How To Improve Your Close Ratio

'We don't need more leads. We need to close what we have in the pipeline. That is the root of our problem.'

This is the battle cry of most advisory firm leaders when they contact me.

Here is a different viewpoint.

You likely don't have a close problem. You have a follow-up problem. 

Studies show that 80% of sales convert after 5+ follow-ups.  

But most advisors follow up two or three times, over weeks, if not months, and then send some version of the below.

'There is a fine line between persistence and annoyance. We realize that priorities can change, so this will be the last time we reach out proactively. However, we are here if you are still interested in solving your financial planning needs.'

Sound familiar?

So, why do most advisors stop short when following up, and what can you do about it?

1. Lack of organization. Most firms need a better way of keeping track of the follow-up cadence. Sure, they have a pipeline and will likely meet to discuss the open opportunities, but most leave it up to the advisor to remember to follow up. Since most advisors already have hundreds of workflows built to service clients, why not create one for sales? It could be something as simple as T+1, T+3, T+5, T+9, T+13, and T+17 from the first day the Lead came in. Now you take the element of forgetfulness out of the process. Plus, you have something you can track and hold people accountable to. So, it is no longer a conversation about your closing skills but your follow-up skills. And how many times an advisor follows up is something an advisor can control.

2. Fear of rejection. Shocking, right? But it is true, Advisors fear rejection, even if it is a warm lead they have talked with or met with. Often, this fear presents itself as….' I just followed up with them last week. So I am going to do it next week or in two weeks. I don't want to seem too pushy.' When coaching Advisors, I find that if I ask, 'I hear you say you don't want to sound too pushy, but what is really keeping you from following up?' Most Advisors realize that fear of rejection is the root cause and not being seen as too pushy.

3. Lack of motivation: Being an advisor is a challenging and demanding job. Advisors can lose motivation or become burnt out from the daily grind of servicing clients; I know this because I have been an Advisor. When this happens, they may not try to follow up on leads and pursue potential sales opportunities because they know how much extra work onboarding a new client is. If this is the case, it isn't that your advisor could be more efficient. It is that the workload is too much. Therefore, it makes sense to hire someone. But, many firms are hitting pause on hiring because revenue is down. How much is hitting pause on hiring costing them, though? Especially in the context of missed revenue from failing to follow up on leads. Or the loss of productivity from a burnt-out employee base.

4. Poor communication skills: Advisors who need help with communication may find it difficult to follow up effectively with potential customers because they have yet to build rapport. And, if they are not closing deals, they get discouraged and start experiencing fear of rejection. (Typically, I see this with Jr. Advisors less than with Lead Advisors.)

5. Misaligned priorities: In some cases, Advisors may have different priorities or goals than their firms' leadership. They may only prioritize following up with opportunities if they feel compensated for the additional work of managing a new relationship. For example, I know of a firm that pays an extra revenue bonus to the Advisor and Team who onboarded and serviced a new relationship, regardless of how or who sourced that relationship. This came about because advisors were reluctant to take on new opportunities because their comp wasn't aligned to revenue. So, an extra client meant extra work without extra pay.

Effective and thorough follow-up is critical to sales success. It is also the quickest and cheapest way to increase your close rate. 

Ring The Bell Coaching provides Financial Advisor Coaching and Training in four categories.

1. Business Development

2. Client Communication

3. Executive Leadership

4. Sales and Practice Management

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