In the context of financial advisors (and independent RIAs especially) our point of view is that “marketing” refers to the initiatives that help you improve the “big 3” key metrics of your sales funnel.

If your marketing isn’t moving the needle on any of these 3 metrics, you’re wasting your money. And if you aren’t tracking your metrics every month, you need to start now.

Why measure all this?

Because the quickest way to grow revenue is to lean in on your strengths and plug the holes in your weaknesses.

Metric #1: Appointments Scheduled

At the top of the sales funnel you have the number of appointments you’ve booked for the time period. Let’s use months as an example. On average, a good advisor will book about 3 appointments per day from their various lead sources. Over 20 business days, this averages out to 60 appointments per month.

How can you increase your appointments scheduled?

• Attract better prospects: paid campaigns are the most expensive option, but if done correctly you will get high quality inbound leads that are asking you for a consultation.

• Attract more pospects: especially if you live in (or near) an affluent area, you want to show up at the top of the list when people search for a financial advisor. Contrary to what some people think, people DO make these searches. If you aren’t getting these calls, then someone else is. They won’t always be the highest quality prospect, but they will add to your pipeline.

• Build a high quality brand: let’s take a referral scenario, Client A refers Prospect B by giving them your name and/or website. Before calling you, Prospect B will look you up online. If they aren’t impressed with what they see (or don’t see), they are less likely to result in a booked appointment. Make sure you have plenty of 5-star reviews, great photos, testimonials, and your website is modern, clean, and impressive.

• Perfect your pitch: you should have a handful of pitches ready, each tailored to one specific type of prospect. When narrowing in on pain points your solution to those, remember that demographics don’t matter, what matters is the specific problem they need to solve and how you present your solution to that.

Metric #2: Meetings Conducted

The number of meetings you actually have with your prospects is a metric that some take for granted as fixed. It is not. Don't leave it up to chance alone! Here’s what you can do to increase your “sit rate” (the average sit rate varies between 45% to 55%.)

How can you increase your sit rate?

• Warm them with value: let them know exactly what they’re going to get during your meeting. The meeting shouldn’t be a “sales pitch”, nobody likes being sold to. You should be able to provide real, tangible, actionable, value to your prospect during your meeting. In order to increase your sit rate, make sure your prospect knows they’re about to get something valuable from you, for free. All they have to do is show up.

• Automation: automate pre-meeting reminders, emails, and text messages. Reminders are table-stakes, but what email campaigns are you sending before the call? If the meeting is a week out, you have 7 days to highlight all the great value they’re about to get from you, for free! Don’t sell them on how great you think you are... this might be tough to hear but they don’t care! What's in it for them?

Metric #3: Close Rate

When you think of high close rates, you might think of a smooth talking salesperson that can sell sand in the desert. Sure, a smooth talker might sign clients, but typically this also leads to high churn which can kill your business. Aim for a 40% to 50% close rate, avoiding clients who won’t be a good mutual fit.

How can you increase your close rate?

• Structure: run every meeting the exact same way, making changes incrementally. While each call should be tailored to the prospect, your value proposition as a whole should not. As you experiment with your pitch over time (keeping track of what works vs what doesn't), you will see your close rate steadily improve.

• Behavioral economics: did you know that 95% of decisions are made at the subconscious level? Use this to your advantage. Elements of exclusivity, social proof, and scarcity are examples of techniques that behavioral economists use to influence decision making. Use these (and many more) in your marketing and pitch – but they are powerful, so use them for good!

Bonus: people like being thought of as smart and influential. With a polished brand, your clients will be more likely to refer you (aka show off) to their friends because it will make them look good! You might interpret this as a cynical take on human behavior, but at the end of the day you will be able to help more people with the financial solutions they need, so it's a win-win.

Our Services

Everything we do is designed to improve your sales metrics. Some take longer than others, and some are more expensive than others, but at the end of the day with a structured approach you should see more revenue coming in.

But “it takes two to Tango” so if you’re looking to sit back and not put in the work, we probably aren’t a great fit!

About Tango

What do you get when a hedge fund analyst gets an MBA from UC Berkeley studying behavioral economics? An award-winning technology and marketing executive who builds marketing systems that drive growth at scale.

Zeke Silvani founded Tango after building products that millions use today at places like Capital One and Google, where he launched the AdWords app.

He grew Convert It to the nation's largest marketing agency for law firms and is now doing the same for his first love - financial services. Get on his calendar and he'll be happy to share his take on your growth plans.

If you'd like ongoing 1:1 time with Zeke, coaching is available.

With a world-class team behind his vision, Tango thrives at the intersection of art and science. Our obsession with both aesthetics and metrics means you get marketing that feels as good as it performs.