May 20, 2022
Our firm has a wide variety of experience levels – ranging from fresh college graduates and industry veterans. We have seen it all when it comes to techniques for pipeline management. Some financial professionals use yellow legal pads, others are excel wizards, and others fully immersed themselves in a CRM system. It's not so much the medium you use to stay organized, but the process matters significantly.
Fast growth is directly correlated with actively managing your pipeline by thoughtfully and consistently contacting your prospects and adapting your strategies to reflect our digital world. Every financial professional’s goal should be to feed your pipeline by adding new prospects and then leading them down a path to becoming a long-term, loyal client. Here are a few tips to help make that happen:
1 – Don’t saturate your pipeline
If you have been in the industry for a while, or just entered and are finally getting hang of things, you will begin to collect contacts from all the places; networking events, LinkedIn, seminars, kids sporting events, etc. If you aren’t diligent you can end up with a super long list of not very promising prospects. To keep yourself sane and your process organized, you should think about segmenting your pipeline based on the type of relationship or where the relationship currently stands. Try these three scenarios:
2- Create a Checklist
You want your pipeline to be a well-oiled machine with consistent touchpoints for each prospect. Creating a checklist will keep you organized and will create a professional environment for your new potential client. By creating a standardized approach for all prospects, you are also making your life easier. A few things to think about adding to your checklist for a new prospect:
3- Wake Up, Coffee, Pipeline.
Creating the habit of not opening your email inbox to start your day is the best way to stay consistent on your pipeline. The second your inbox launches; you are creating 10 little fires you need to address. And before you know it, its 2 PM and you haven’t thought about your pipeline once today. By holding yourself accountable and making it your first priority you are shifting your focus to prospecting being a vital part of your day. Consider keeping your team or sales manager in the loop on your daily pipeline
Lastly, we can give you tips on a process, but it takes skill. You need to craft a process and stick to it but also keeping selling skillset strong, too. How can you consistently advance your prospects through your pipeline? One tip is to consistently be thinking and practicing mini closing. By using assumptive buying statements and your prospect is more likely to become a client. It’s not about closing the business but about getting that prospect to the next step in your process. Pipeline management isn’t a new concept, but it works. You worked hard enough to find the prospect – don’t let them slip through the cracks once they’ve hit your radar.
Struggling with practice management? Partner with a firm that supports our financial professionals and has in-house specialists to help you with your pipeline management. Schedule a time to chat about your future and learn about ours. Reach out to our Recruitment Director, Erica Ng, for more information
If you or your firm is interested in establishing a prospecting email strategy, please check your communication policy and compliance program before implementing any of the ideas above. Take the opportunity to review you Broker/Dealer email, social media and video policies and procedures before moving forward with any communication to the public.
CRN202505-2379029
Written by Alison DiClemente