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Practice Management > Building Your Business

MDRT speaks: 6 steps to identify consistent marketing opportunities

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NEW ORLEANS – Building a practice is far more than just amassing a client base, Lucas Noble, of Lucas Noble Financial, told attendees Tuesday morning at MDRT’s annual meeting. Building your business is about connecting with clients in a meaningful way and presenting a team approach that cultivates relationships. 

Noble’s session focused on:

  • client retention, 
  • referrals from clients and centers of influence
  • marketing with a long-term engagement strategy 
  • building a practice centered on the client

The following are the six steps he offered to make sure advisors are on the right marketing path. 

Step 1 

Build a team, recognize what you do well and work with your team to pick up where you lack. Noble pointed out that for many advisors, paperwork, reporting, follow-up calls and scheduling are not strong points. 

If everyone on your team succeeds when you do, they will be more motivated and focused. A happy staff will translate into happy clients, which is key to building your referral base. Noble said it’s key to compensate your team generously based on growth and client satisfaction 

Step 2 

Make sure one piece of your business each year is recurring, whether it’s insurance or investments. Doing so keeps you invested in the client relationship and client experiences, which:

    1. Retains the client 2. Makes you referable

Ensuring you have a solid base from existing clients will help produce new business and referrals, Noble said. 


Step 3 

Connect with clients and work on building relationships, not just completing transactions. Once clients know, like and trust you, Noble said they will want to help you succeed and help others benefit from your services. 

Start slow and get to know each client on a personal level. Each client experience should be consistent. Strategies to do so include:

    1. Hold regular reviews with clients 2. Engage your clients’ interests 3. Develop a strategy to systematically market to them 4. Fire clients who you can’t please or who don’t engage with you
    • Although difficult, letting go of a client is OK. Some people just aren’t a good fit for you.
    • Instead, think about the clients you do want and who will send you business.

    5. Go the extra mile for your clients 6. Know what is most important to your clients and make it personal

Step 4 

Start thinking about referrals even if you don’t ask for them. Instead, Noble made the following suggestion: 

Mail a letter to all clients once a year, thanking them for their trust and confidence. Then ask them if they know anyone experiencing a life event such as getting married, changing jobs, having a baby or moving. Doing so makes clients aware that you want referrals so that when something comes up, you will spring to mind. The more you ask for referrals, the more desperate you look, in Noble’s opinion. Instead, he said, why not let people know you are open to new clients if it’s the right fit? 


Step 5 

Find out who you want to market to. By connecting on a regular basis with clients, you stay top of mind. Connect at least eight times a year. 

Example:

    1. Segment your book of business (ABC) – concentrate on clients who present the greatest opportunities 2. Market to A clients at least eight times a year 3. Market to B clients four times a year 4. Market to C clients with whatever you can do for free 5. Reinvest in your business 6. Personalize cards 7. Market to your centers of influence (attorneys, CPAs, mortgage brokers)

Step 6 

Get actively involved in something you like to do – church, politics, charities, sports, biking or exercise. Take a leadership role and then make the best of it. You will meet more people and become respected in that area, opening up new opportunities for business. 

By following these six steps, Noble told attendees they will begin to make their practice more efficient. Whether through building a team, bringing in recurring revenue, getting to know your clients, asking for referrals without asking, having a marketing strategy or becoming active in areas of interest to you, he said you will see the enhancement in the professionalism of your practice and develop meaningful relationships with your clients.


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