Lead generation. The gas that keeps a financial advisor's business running.
Have you found yourself Googling “how to generate leads for financial advisors?” If so, it’s probably because the finance lead generation service you’re using isn’t cutting the mustard.
Just like restaurants, not all lead generation services are equal. Eating at McDonalds is going to be wildly different from dining at a restaurant run by Wolfgang Puck.
But what qualities distinguish the greasy spoons of financial advisor lead generation from the Michelin-star establishments?
What qualities make an excellent lead generation service? We made a list.
Exclusive Leads
Most financial advisor lead generation services? They actually pit advisors against each other to reap the profits. Their marketing strategy? Sell the same list of financial planning leads to as many advisors as possible.
At Planswell, we don't think calling financial advisor leads should be a race. When we send our advisors a prospective client, they’re the only ones we send it to — nobody else.
Timeliness
Most financial lead generation companies do not deliver leads in real time. That means their leads may lose interest in personal finance by the time someone actually gets around to calling them. (If they were even interested in the first place.)
At Planswell, we don't sell lists of names and numbers. We don't even have a list. First, someone fills out our discovery survey.
They do this organically, because they want to find out when they can retire. As soon as they finish, we connect them with a financial advisor.
That. Very. Moment.
Validation
If you work in financial services, lead generation companies that sell lists of unverified numbers are probably painfully familiar.
As financial services lead generation strategies go, this is basically a scam. They don't care if they're generating qualified leads for financial advisors or not. They simply want to sell as many lists of financial adviser leads as possible.
Our goal at Planswell isn't to sell lists to as many advisors as possible. We want everyone to have access to excellent financial advice. (That's why we offer opportunities for free leads for financial advisors.)
Planswell households want advice too. They’ve all SMS-validated their phone numbers in order to access and update the financial plan we built them.
Our advisors know they're calling real phone numbers with actual potential clients on the other end of the line.
They’re the perfect target market for financial professionals looking to grow their business.
Data
How much do you know about the leads you call before you hop on the phone?
What's their AUM? How big is the household? Are they insured enough? When do they want to retire? What product or service would they most benefit from?
How do you expect to build rapport with someone if all you know about them is their contact information?
At Planswell, we believe advisors should have all the help they can get when cold calling. To this end, we provide a veritable torrent of information about potential leads:
- Personal information (age, sex, retirement age, smoking status)
- Earnings (annual income, monthly savings, pensions, etc.)
- Current assets and investments
- Level of insurance (life, critical illness, disability, etc.)
- Debts
- Dependents (size of household, age of children)
- Much more — 40+ data points
We also give you a copy of the free financial plan each household made. This way, you can make suggestions for improvements.
Support
What do most lead generation strategies have in common? You buy a set of leads from a company and never hear from them again.
At Planswell, we don’t sell leads. We train advisors to be successful.
We’ve created a system advisors can use to grow their business. Guess what: it actually works. (We guarantee it.)
We know it works because we’ve tested it and revised it and tested it again. In fact, we’re constantly improving our resources. We're always finding new ways to help advisors find even more success with our households.
What does the system entail? Here’s a quick summary:
Phone scripts:
Expert advisors wrote our call scripts. Then, we tested and revised them thousands of times over. The result? They actually work.
Software:
Planswell households have already used our software to build a free financial plan. Using our software gives you instant access to a household’s plan and a powerful CRM all from one landing page.
Daily live training:
Our weekly calendar is full of financial advisory training sessions. Recurring topics include the following:
- Planswell orientation teaches the basics of our system. It helps you get going quickly and see an ROI sooner rather than later.
- Software training is a place to learn how to make the most of Planswell’s financial planning software and CRM.
- At weekly ask me anything meetings, resident expert advisor Andy Cosby answers literally any question you might have. Planswell, closing business, building rapport, responding to objections, are all topics that come up regularly.
Coaching:
We have expert advisors on our staff. They're available for one-on-one coaching sessions for anyone who needs them.
Want to practice responding to objections from potential customers? Need to discuss which social media platforms you should be using? How about role playing your sales script? In every case, we’ve got you covered.
Executive peer groups:
At Plancraft meetings, advisors to get together. They share success stories, troubleshoot pain points, and bounce ideas off each other.
Attending these meetings leads to greater success. (We have data to prove it.)
Advisor HQ:
Every webinar, along with a whole slew of self-guided articles and resources, is available 24/7 on Advisor HQ. If you have a question about how to make the most of your relationship with Planswell, the answer is here.
Account managers:
Think of your AM as a concierge delivering white-glove service whenever you need it. Any questions you have or pain points you need resolved, your AM has your back.
Does your lead generation service offer this level of support? Probably not.
More signs of excellent service
No contract
A business that does right by its customers doesn't need to require long-term contracts. They know they'll keep clients' business due to the quality of the service they offer.
At Planswell, we never ask our partners to sign contracts. We believe in the service we offer. Our partners are welcome to use our platform for as long — or as little — as makes sense for them.
You’re also welcome to grow or shrink your Planswell subscription as often as you like.
Guarantees
What lead generation for financial advisers guarantees the number of opportunities you'll have each month? Planswell does, of course.
How many financial service leads can you handle per month? 10? 20? 200? Whatever the answer, you can adjust the volume of households we send you to meet your needs.
We guarantee you'll get the all the leads you sign up for. Even better, we guarantee you’ll book meetings with at least 10% of the households you call. (If you follow our process, of course).
What other lead generation for financial services can say that?
What makes an excellent lead gen service
What's the best lead generation strategy? Provide advisors with a complete system, not just leads.
Here’s the TLDR list of qualities you should consider when vetting your lead generation service:
- Exclusive — are your leads actually yours? Do you need to rush to the phone to be the first person to call a prospect? Is that prospect getting dozens of calls from advisors within 30 seconds?
- Timely — when do you receive your leads? In a huge batch at the end of the month? You want to be able to strike while the iron is hot. If your lead generation company doesn’t facilitate that, you might want to reconsider using them.
- Validation — are the numbers on your lead list real numbers? If your lead gen service doesn’t require SMS-validation, you’re probably paying for a lot of fake phone numbers.
- Data — how much information do you get about the leads you call before you call them? Information is power, and we think you should feel powerful when you call prospects.
- Support — does your lead gen service provide you with support? Do they even care about your success? Do they offer live training and executive peer groups? How about a library of resources and tested call scripts?
- No contracts — the quality of a service should keep you in business with a company. Not a legal document they make you sign.
- Guarantees — do you know exactly how many prospects you’ll have access to each month? Would it make it easier to grow your business if you did? Certainty makes planning easier. If the lead generation company you use doesn’t offer certainty, we think you can do better.
If the lead generation company you’re using doesn’t meet these criteria, you might want to consider switching.
We’re a little biased, but try giving Planswell a shot.
