Have you ever wondered how Ken Fisher’s firm, Fisher Investments, gets new clients? I’m always watching top financial advisors to see what they’re doing, and recently I snooped around Fisher Investments to take a look at their marketing strategy and how they follow up with prospects.
If you’re not familiar with Fisher Investments, you should know that they just crossed $100 billion of AUM. That’s right, $100 billion, which is triple the assets under management that they had just 10 years ago. So they’re growing at an incredible rate.
How are they doing it? You have probably seen their TV ads, which is a huge segment of their marketing. They also have a massive call center near Portland, Oregon, where they do cold calling, following up with prospects, and managing client relationships. And, of course, they do a ton of internet marketing with paid ads on Google and Facebook.
But no matter how someone comes to the Fisher Investments website, their follow-up method is likely about the same; generally, people download one of Fisher’s reports in exchange for their phone number and email address.
I was curious to find out exactly how they follow up with prospects, so I opted in. And what happened? A marketing machine!
Four Phone Calls to Follow Up With Prospects
First, I received four follow-up phone calls. FOUR! They were spaced about a week apart, coming from the same representative each time, a nice guy named Patrick. He left me friendly voicemails, asked me to call him back, and kept calling. This not only maximizes their chances of reaching me and starting the conversation, but gives me the impression they’re a credible, professional firm.
Personal Follow-Up Email
When I didn’t call back, Patrick’s efforts didn’t end. He sent me an interesting follow-up email asking how he could help. I love that he asked me a question and gave several options that explained what they do and how they could help me. He also attached a PDF called “The Fisher Investments Difference.”
Hi, Claire,
Thank you for inquiring into our wealth management services. I am following up with you as a courtesy to learn more about your situation and to see how we may help you.
Perhaps you could share with me what might have prompted your inquiry into our firm. Was it one of the following?
*A portfolio review?
*Financial planning?
*Exploring new options?
*Learn our views on the financial markets?
Please contact me by responding to this email or by phone, which you will find below. I look forward to a preliminary discussion with you. Attached is some additional information on Fisher Investments.
Thanks again for looking into our firm,
Patrick
Automatic Email Campaign
When I still didn’t respond, they didn’t give up. Instead, they added me to their nurture campaign. This means that I will continue to get emails from them until I opt out. They likely have designed their email sequence to include their top-performing emails which they know will help push prospects into starting the conversation.
The first email in their sequence is 4 Rules to Spot a Bear Market, which directs readers to another report. This way, they can see which of their prospects are still paying attention, so they can invest more time in following up with those folks.
At this point, they also ask you to self-qualify that you’re an investor with at least $500,000 in investable assets; this way, they can cut down on wasting time with non-qualified prospects. For people who are qualified, Fisher Investments will keep in contact until the prospect is open to setting up an appointment.
What’s Your Follow-Up Process?
While you may not want to run TV ads or have a call center with hundreds of employees, it’s worthwhile to consider organizing your follow-up strategy. When someone refers you to a friend or you come across a new lead, do you have a clear process for following up with prospects?
Standardizing your process makes sure each new lead gets the same A+ treatment and that no one falls through the cracks. Including both phone calls and emails maximizes the possibility that you make contact. Also using an automatic nurture campaign keeps you top of mind so that when the prospect finally feels a sense of urgency, you’re the advisor that they call.
How To Follow Up With Prospects
The most important part of your follow-up is that it gets done each and every time without fail. For this reason, I recommend having someone reliable on your team make at least three follow-up phone calls about a week apart.
Then make sure you build your follow-up emails into an automated process so they happen without you having to do anything. Choose your top-performing pieces of content and set an email series to go out one week apart. Here’s an example of a follow-up email series we created for our clients:
- Why I Became A Financial Advisor
- What We Do And How We Help
- See A Sample Financial Plan
- Schedule An Appointment Online Today
- What To Do During A Market Decline
- The Biggest Mistakes Retirees Make
- Are You Saving As Much As Your Peers?
- Our Retirement Planning Process
Finally, consider doing a few videos or a webinar to further warm up prospects. Once people see you on camera, hear about your mission, and learn how you can help them live a better life, they are much more likely to answer the phone when you call.
To learn more and get help with your marketing, check out our monthly marketing package and our webinars here. For more marketing tips, make sure you sign up for my newsletter!
About Claire
Claire Akin runs Indigo Marketing Agency, a marketing firm serving top independent financial advisors. Claire is a former Investment Advisor Representative who holds her MBA in Marketing from the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego as well as a BA in Economics from UC Davis. It’s her goal to help advisors leverage content marketing to grow their businesses by embracing technology.