“Whether we like it or not, social media is here to stay. Done well, it can be a powerful tool for your business, helping you raise your profile online and stay connected with existing clients and connections,” writes Simon Goldthorpe, Chairman of the UK’s Beaufort Group. He points out that sites like LinkedIn provide a great means to ‘research’ prospects before a meeting. “It’s a good example of how social media can be used to enhance your sales technique.”
Bryce Sanders, who provides training for the financial services industry internationally agrees. “You can make the case that LinkedIn is the 21st century replacement for the cold call. Everyone needs at least one strategy to fill the prospecting pipeline,” he shares.
To assist financial advisers, he outlines some of the LinkedIn mistakes advisers are making and what they should do instead:
| 1, | Don’t just invite contacts via email addresses. Make it personal. Invite people from your business circles and start a conversation. |
| 2. | When personalising your invitation, give a logical reason to connect. Mention the number of connections you share. |
| 3. | Think about people that will benefit from seeing your name often and reading interesting articles – invite them. Think about people with the potential to become great clients. |
| 4. | Make a plan to change a prospect into a client – don’t just connect, work with a plan. |
| 5. | Don’t let messages and notifications build up – build LinkedIn as part of your daily schedule. |
| 6. | Communicate via other channels if your company has strict rules on social media comments and messages. |
| 7. | Comment on other posts. They will likely comment back. |
| 8. | Try to get your posts to be informative and educational. Establish yourself as a subject matter expert. |
| 9. | LinkedIn does not have to take time out of our schedule – remember, you can even catch up on LinkedIn after hours. |
“LinkedIn is a site for professionals. Financial advisers are professionals. Why aren’t more using the site?” Sanders questions.
Click here to read the article as published on ThinkAdvisor.
Click here to read Simon’s article about the key traits of the successful adviser.
