A financial adviser’s success revolves around the connections they make with their clients. Contact strategies are integral to this success as they help you maximise your existing client opportunities, build stronger connections and discover new ones. We’ll take you through the basics of what contact strategy is and give you helpful tips on getting started.

Contact strategy – a definition for non-marketers

In a nutshell, a contact strategy is a plan for how you get in touch with and communicate with your prospects and existing clients. The customer is the heart of your business and having a well-defined strategy in place supercharges your success rate with each new call or email.

There are many moving parts in a working contact strategy. When you factor in client contact information, notes and appointments, this data all adds up. That’s why savvy marketers use customer relationship management (CRM) systems to help them save time on complex everyday tasks.

Learn more about how CRM systems help firms achieve their goals here.

Developing a strong customer contact strategy

Taking the time to develop your contact strategy is an investment that can deliver rich rewards for your business. Contact strategies will differ from business to business but every successful contact strategy will revolve around five core principles:

Understanding your client

Contact strategy helps you identify what your existing and prospective clients need. By understanding them on a deeper level, you can deliver the communications that are most relevant and timely to them.

This knowledge can help you organise customers into specific groups such as:

• Life stages – whether they’re a prospect or existing client
• Personas – representations of the different customer types your business services
• Segments – broken down into demographic, location, product usage or other traits

Determining your objectives

Knowing what you want to gain from your contact strategy ensures you have the focus to plan, build and get measurable results. Here are examples of objectives to consider before you begin:

• Doubling your assets under management (AUM)
• Increasing your appointment rate by 50%
• Expanding your client referral rate by 25%
• Boosting awareness of a new product or service
• Cross and upselling products and/or services

Mapping out your customer journey

Research from McKinsey found that of the brands customers purchased from, 70% were brands they considered during the initial phase of the decision-making process.

Examining each customers’ journey during their contact with your business can reveal potential roadblocks to conversion. This process will take time, but it can help you ensure your business is in that 70%.

Creating a visual map can help you better grasp how your potential clients interact with your business. As you map out the journey, be sure to consider whether they’re in the awareness, consideration and decision-making stages.

By mapping out their entire journey, you can:

• Understand what customers are thinking or feeling at each stage of the sales funnel
• Improve your client retention rate and customer lifetime value
• Identify what type of communication or content your customers need at each stage of their journey
• Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and understand if your website and other communications are meeting their needs
• Match specific contact types to your identified customer personas, life stages and segments

This process is all about gaining insight and using this to improve the journey for your customers. Taking the time to review this each month or quarter can help you spot roadblocks and areas for improvement.

Deciding how you will communicate with your potential clients

Knowing what you would like to achieve will help you decide how to get there. Planning communication rules for each customer type will help you ensure you give them the right information they need to move forward through the sales funnel.

Set some guidelines for your business on the following:

1. How will you meet the needs of each of your customer segments?
2. How often will you be in touch with your customers?
3. When will you get in touch with each customer type?
4. Which channels will you use and what scenarios are they best suited for?
5. What types of content and/or messaging do your customer personas engage with?

Determining how your business will measure success

With a firm understanding of who your potential customers are and how you will reach them, you can now measure your marketing efforts. What you measure should tie into your identified goals and objectives. Create your measurement guideline and the key metrics you will track to measure your results.

Let’s say, for example, your goal is to boost awareness of your new estate planning service with an email campaign sent out to existing clients of a certain age. With this in mind, you might measure success by tracking how many people opened your latest email or how many people arrived on your website’s appointment booking page from an email link.

Other metrics you may consider are:

• Appointment rate
• Client referrals
• Customer lifetime value

Three customer contact strategy templates to boost conversions

Not all your prospects will have the same communication preferences. Some may prefer a direct phone call while others may prefer email. And considering your prospect may be busy at certain times of the day, using more than one method can boost your success rate.

Before each communication, take a moment to consider the following:

1. What persona does your prospect match with?
2. What does their life or circumstances look like?
3. What are their financial challenges and pain points?
4. How can your service help?

Here are three methods to help you get started with prospective clients:

Telephone

Your prospective client is most likely stressed or confused about their financial situation. After all, that’s why they’ve been in touch. Listen, be empathetic and show them the value that your services and experience can bring to their lives.

