i am expanding my insurance business into financial planning, as i said before. once i am in front of people i have no issues at all with helping them and/or selling/recommending things. the problem, as with all business, is finding new faces to sit in front of.

as we know, the fastest way to lose your shirt in any business is to fail to create a stream of new prospects who need/want your product.

would love to hear your ideas on how you overcame this obstacle and what systems your implemented to be successful.

Advertise. Get a loan if you have to. Brand your name with the public. Get a logo and brand yourself with at least 30,000 dollars worth of ads.

well in my case i am able to sell anyone's product but i am also affiliated with one company, who sponsors me with a broker/dealer so i can sell/service securities, so i really can't just go out on my own and make a brand. at least not yet.

advertise, if you have a solid local paper of some sort use that as its one of the only media people will specifically get for ads.....for small businesses with the prevalence of DVRs and TiVo, TV advertising is often a waste of money for the return you get.....radio depends heavily on the area and whether the customers your looking for listen to the specific station....billboards are a complete waste unless your a chain restaurant, hotel or tourist place....

may sound like a bit of a crock since i am a newspaper owner but for biggest bang for your buck newspapers are about the best place to spend advertising dollars followed by radio as a distant second(how distant depends on individual communities)....

I was self employed for 40 years in the heavy construction equipment business and I can tell you that advertising is a big waste of money.
I always tell people that want to know the secret of my success, "Just remember to ask for twofers". Whenever you are presenting your product to a [prospective customer, always ask them for the names of at least two other people that may want or need this product. They will always give you some names so as to not look stupid, or they will buy so the competition won't have the advantage of owing what you have to sell.
Write the names down andlong with the contact information and ALWAYS contact them and if you make as successful sale ALWAYS go back to the one that gave you the name and thank them for the lead.

With those "Two" ask the next two for another TWO names and before the end of the month you will have onehellofa hot list.

The other tip I can tell you, in the morning and looking into that mirror, ask that fellow in the mirror "What are you going to do today to make me money" You do these two things and you will do very well. And during the day when you thing about screwing off, ask yourself, "is this making me money"

W. Bill

heavy construction equipment is a bit different than insurance.....hell i would tell you taking out a full page ad in my paper would be near a waste of money.....course with the oil activity that might be changing a bit

Sales is sales is sales my friends

This.

I am also a self employed insurance agent, currently a captive for 20+ years, and going to go independent within 30 days. Satisfied clients are my best resource and are happy to refer friends and family.

Have you tried hiring little green lizards ?

For an insurance salesman to get to me he will have to get through the razor wire, rabid pit bulls, and machine gun nests.

My advice is to refer to yourself as a financial planner that also sells insurance.

If you don't have a web page, you need one. If you're not on facebook, linkedin, etc, you should be. Are you a member of a breakfast club, or service clubs? If not, join some. Are you a member of a church? Offer to do free planning for the congregation. All this has to do with networking. All those things are free or nearly so.

Whether you spend money on advertising or do as much free stuff as you can, always ask and note where folks heard about you so you will know what outlets are working the best for you.

Been self employed 35 yrs.


All business basically operates the same. You could sell insurance or fix cars like me. Doesn't really mean a helluva lot.

My advice is to always be upfront & honest with all you clients.

Always be nice, no matter how difficult this can & will be many times. People always remember a "decent nice guy" over and above the quality of your work, unless your work stinks.

These are 2 of the most important hints I can ever give anyone. It took me a couple years to learn how successful business operation & your perceived attitude towards your customers has a direct correlation.

Naturally being very good at your task, prudent operations ie; cost control, decision making, etc., and professional mannerisms are all important. Those qualities are all just a "given" imho if you are serious about owning your own business.

Also, a good business education background also makes it a lot easier right from the gitgo.

BTW...
Never gave too much thought to advertising. I'm not saying it can not be successful, just that I personally always relied upon word of mouth & recommendations. Works for me.

-Ken

The more people you know the better in the insurance business. Buddy of mine had 750 friends on Facebook when he started and now doing very well. I seen his posting on FB last year and he insures everything I own.

Newspaper here is a big waste of time and money. I am in the service business and can tell you billboards, TV, and radio rule for return on investment. I always ask for three contacts from a customer. I also offer $50 for a job referral.

capt ed, preaching to the choir. lately i have been fixing what jerks with dollar signs in their eyes have inflicted upon clients.

i have very few hard and fast rules but 1) put people first, and 2) always do the right thing, are 2 of them.

if you can't do those two things, don't even talk to others.


it's not about selling a certain product, it's about building a plan so your dreams and goals are within reach. i don't charge fees to do the work. basically i use a simulator to build plans and verify they work/fit, and then all i ask is that if the plan includes a product i can sell, that you consider me first.

very people centered and friendly. i love it. your whole financial world on one page and we make sure it's all going the same direction and working together to be efficient, as tax free as possible, and no more "financial junk drawer" to rummage through.

This is most important. If your a dick or non sociable, go plant tulips cause you'll never make it self employed.

