. I don't know what to do. I can't do this. It's like, I'm going to get married soon. I'm going to do this. I'm going to have a baby soon. It's all.
Jonathan: Do they have an accent? [03:40.4]
James: It's all, it's typically email. So I don't know if they have, they have an accent or not. It could be like, Hey, I tried to park my car in the Harvard law where Harvard yard or whatever. You guys, every so often I'll hear from people who are like, I'm only 25. I'm only 24. I'm only 23. I'm only whatever. Like I'm only 22 months old. I don't know. Just stop using it as an excuse. Seriously. It just pisses me off. Like, I don't know. I don't give a crap. You can be 21. I don't care. You could be 54. You could be 73, here's the bottom line. You got young people that suck. You got old people that suck. You got young people that are awesome. You got old people that are awesome. It's a spectrum. People succeed in all ages. I've got people, literally, literally people were 22 years old who are crushing it more than the 45 year old financial advisor who's been in the business for 20 years. [04:42.1]
It's all about you and your mindset. It’s all about how you approach business. It is all about how you, you approach your life. It is all about the systems you are built. It's all about the choices you have made up to this point. The cold hard truth is that if you do not have the results you want in your life, it is because of you and the decisions you have made. Like I made the decision to start websites when I was 10 years old and put ads on them, like, I've literally taken the Google ad sense. When that came out, I was like, Holy crap. This is the way for me to make money. I'm 10 years old and my family doesn't have enough money to give me into give me an allowance, they can't afford to do it. I'd like to buy some stuff. What can I do as a 10 year old to make money? Google ad sense came out. I was like, Oh, I'll do that. So I did. It's like, it's not that hard. I was like, Hey, I'm going to make money this way. I didn't say, Oh, I'm only 10 years old. I can't do it. I just freaking did it. I got to work. [05:40.3]
And I didn't say, Oh, I can't do it. I don’t have a computer, nobody is gonna teach me. I didn’t whine about it. I just freaking got to work. And sometimes that's what you need to do. So financial advisors take that for what you will, love me hate. I don't really care. Like the way that you feel doesn't impact my life, one bit. It doesn't, it’s cool that I help people and honestly, the people who follow me, the people who eventually become inner circle members, they resonate with us. They understand that it does take initiative. They understand it does take work. They take responsibility for their lives. And let me, here's the thing, it's not just me ranting, right? It's not just a guy on a podcast talking crap, it's really not. Here's the thing, according to the national survey or the National Study of Millionaires done by Ramsey solutions, this is Dave Ramsey's company. Love him or hate him, it doesn't really matter. He did a study where he studied 10,000 millionaires. Okay. [06:40.8]
You studied 10,000 of them. I can't remember which is which either 94% of 95% said that they, the most important thing is taking personal responsibility for the act, their actions. They take responsibility either 94 or 95% of millionaires said that. Then either 94, 95%, I can't remember which is which they said that they could, they try new things to get different results. That they're constantly innovating, they're constantly changing the constantly trying new things. Hmm…so it's not just me saying this literally backed up by research, done with 10,000 millionaires that they do this, they resonate with this, they get this. So if you do not agree that you have personal responsibility for what happens in your life and that you need to try new things, if you want to get different results in your life. If you don't agree with those two statements, then I am sorry. But statistically, the odds are not in your favor to become a millionaire, plain and freaking simple. So how is that too harsh? Jonathan, am I being too harsh? Am I, am I right in using data? [07:43.8]
Jonathan: Well I, I'm going to have to agree with you. You are a, I think it was Darren Hardy that said your, ‘Your life is a direct result of the choices you make.’
James: Absolutely. Absolutely. And while we're on this topic, I've got my computer in front of me. Let me bring it up here. Let's see. I'm going to find the actual study. I like to back stuff up with data. I mean, yes, it's cool to have opinions and yes, it's cool to share your stories and everybody likes it. And the anecdotal evidence is okay, but here we go. Here's the actual study. It's the National Study of Millionaires conducted by Ramsey Solutions. It had a bunch of cool statistics, like 79% of millionaires reach millionaire status through their employer, sponsored retirement plan. The average millionaire reached the $1 million market, 49 years old. So on and so forth. Like 63% of millionaires never took out a homemaker B line of credit. Okay? But here's the thing, 95% of millionaires are quickly able to admit when they're wrong. They don't lie to themselves. They don't waste time, blaming others. They look for ways to make a difference. [08:43.8]
And the other stat that I was thinking of is 94% of the 10,000 millionaires in the study said, they're willing to try difficult things to get due results. They know the changes necessary to get the results they want. So those are the actual statistics its not me making it up. This is all real, you can just Google it, National study of Millionaires, Ramsey solutions. If you get triggered by this stuff, one more time, The seeds of greatness are not within you, my child. So
Jonathan: They would, they would have probably bounced already James.
