To grow a business, you need sales. To create sales opportunities, you need marketing.
Unfortunately, I see many occasions when fear prevents advisers from diving in and doing things that will improve their marketing.
Sometimes, it’s a fear of rejection holding them back. On other occasions, it’s concerns about the possibility for negative outcomes or consequences. In reality, these fears are almost always misplaced, based on opinion (not evidence), and will hold a firm back from achieving their business goals.
So, let’s look at five of the most common concerns and why you should feel the fear and do it anyway.
1. Client surveys
Business owners have many concerns about client surveys, with “fear of criticism” top of the list. Many PI insurers and networks have a similar fear of surveys, with the potential for regulated complaints chief among them.
Emotionally powerful as these fears are, none stand up to logical scrutiny.
Surveys show you care, will help improve your business and underpin a referral and recommendation strategy while providing valuable social proof to use in your marketing.
And when it comes to regulated complaints, isn’t it better to see your client survey as an early diagnostic tool which identifies problems while they’re small and relatively easy to fix before they grow into something much larger?
2. Client testimonial videos
Client testimonial videos demonstrate your expertise and are the most effective way for existing clients to tell prospective clients about the benefits of working with you.
Unfortunately, a fear of asking clients is one of the reasons why only a tiny minority of firms (6.4% to be precise) have testimonial videos on their website.
In our experience, those fears are misplaced. If you ask the right clients, in the right way, they’ll often be pleased to appear in testimonial videos. In many cases, it’s their way of thanking you (above paying your fees) for your advice over the years.
3. Online ratings and reviews
Many advisers worry that asking clients for Google or VouchedFor reviews leaves the door open for negative feedback that’ll impact their reputation. This fear is also misplaced.
Sure, I’ve seen negative reviews left for firms and individual advisers, but these always come out of the blue and are never – and this is crucial – after the review has been requested by the adviser.
4. Speaking with clients about referrals and recommendations
We all know referrals and recommendations from existing clients are the best type of new enquiry. Compared to other types of new enquiry, they have the lowest cost of acquisition and the highest conversion rate. So, it’s unfortunate that most advisers have no strategy for increasing the number they receive.
Part of the problem is a fear of talking to clients about referrals (note I didn’t advocate ‘asking’). Yet when you have these conversations good things happen, because you’re training clients on who they should recommend you to, when they should do it and how they can do it.
5. Posting or engaging on social media
The thought of posting on social media is enough to bring many advisers out in a cold sweat. From a fear of negative comments to zero engagement, the list of concerns can feel endless.
Some tough love deals with this fear – people care a lot less about your social media posts and comments than you think they do. Understanding that is incredibly freeing and will lead to far greater success on your chosen social channels.
Feeling the fear isn’t easy, but good things happen when you do.
For years, I let my fear of flying hold me back. Last year I took my first long-haul flight. That’s right, it took me until my 50th year to get on a flight lasting more than two hours.
My reward? A wonderful week in Cape Town with my family and some truly memorable experiences.
While my fear of flying recedes slowly, I’m convinced many marketing managers and executives, financial advisers, planners and business owners could be much more effective if they felt the fear and did it anyway.
Phil Bray is founder and director of The Yardstick Agency
