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.
Ken Fisher of Fisher Investments doesn’t just represent a knowledgeable solution for financial advising, his company is also a marketing powerhouse.
If you’re not familiar with Fisher Investments, you should know that they just crossed $265 billion of AUM, roughly equivalent to the entire GDP of Peru.
A major player with a sizable budget, Fisher has had huge success in their TV ad campaigns. They also have a massive call center near Portland, Oregon, where they cold-call, follow up with prospects, and manage client relationships. And, of course, they do a ton of targeted digital 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:
Here’s the anatomy of their campaign:
Four Phone Calls to Follow Up With Leads
First, a lead will receive a series of four follow-up phone calls. FOUR! They are spaced about a week apart, coming from the same representative each time. They leave friendly voicemails, ask politely to call back, and stay consistent. This not only maximizes their chances of reaching a lead and starting the conversation, but gives the impression they’re a credible, professional firm.
Personal Follow-Up Email
If a lead still doesn’t engage, their efforts don’t end. They’ll send an interesting follow-up email asking how they can help. Empathy and understanding come first on these calls: leads get several options of how they could help and explain services like financial planning or a portfolio review in simplified terms. You’ll also get a PDF called “The Fisher Investments Difference.”
Automatic Email Campaign
From here, leads are added to their nurture campaign. This means 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 leads are still paying attention, so they can invest more time in following up with those folks.
At this point, they also ask leads 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 and focus on those that are. For people who are qualified, Fisher Investments maintain 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 a sound follow-up strategy. When someone refers you to a friend or you come across a new lead, do you have a clear process for building curiosity, interest, and trust?
Standardizing your process makes sure each new lead gets the same A+ treatment and 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 when the prospect finally feels the need, you’re the advisor they call.
How to Follow Up With Leads
The most important part of your follow-up is unwavering consistency. For this reason, it’s best to have 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 with perfect precision while also freeing up time for more creative tasks. 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 that has performed well 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 creating 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 build a better future, they are much more likely to answer the phone when you call.
Partner With the Marketing Experts
To engage with prospects and create a pipeline similar to Fisher’s, check out our comprehensive marketing packages.
We’ve created three tiered options to fit a range of budgets and needs, creating a multi-channel approach to marketing that leverages SEO, social media, a fully fleshed-out content calendar for warming and informing leads, and even a comprehensive sales funnel to attract, engage, and close new clients.
We also specialize in highly targeted, customized content built to specifically resonate with your target market. Whether that entails pre-retirees, high-net-worth families, or a different population you serve is totally up to you.
From the creatives to the execution to the analytics that fuel our success, Indigo offers top-to-bottom marketing solutions for advisors ready to skip the learning curve and deploy effective marketing quickly.
Compare the features of these unique and powerful tiers here (along with pricing).
Ready for more hands-on assistance? Reach out for a complimentary strategy session with one of our marketing experts today!