James: Yeah. [09:18.0]
Hey, financial advisers, if you're looking for a way to set more appointments with qualified prospects, I invite you to sign up for James' brand new webinar about how financial advisers can get more clients with email marketing. Go to TheAdviserCoach.com/webinar to register today. On this webinar, you'll discover why email marketing is able to generate upwards of 4400% ROI for smart financial advisers, three fatal mistakes nearly all financial advisers make with their emails, and the proven three-step process for converting prospects into booked appointments using email. All you have to do is head on over to TheAdviserCoach.com/webinar and register today. [09:59.2]
James: Let's start the show off. What I'm about to tell you is one of the most important things, one of the most powerful ways for financial advisors to grow their businesses. And you might wonder why I'm giving this information away for free. Here's why, my business helps financial advisors get more clients with email marketing. I know what works. I know it doesn't work. Nothing matters unless you know exactly what to say in an email, that's what I do. I can help you figure out exactly down to the letter what to say in an email to maximize your chances of setting an appointment. However, if you're a financial advisor and you don't have an email list, you probably aren't going to reach out to me for help. So I am going to help you build your email list. How's that for transparency, Jonathan.
Jonathan: Boom! There you go. Setting you up for success. [10:40.6]
James: Absolutely. Now first off, the biggest limiting belief financial advisors have about email marketing is believing that they need a huge email list to see results. This is not true. It is not true whatsoever. You do not need a big email list is by far the most, the most prevalent limiting belief that they think they need to have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of thousands of people on an email list to give resuts, not true. When it comes to email marketing quality is infinitely more important than quantity. Ideally, you want to have both of course, right? But if I could only choose one, I'd choose quality because I want people who are in my niche, who are predisposed to working with me and people who are likely to set an appointment. And all of that can be accomplished. If you follow what I'm saying here. And LinkedIn is arguably the greatest prospecting tool the financial services industry has ever seen. Email marketing is hands down the best appointment setting strategy that the financial services industry has ever seen. [11:39.8]
When you combine the two, it's like the match made in heaven. It's like peanut butter and jelly or chocolate and peanut butter, or me and Jessica Simpson. Call me Jessica, please, please Jessica. Call me! Oh, by the way and Jessica Simpson, man. Woo! She got some changes throughout the day, throughout the years and look good back in the day and did her chicken of the sea commercial and all that, Joe, Hey Jessica Simpson. By the way, I know financial advisors really tend to be skeptical of this stuff. I get it. You should be skeptical, you really should. But that's why I've got some proof, proof and more proof about email marketing. And just like I have proof with the, with the millionaire stats, I've got some of these. According to McKinsey and company email is 40 times more effective than Facebook and Twitter combined.
Jonathan: Uhhhhh.
James: Yes combined. Isn't it insane?
Jonathan: No.
James: 40x.
Jonathan: It makes sense. [12:37.7]
James: Now, according to Y-charts, clients prefer email over all other forms of communications. It's not even close, we did an entire podcast episode on this. I think it was titled ‘Clients desperately wants you to do this’ or something like that. I don't remember the number off the top of my head, but we did an entire episode talking about this. It's not even close, clients are literally telling you, please email us and financial advisors like what's that you want a text message. You want me to call you…. No dummy clients, empirical evidence. They want you to email them. According to campaign monitor, email averages, a 4400% return on investment.
Jonathan: Wow.
James: Please tell me wherever you have your money now. Is it getting that return on investment? Hey, if it is turn this off, don't do…don't do email, don't listen to me. But if you're not getting that type of return, maybe you want to do email. According to Forester, people are twice as likely to sign up to your email list as they are to interact with you on Facebook.
Jonathan: Wow. [13:36.2]
James: Yeah, that blew my mind because I thought, I mean, if you think about it.
Jonathan: So much for likes.
