How To Turn 1,500 Insurance Prospects You Already Have Into Clients

"I have 200 clients and 1,500 prospects." This was said to me by a financial advisor recently - one who understood what it's all about! I suppose it depends on your definition of a client, but to me it's one who pays a large annual premium and generates referrals.

So the philosophy is that there are 200 "clients" who are segmented into A and B based on value. These are talked to and mailed regularly, as any client should be. Then there is the need to add new (high value) clients, which he does by using a range of sources. These are (in no particular order):
- Referrals from existing high value clients (he never asks a low value client for a referral)
- Centres of influence, notably a lawyer, a mortgage broker and a real estate agent
- His own list of 1,500 semi-qualified prospects

It's this last source that is the most interesting. Where did he get the list? Some advisers may choose to call them "clients" as they are all his C clients. Let's face it, they aren't really clients; they are simply a list of semi-qualified people (semi-qualified in that he knows their name, contact details, age and a single low value product they may have purchased many years before).

In many cases he hasn't talked to them in over 5 years or in some cases over a decade. You must treat them as prospects just like any other first time contact.

Don't believe me? Think of it this way - suppose you buy a client base from someone else. You go about contacting them methodically, with a script aimed at introducing yourself and getting an appointment to address a particular issue or opportunity. Almost always you can do better with that prospect than the selling advisor, as it's a new voice with a new message and new approach.

So if you can do it with a so-called 'client' from someone else's base, why can't you do the same thing with your own (client) prospect list? After all, you have no doubt changed your approach in the last 3-5 years and now have a lot more to offer.

The most frequent question I get asked is "how do I get more clients?" when the asking adviser has 1,500+ on their books already. They then follow this with "I've done my own base to death; there's no more potential in them." Really?

And it all starts with contact. Put them on your high frequency (monthly) newsletter list for a few months and then start to phone them. The three or four newsletters sent first will reintroduce you to them and restart the relationship. This works better than almost all other prospecting techniques.

Paul Watkins has helped financial advisors grow their businesses for nearly two decades. The secret to growth is not a single silver bullet but appreciating that the best techniques are simple, small, inexpensive activities that can mostly be put on auto-pilot. Paul has more details on his web site http://financialadvisormarketingtips.com

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