I own a service business and a self- storage business. Don't care if my customers are [bleep], democraps or North East Yankees, I'm always nice and polite....... "Thank you sir, will that be check or cash".

Advertising and marketing are important but it is NOT enough to just throw a bunch of money at it. Think very carefully about the type/class of client that you want to attract then select a media that will best target them and craft a message that will trigger a response from them. When you have their attention you must deliver stellar customer service each and every time. Have a plan in place to recover if something goes wrong with one of your clients. Bad things happen but the ability to recover and make right separates the professionals from the amateurs. Get a marketing pro to help you if you have limited experience or knowledge in this area.

Most of the naysayers in this thread are actually talking about B to B advertising, which is very tough. B to C advertising is the lifeblood of retail business. No need to fear it.

Many years ago I had trouble finding a solid fee based financial advisor to answer my questions and provide advice.

Look online and the in local phone books to see what kind of competition you might have. You might get some insight for services that others aren't providing. Tailor your ads to fit a niche that isn't being filled as in questions about x, y, and z.

imho, no reason to pay someone a fee to do this work. they are still getting a slice of any product or account they open anyway. we are just as "impartial" whether you pay for the advice or not. we still have to do what's right for the client.

you don't pay the mechanic to tell you what's wrong with the car, you pay him to apply the "fix."

but yes, i will check out the phone books. not a bad idea. i know some guys pay google so they can be the first listing under a specific heading in a zip code.

with the ecosystem being burdened to the point of collapse, i always enjoy hear the financial planners talk about a safe and secure future for your old age, and for your children and grandchildren.

don't they know that we are approaching the tipping point? that is, we're consuming more than the Earth can produce. so, what's the plan, guys? if ya got a good one, i'm in the market.

they're talking about guaranteed contracts with an insurance company as opposed to the market or public pension systems.

In my case I have gone to mechanic and paid for advice so that I could fix the problem myself.

With that said ...

What about expanding the financial services you provide to areas outside of just fee based securities?

Many people have questions about finances where the answer doesn't come in the form of an investment. It's the "advisor" part of being a Financial Advisor.

This might be a way to expand your endeavour and possibly generate a new source of revenue.

Advertising won't get you appointments. As one poster already said, sales is sales. YOU have to get out there and turn over rocks. Develop a model a picture of your ideal client:

1. Who will benefit most from your services?
2. Where do those people congregate socially?
3. Get out there and meet them. It's all about the relationship.
4. Follow up with everyone you meet.
5. Ask for referrals from everyone you meet. "Who do you know that may need some help organizing their finances?"

Activity within your target market will generate pipeline. Put your plan on paper. Set specific goals for activity.

This is one of the topics I was going to be covering with you on our telephone call. I was MDRT and top 1% in the Nation for 18 straight years before I retired, averaging $20,000 a month in commisions / bonuses. VAnimrod aka Sean Clarkston can verify this if someone needed such as he worked in the saame business and overall carrier(s) as me for a few years and saw my name on the reports.

A succsessful agent will ALWAYS have THREE or more marketing systems working for him and in play at all times. To be good in this busineses, one must be a good presenter, a good closer and a GREAT marketer.

Some marketing sytems that worked well for me included:

Direct mail hit pieces with response cards

Multi topic/panelof experts Seminars/workshops with response cards for attendees to fill out (AWSOME leads and clients from these events, but expensive to do right)

Cold calling - STILL works when done right or hired out like I did

Door to door - again still works when done correctly

REFERRALS! Free, terrific leads, and EASY to get when one asks the right way. If you make the phone call to me that I have been waiting for I will give you all of the details on the refferal system as well as how I filed up large rooms with affluent folks for workshops.

This business can either be the hardest $50,000 a year job you ever had or the easiest $200,000 a year job you ever dreamed of. Just a few clues and ideas separate the big winners from the masses who struggle.

PM incoiming with my new phone number, now up to you.

MARK

will be contacting you monday early afternoon if that's a good time.

sorry for missing the phone opportunity, they have me busier than heck with learning technique and studying for various tests, running appointments, etc.

+1 on the referrals. I had my own insurance agency and also did financial planning. Then changed to securities only and had employees do the insurance.

Besides referrals, require each employee to ask every customer who calls for service, who does their retirement planning, and who helps them with their investments. Many calls for service can lead to sales of other products.

I think your advice is spot on Rem6mm, mirrors my experience in biz.

nada wrong with doing a lil advertising to legitimize a new biz, but in the end, it's the word of mouth that either makes or breaks a biz.

our biz is competitive, about 1000 potential clients for each biz in our community, not enough to survive upon. there's external marketing and then there's internal marketing

the internal marketing can make you rich, the external marketing can make your ad agency rich.


to the OP, you're lucky you have the insurance biz to support you while you build the financial planning biz.

if you're really going to have success with the financial planning it's going to be slow at first. Most people aren't in the know concerning finances.

