“I am an insurance agent who has now ventured into financial planning,” Gary, a subscriber, told me the other day. “My biggest challenge,” he continued, “is marketing my services. I have tried emailing my insurance clients, but have received no responses.”
“What can I do differently?” he asked.
I’d like to share some of my thoughts in response to Gary’s question:
First and foremost, DITCH THE EMAIL APPROACH! Pick up the phone and CALL instead. There is nothing wrong with emails—or even Facebook or Twitter—when they are the right tools for the job. However, if you’re trying to reach existing clients to ask them if they’d like to sit down with you and explore a new way in which you might be able to help them, these are the wrong tools. The best way to accomplish your goal is to have an actual conversation—and the phone is a much better tool with which to accomplish it.
Second, SLOW DOWN. This idea goes hand-in-hand with the first. Picking up the phone and calling people individually is a slower, more deliberate approach to “marketing” than blasting out masses of emails. It requires thought, preparation, and yes—a bit of courage! Start by choosing one client that you believe you can really help with your [new] service(s). Call him or her. Make sure you already have a great relationship with this client. Ask how you’ve been doing so far.
Then, tell him or her you’d like to meet to do a complete fact-finding session so that you can help even more or in another way than you have previously, and see if you can set up an appointment.
Now, you can call a second client and do the same thing. One by one. Serving good clients better than you have before will open the door to more business with them and to referrals for more people like them.
Gary needs to make a list of his best clients and consider whether they might need his new services. If he is one of those agents who sells a policy and moves on, never to be seen or heard from again—so that there are no real client relationships formed—he needs to start by reaching out to clients to develop rapport with them.
A great way to check in on your relationships with your clients is simply to ask them if they’re satisfied with your services. If they’re not, they are not yet candidates for your newer ventures, but they are awarding you the opportunity to fix any faults in your prior service. When clients do express satisfaction, you don’t have to stop there; drill down even further by asking:
“Is there anything more I can do for you, now or in the future?”
Once it’s clear that they value what you’ve already done for them, they are likely to be receptive to your offering to help them in yet another way.
Gary invested time and money in the licensing and training he needed in order to have more ways to serve his clients. Of course, he also did this in order to have more ways to earn an income, but in the end, which fact will matter most to them? Approaching clients by email is not the best way to show them your desire to serve.
Call your clients. And call ME if you want to discuss other powerful tools for growing your business! (OK, you can email me, if you’d prefer.) No matter what tools you have in hand, remember to use them, and keep REACHING…