The warm follow-up call script

Hi [contact name],

This is [your name] from [name of your business]. You recently [requested information or other desired action] and I wanted to reach out and have a quick chat about what you need help with. Is now a good time to chat?

[Client response]

Can you tell me a little about your situation and why you think you need advice?

[Client response]

I understand. I specialise in [service] and have helped many people in your situation [what goal they want to achieve]. I’d like to have a chat about your situation in more detail and discuss a few solutions I have in mind.

Would you be free for a no-obligation consultation? This session is free of charge and is a good way to help you learn about what solutions are out there and whether advice is right for you.

[Client response]

I can do [date and time], if that works for you?

[Client response]

Wonderful. I’ll send you an email to confirm our meeting. I look forward to speaking with you then. Bye for now.

Email

Emails can be especially useful if your prospective client needs more time in the decision-making process. That’s why you must nurture their interest by reinforcing the value you can offer as a professional adviser.

To ensure success your email should:

• Have a clear call to action: Tell your reader what you’d like them to do such as arranging a meeting via Calendly.
• Include natural language: People respond to humans, not stuffy, corporate speak.
• Be written with each customer type/segment in mind: Knowing your audience helps you craft a message that resonates with their logic for seeking financial advice.
• Not include a misleading subject line: Promising what you can’t deliver is not a good start to a client-adviser relationship.
• Be short and sweet: State why you’re getting in touch, what you can offer and the next step.
• Include your full contact information: Give your prospect a chance to respond in their preferred contact method.

The warm follow-up email template

Hi [name],

Thanks for [requesting info or other desired action]. I know you’re interested in [product/service] and I wanted to reassure you that I have [number of years/relevant qualifications or experience]. Here’s a [link to my testimonials page/list of qualifications].

I’ve helped countless people like you [the goal they want to achieve] by taking a holistic approach to finance. This involves having a chat about what you want to achieve today, tomorrow and in the future and forming a plan based on your unique needs.

I’d love to invite you for a free, no-obligation consultation. This is a free meeting, where I’ll explain my services and get to know a little more about you. We’ll also talk about your options and whether financial advice is right for you.

Do you think this is something you’d be interested in?

Kind regards,

[Your name]

Text

These short messages can be as powerful as emails and phone calls. Their effectiveness lies in their brevity as you have a limited space to work in. Text messages can show your potential client that you’re proactive, are available when they need you and are eager to support them.

The most effective text messages include:

1. A personal greeting
2. A succinct core message
3. A strong call to action

The follow-up text template

Hello [first name]. Thanks for your [callback request or other desired action] today. My name is [your name], your financial adviser. Feel free to text or call me on this number to arrange a time that suits you.

Our best practice tips

Now that you know what a contact strategy is and how it can benefit your business, it’s time to put it into practice. We’ve rounded up our three best practice tips to help you get started.

Be clear on your main objectives

Never lose sight of what you aim to achieve with any communication. Whether that’s a monthly newsletter or a client satisfaction survey, each touchpoint should serve a purpose. Regular, tailored communications show that you listen to your clients and understand their needs.

Welcome positive and negative feedback

There’s no better way to determine whether your clients will stick around than by asking them. Surveys, polls and feedback sessions are great platforms to give your clients a voice. Treat compliments and complaints as a valuable learning experience. Following up with every submission will help build customer loyalty and shows you care.

Never stop testing and learning

Customers’ needs change, and your business should change with them. Testing website copy and other communication touchpoints ensures that you can be reactive. The more you know your customer and their needs, the greater chance you have of nurturing conversion and customer loyalty.

How Lead Tech supports your contact strategy

We understand that helping our partners succeed means more than giving them new leads. Our marketing and data experts take the time to dig deeper, delving into your potential client’s needs to help them make a smooth transition to conversion. Here’s how we support our partners’ own strategies:

Full support from our dedicated Contact Centre team

After prospects submit their contact details on our brand sites, our customer experience team qualifies each lead before your first meeting. They also support customer journeys by answering questions and handling objections.

Full customer journey maps

Our marketing experts review all customer journeys to deliver the right messages your prospects need during their decision-making stage. Customer personas based on our data-led customer research helps us plan journeys for your preferred leads.

Optimised brand sites and communications

From testing and customer research to content and design, our digital marketing teams work hand in hand to ensure that we build our journeys with your ideal client in mind.