And if you concentrate your financial planning on just selling the products you have through your insurance broker, I doubt you'll be as successful as you could be as a CFP.


when I got those two names provided and was actually able to present to them, the folks that gave me those names would get a free tuneup on their financial plan.


and like any biz, you're best clients and advocates will be the folks that need it the worst but are hardest to convert.


but you're going to have a dilemma, to my way of thinking, for my money the majority of folks that are CFP's are sponsored for their schooling by a major insurance co.

and as far as I can tell most are just glorified insurance salesmen that went to a seminar so they can sell more of that company's products. That's who they ultimately help get wealthy.


personal interactions are great too, provided you have the fruit from the tree, that you are financially sound. Lots of folks making good loot that can't figure out why they're basically broke.


imo there's a world of difference between selling someone an annuity or insurance policy versus being a financial planner.

it's the slow plan helping folks become financially independently wealthy, but it's a good plan. Satisfied clients will eventually provide an income stream that regular advertising could never hope to duplicate or sustain ime.


wish you well in your endeavors

I agree self branding is huge. Don't go in debt advertising.
Get out of the office and self promote yourself. Huge key.

thanks guys. keep it coming.

i quit the insurance job i had to start this new one, which is an all-encompassing one including planning and insurance and such...whatever is needed.

an insurance company did sponsor me but their rules are i can sell anything i want, as long as i do enough business with their stuff in a year to make it worthwhile for them to keep me in an office and lights on etc.

i can honestly say without bragging, that i am pretty good in front of a client, and that i know for sure i have their best interests at heart, as i have left many dollars on the table due to making damn sure to do the right thing for the client. not worth it to "talk someone into" anything.

the problem, i can already see, is filling that pipeline with prospects. i know this is something most people struggle with.

No worries, Monday works just fine. Done correctly and consistently you will never be wanting for prospects ever again. If you are licensed over here, or GET licensed over here I could even open up my 12+ drawers full of client files and a couple thousand prospects that I did not have time to follow up on for you. Sean did, and we both made a boatload of money until I got too sick to even ride along on appointments. I am up and around for only a few hours each day now, until I get rid of thes huge, cyst infected Kidneys and exchange them for hopefully at least one good one. I am looking forward to that, and might even go back into business myself if I feel as good as I am told I will after such an operation.

When I was at my peak in getting reffereals etc, many times our Regional marketing guy would offer me free, fresh leads and I declined them because I was already too busy and behind just working my refferals and workshop contacts. True story. I also built a pretty good sized sales team during my stint as a training manager, called an Agency Deveopment Associate by my Co back then. Quit that with the 5th ranked team in the Nation under me, decided I am not cut out to try and babysit grown men and women and try to get them to work. Had a pretty good sized Safari Co going at the time, too. I miss those days and being able to manage all of that daily.

Talk at ya some on Monday.

MARK

Self employed for 20 years, can't help you tho as it revolved around providing a service to only 4-5 companies in that time frame and 95% of it to 2 companies.

You will need to form yourself into a C corp at some time in the near future to legally and ethically re-name a some of your income as travel expenses and other pre tax dollar shell games. Part of the fun, donchaknow.

When I was at my peak, my considerable salary that I paid myself from the C corp went into the bill pay account for momma to buy groceries etc with and the expenses checks got cashed and were my play/buy guns money. All with legally pre tax (and pre momma seeing them) dollars!

All YOU needed to make money was to be a fuucking liar, a cheating son of a bitch, a heartless bastard, and a useless piece of shiit. And you WERE and ARE each and everyone of those things in SPADES.

Don't hold back. ML.

Tell us how you really feel...

I would beat him to no end given a chance.

Guess that blows the Lady thing for a while again.

Not at all. We'd still respect you afterwards.

Even more so.

My hats off to you guys that can move and shake out there, my customers get sent to me, Wifey and Accounting firms take care of the legality/particulars, I mostly fookoff with cows and guns.

OOPS, didn't realize this was a 2 year old thread.

In any case, YOU GO MISS LYNN!!!!!, we got your back.

Prospect!


It's the only way to be successful at insurance, car sales, etc.

I kicked azz as an agent but hated that end of the business. I especially concentrated on new minorities. When I was an agent I had all the Filipino and Vietnamese families in the area signed to some line of insurance, and as their fortunes grew, so did mine. They had close networks in their communities, and I gave them great service.

I always asked every client if they knew anyone ELSE I could help with their insurance and planning. Then I X-dated every prospect and contacted them 60 days prior to their renewal date for their policies with other companies and agents. I sent letters and called them.

Also, watch the "Births" section of the newspaper and send the new parents a congratulatory card with contact information.

A little here and there built a good book of business.


For some stupid reason I missed claims and went back to that end of the business...BAD Move.

lol...just saw it was old also...

Not in my book, not one bit.

insuring your friends and family will be the best way i know to die a lonely death. seems everyone i know ends up hating the insurance companies and changes to some new company every few years.i may kill my agent tomorrow,my daughter told them to stuff it last week . i may do the same this week.

Insurance agents are not the problem. Look at one of the finest Campfire members ever, Mickey. It is insurance companies who are the problem.