Kristin Shea is the Senior Advisor Consultant for Highland Capital Brokerage. Her career in sales started at eight, when she set a record selling Girl Scout cookies. She also won a national sales competition selling fine wines before reaching legal drinking age.

Today on Stay Paid, Kristin discusses the techniques that have helped her make valuable connections with financial advisor clients—and how you can use those same techniques to grow your book of business.

Key Notes:

• Financial advisors need marketing that makes them stand out.
• Video email is a great way to make an impression on prospects.
• Handwritten notes and gifts can help you stay top of mind.

Q: Introduce yourself to our audience.

I graduated from high school early. I had big ambitions, but I hadn’t quite honed my energy just yet. Because I didn’t have the technological skills that people need today, I kind of struggled in college. I must’ve changed my major six times. I spent most of my time in my hometown forty-five minutes away, waitressing. While waitressing, I would regularly serve employees of Highland Capital. One day, they asked me if I’d ever thought about working in financial services.

Q: What does a work day look like for you?

I work with independent advisors to help them increase revenue and achieve success. The definition of success depends on the individual. But, many times, people come to me because they want to get in front of more qualified prospects.

Q: How do you prospect and close deals with financial advisors?

There are two major things I do, and both are technical in nature. One is leveraging LinkedIn. Rather than making dozens of cold calls a day, I took the stance that I could connect with people directly—skipping assistants and other gatekeepers—which allowed me to be a little more strategic with my messaging. That evolved into posting videos that add value for those prospects.

The second thing is video email, which has been the biggest contributor to my success. You might not get to meet face to face for years, but this method helps build personal relationships and speed up the sales process.

Q: How does video email work so well for you?

Instead of leaving a voicemail and then typing a text email, I send a video to follow up. Then, I offer options for following up with me. People don’t expect this, and there’s a wow factor. Plus, you can see when and how many times your recipients watched on the back end. You can figure out where people stop watching and refine your approach.

Q: Do you coach advisors to use video? Does it get past compliance?

Compliance is tough, because you have to be careful about the script. You also have to be able to store the videos so they can be reviewed. The programs I use will store the video. Ultimately, you need to defer to your firm for guidance.

I see advisors using video successfully leading up to an event or as a follow-up to it. Advisors will make a video showing people where to park or where the doors are. You can also send videos to talk about complex topics, such as rates. If you need a signature on a piece of paperwork, you can show them on the video where you need the signature. You can use a video to thank people for their business. Almost no one else is doing this.

Q: What are the top prospecting tips that you can share for advisors looking to gain new assets and clients?

Marketing is a value-add and a resource suite that we offer as an opportunity to earn someone’s business. My primary job is to assist advisors with protection and retirement planning. In sales, you lead with value, and that is having a more efficient, profitable practice.

I see a lot of things working well, and, in some ways, those things are what you’d expect. In other ways, they are not. Overall, the marketing machines that advisors use are these really expensive outbound systems. They need to transition to an inexpensive marketing machine, keeping everyone in the pipeline until they’re ready.

Advisors are busy and have to wear a lot of hats. They have to be their own accountant and their own marketing person. They want something that is automated and fast. There are so many things that are created for you, but they aren’t personalized.

You need to differentiate yourself. It can be something as simple as posting a picture of your dog on your website. As complicated as we can make things, it’s ultimately about who I like, who I trust, and who I can relate to.

Q: What routines have driven success for you?

I’m practicing time-blocking, because I know it’s important. It’s a tough thing to stick with. Three routines have really stuck for me. First thing every morning, I write handwritten notes and send out packages to prospects. I send out emails for birthdays, holidays, and other events. Then, I get on LinkedIn and nurture my network. Success on LinkedIn comes from consistency. I time-block my calls. When I have the time to make those dials, I don’t want to get interrupted with other things.

Q: Knowing what you know now, what would you tell your younger self?

Be unapologetically bold. Being selfish and being bold isn’t a bad thing. Up until recently, I’ve had a servant’s heart, to my own detriment. I’d feel obligated to say yes—and to make myself small—so that other people around me would feel bigger. I think being bold has been one of the best personal changes for me.

Action Items:

• If you review and share this podcast, send Kristin an email within the next week. She will send you a gift card.

Connect with Kristin:

Email

LinkedIn

Instagram