From Cold to Client: 3 Core Beliefs that Turn Prospects into Clients
Last week, I talked a little bit about the chain of beliefs a prospect must follow in order to become a client. This week, I whittled the chain down to three core beliefs that are required in order for a prospect to become a client. At each stage of the prospect's journey, these three beliefs will move them to the next stage.
Every prospect begins as a stranger who doesn't know they have a problem and doesn't think they need an advisor. These are cold prospects.
The first core belief that person needs to adopt in order to become a warm prospect is simply to recognize that they need help.
The first core belief: “I need help.”
You can persuade them that they need help through content highlighting the complexities of financial matters like tax loss harvesting, Roth conversions, etc., and with content highlighting the benefits of outside help.
In order to turn a warm prospect into a hot prospect, they need to adopt the second core belief: That they need an advisor's help.
The second core belief: “I need an advisor’s help.”
You can persuade them of this using content that highlights the value an advisor provides. This could be sharing updates on the latest legislation, highlighting the finer details that most people miss when it comes to financial planning, talking about advisor alpha—basically, you want them to see why they should trust you more than they should trust their neighbor who dabbles in investing.
Finally, in order for a hot prospect to become a client, they must adopt the third core belief: that they need your help.
The third core belief: “I need your help.”
This third core belief is where you share the most sales-focused content: one-sheets, testimonials, "About Us" videos. A lot of advisors avoid this final piece because they feel strange selling with their content when so much of it is built around education, but you shouldn't.
Remember, the point of every piece of content should be to nudge people closer and closer to the center of the ring. If you produce a piece of content focused on cold prospects, be sure that you point your readers/viewers/listeners toward a warm-prospect-focused piece of content somewhere in there.
To summarize, the three core beliefs are:
I need help.
I need an advisor's help.
I need your help.
Every piece of content you produce should focus on persuading your prospects of one of those beliefs. If any piece of content doesn’t fit within that framework, skip it.
Want some help?
I’ve helped countless advisors bring focus to their content and structure to their marketing funnel. Let’s talk!
