Episode 10 – Turn 401k Leads into Clients with Email

Episode #10 – An Email Nurture Sequence to Turn 401k Leads into Clients

In the last episode of the Ask the Experts podcast, I talked about how to turn prospects into leads.

But when you get a 401k lead, what happens next? What is your process for communicating with them in building the relationship, adding value and next steps?

Have you ever spent time and money and resources to get leads to unfortunately have them go cold? You don’t know what to send them. You don’t keep in regular contact with them. You don’t want this to happen.

In this episode I want to share with you some follow-up strategies that can help you convert those leads into clients.

To summarize…

Here’s a simple email communication formula:
- Email 1 – give them what you promised.
- Email 2 – remind them about the value of what you gave them – the benefit – and bust some common myths or share what to avoid as it relates to that topic (show authority through education)
- Email 3 – let them know you can help them (offer to meet and give more info, etc.)
- Emails 4,5,6,7 – provide more value, give them information or tools or resources that can help them
- Every 4th or 5th email you can offer to help them again (invite to webinar, offer benchmarking review, drop of book, plan audit, etc.)
A lot of advisors have been asking for email sequences and more marketing and education material so I’ve decided to offer a new service/toolkit called the 401k Business in a Box – learn more here.
Let me know if you could have me create anything for your 401k practice, what would you want and need to grow your business and/or service your clients to a higher standard – email me and let me know.

Mentioned in this episode:

Transcript:

Hey there, Sharon here and in the last episode of the Ask the Experts podcast, I talked about how to turn prospects into leads and in this episode I want to share with you some follow-up strategies that can help you convert those leads into clients. So let’s get started.

When you get a 401k lead, what happens next? What is your process for communicating with them in building the relationship, adding value and next steps?

I’ve heard it takes on average eight 8 to 12 touches just to get the initial face to face meeting. So clearly a couple of emails asking for an appointment and then giving up is just throwing money away.

Totally avoidable though with a strategy.

So let’s say you use the Investment Committee Starter Kit that we talked about in the last episode. You can get it for free on the blog at 401kbestpractices.com. Let’s say you use that as your freebie, your lead magnet. Once they download that and you have their email address, what next?

Let me give you a simple formula for any new leads. So write this down.

Your first email is about what got them on your list. So in the example of the Investment Committee Starter kit, it’s an email that gives them what they opted in for – a link to the PDF file with the note about the benefit to them of having that material. That’s it. A simple, “Thanks for downloading it. Here’s your (whatever you downloaded), let me know if you have any questions.”
The second email, you want to remind them about the value of that kit, that download and maybe bust some common myths about that topic. Maybe what to avoid as it relates to that topic. Something that stays on topic and shows your authority through education. Okay, so now we’re two emails in.
What do we send them on the third one? That’s when you can let them know how you can help them more. The third email, it’s okay to ask for the appointment. Ask for the order, so to speak. Right? How can you provide assistance in implementing that? In setting up the committee, in providing more education? Maybe you could drop off a book that goes deeper into that topic you want to give them, but this is where you can ask for that appointment in that third email and if you can give maybe specifics… The specific day you’ll be in the area and see if they have 30 minutes to meet face to face. The fewer decisions they have to make, the higher your chances are of getting a meeting.
Okay. Now what about the emails after that – the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh? Those emails need to provide value.

Don’t ask for anything, more than one in four emails. And when I say ask for anything, try to get an appointment and try to get them to buy the benchmarking report that you offer. Don’t ask them to buy anything or to give you anything. Just give them value. At least three out of four emails that you send them.

The 401k industry has a long sales cycle and it is a relationship business. So your emails need to build that relationship. They need to provide value, they need to be helpful. Demonstrate your value by giving them information or tools or resources that can help them. And don’t stop. Don’t stop after the seventh email – continue.

An example of the kind of value you might include in that three to four email sequence is – relating to the investment committee topic… What should be on the quarterly agenda for that quarter? Maybe here’s what you’re covering with your clients this quarter and why and the importance of why you cover those things. So this helps you set in their mind what they should be getting, the kind of services they should be getting, what they should be doing each quarter.

And if they’re not getting that from their current advisor, it starts to drive a wedge in that relationship that gives you an opportunity to squeeze in there. Make sense?

So find things that you can send them every month. It doesn’t have to be every week, every week would be ideal, but you don’t want it to be more than once a week.

The more you can keep in touch with them providing valuable information, the more they start to hear and remember and value what you bring to the table and that’s how you convert leads into clients with a purposeful follow-up campaign that provides value, builds the relationship, and asks for the business every fourth or fifth email.

I’ve had a lot of advisors asking me for emails, especially after the Investment Committee Starter Kit was made available of what kind of follow-up emails should they send. And I have, I’ve actually provided a couple of advisers with customized email sequences, but it’s not something that’s scalable since it takes time to create marketing and service content on an individual basis.

But because I’ve had so many advisors asking, and because I know not everyone wants to spend $1,000 on one email sequence or hire a full time “Sharon” to get them to help them with their marketing and service process, I’ve decided after a couple of years of getting so many requests to help.

I really see a need from advisors, especially those with without a huge team – those just starting out. There’s a need for quality, effective sales and marketing templates. And I’ve decided it’s time.

So on March 24th – save the date – I’m opening up the doors on really what equates to years of research and experience and tools and templates that have been proven to work to help advisors grow and manage and scale their business. It’s called “401k Business in a Box” and it gives advisors the ability to access done-for-you material and have me create for you – every month – new turnkey sales and service tools that you can use to plug and play right into your business to get more leads, to nurture those leads, to close more sales, to service your clients, to bulletproof your business, to scale your business, to grow longer, thicker hair.

The list goes on, but it stops at the hair.

So save the date. It’s March 24th, doors open and they’ll only be open for about a week since this is a brand new service and I really want to start it off on the right foot with just kind of a small group of advisors creating the tools you need most to grow and scale your business. You can register at 401kbusinessinabox.com to be notified when we go live.

But here’s a question I have for you.

If you could help me with this, I’d really appreciate it. I’m really close to his project and I want to make sure I’m not shooting in the wrong direction. If I could create anything for you, if you could wave a magic wand and get help in your marketing efforts or in servicing your clients better, what would you want to have? If you could hire me to create any kind of sales or marketing or service documents – as an experienced fiduciary specialist, as a former 401k advisor, as a content designer and marketing expert – what would you want me to create for you?

Email me at Sharon at 401kbestpractices.com and let me know. Maybe it’s a center of influence campaign to get more leads from CPAs. Maybe it’s a referral marketing campaign or a participant education program. What do you think would help you most?

Email me and let me know, and until next time, get that freebie up on your site already and do not forget the follow-up campaign. That is what will convert leads into clients.

Don’t miss out on all the strategies we’ll be sharing in the future. Subscribe via iTunes to get access to future episodes and don’t forget to leave a rating in iTunes. It helps more people find the show.

Disclaimer: The information provided in these videos is for professional use only and not for use with plan sponsors or plan participants. The information provided, ideas, opinions and commentary are meant to be educational and general in nature and any reference to ERISA or retirement plan regulations is not meant to be legal or financial advice or an interpretation of the laws, but rather a general discussion. Check with your ERISA attorney and compliance department for the applicability of any matters discussed to your specific situation.