James: Yeah, it seems like it's easier for someone to just comment or like, right. But the numbers don't lie. People are twice as likely to sign up to your email list. Now I've got a couple more, according to AARP, 45% of middle aged Americans would rather go to the dentist than meet with a financial advisor. That's a tough one. But the thing is here, here's, here's the thing. Guess what overcomes that skepticism and gets him to meet with you…email! Email does that. According to OptinMonster 58% of people check their email first thing in the morning. Guess which message is going to get consumed— email. And finally last stat, according to research done by Litmus 28% of people check their email on an iPhone. So guests, which marketing strategy allows you to track links and call people as soon as they've consumed your message— email, email, it all does this. [14:43.3]
But back to LinkedIn, LinkedIn allows you to search for and reach out to people in your target market with a few clicks. Do you want to target corporate executives? You can find them. Do you want to target educators? You can find them. Do you want to target engineers who went to the University of Arizona, guess what? You can find them too. And once you found them, you can get them to join your email list and here's how to do it. But first, let me tell you what not to do, do not send someone a pitch or ask to jump on a phone as soon as someone is connected with you. That is a huge mistake and we all point and laugh at people who do that. Instead start with an icebreaker, say something about the person's background. Say, Hey, I noticed you're involved in alligator wrestling. Do you still have all your fingers? It's a good ice breaker. [15:34.8]
You go on somebody's profile, you say they, they say they’ve attended the University of Alligator Wrestling and they were professional alligator wrestler, that's the icebreaker you want to use. Then you want to offer the person a free piece of content related to him or her. Not complicated stuff, not some, not mind blowing here, but you want to say something like, Hey, I'm just curious. Are you looking to improve your alligator mud wrestling skills? If you are, I've got a great guide to rear naked jokes, I can share with you.
Jonathan: Lovely.
James: Yeah. Just, but you're speaking directly to your niche. This is something that they're already interested in, it's something that will grab their attention. The great Ben settle says something like, or actually I think he got it from Jim Camp, which says you're always safe in the other person's world.
Jonathan: Yeah. [16:20.6]
James: That is so, so true. And it's it's that will make your marketing more effective. You are always safe in the other person's world. And if you stay in the other person's world, I don't care if it's email, I don't care if it’s direct mail. I don't care if it's LinkedIn, if you're in the other person's world it’s going to be more effective than if you're not. And if you're a financial advisor who specializes in working with a certain niche, all you need here is a good piece content related to that niche. Because if the person says yes to your offer, when you message that, then you reply back with a link where he or she can exchange his or her email in order to access it, this is called an opt-in form. And here's why this works and I'm not just talking about the opt-in form. I'm talking about the entire like, Hey notice you did alligator wrestling, I've got this thing. This is just one of the many ways to build your email list. But LinkedIn and email marketing, like I said, it's a match made in heaven because it allows people to consume your content on their schedule. [17:16.8]
Instead of being pushy and sending a bunch of annoying outbound messages without any demonstration of interest, you're letting people self-select, Tthat's where the magic happens. People raise their hands and they say, yes, this, I would love to hear more from you. I would love to be involved in, in your world. They self-select. And when this happens, it gives you a chance to follow up and build trust. There are so many financial advisors online, especially now. They're all competing for attention and to break through the noise and win someone’s trust, you must demonstrate that you are the authority, your content does that. It is hard for you to do that directly, it is hard for you to do that on the initial outreach. It is incredibly hard to do that, your content does it. It proves that you're worth their time, it proves that you're worth their attention, their interest. It proves that you're worthy of doing business with them. It's not complicated stuff, it really isn't, but it works. So that's the summary of the easy way to generate leads on LinkedIn. [18:19.4]
It's not necessarily posting a bunch of content or following some complex algorithm, although that stuff can help. It's all about reaching out to your target market, but doing it the right way and letting them self-select into your marketing machine. If they're interested in hearing more, you give them more, it's that easy. And that is a wrap for this week.
Jonathan: Boom, the easy button. So James, what do you have coming up next time?
James: Next time it's going to be an episode that is, it’s got, it was inspired by an email that someone sent to me. And by the way, if you have any ideas or any recommendations for the show, send it to james@theadvisercoach.com. I can't promise that I'll get back to you because we get a lot of different emails, all of our business emails goes to go to that address. But someone asked about the difference between marketing and prospecting and it is such a deep topic. It requires such a lengthy answer that I'm just going to do an entire episode on it. Show it that's what's coming up.
Jonathan: Wow. Can't wait for that. All right, Financial advisors, another financial advisor marketing is in the can. We will be back in your ear buds next week. Thank you for tuning in. [19:27.3]
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