Standing Out From the Competition – How to Increase your Visibility
There is no shortage of clients who are in need of help when it comes to navigating the availability and types of financial, insurance, real estate, and mortgage products that are on the market. Because of that, advisors will always be necessary, helping their clients to not only make smart choices, but to make the best possible choices to suit the client’s needs.
As with any business, when you have a large need and a large client base, there will be competition. The question becomes, how do you stand out from the competition?
The answer is that you need to increase your visibility. The more exposure you have for your business, the more likely a potential client will be to notice it and to call on you instead of just randomly picking a name from the phone book.
It used to be that advisors would meet up at breakfast clubs, where other businessmen would gather prior to the work day starting and business cards would be exchanged, networking would happen and then you would hope that somebody would call you about your services. However, networking like that leaves a lot to chance and there is not many ways for you to stand out from the crowd in that situation.
Increase your visibility and you increase your chances of bringing in new clients. Here are some ways that you can make yourself more noticeable.
Yellow Pages
With technology, phone books have evolved into digital form, reachable via computer and cell phones. Chances are if somebody found himself or herself needing to find an advisor and had to rely on picking one randomly, they will do an online search for “financial advisor” in whatever city and state they live in. Make sure that you have your business and/or your website listed with the major online directories. Google search is a primary search tool so having your business listed at Google places will help ensure that people find your business when they do a search. Yahoo also offers services for local advertisers, visit www.smallbusiness.yahoo.com for more information.
Creative Networking
Without networking, your business will fizzle out. There are plenty of hidden opportunities for you to network and meet potential clients. Set up a booth at local city and county fairs, they often have local merchants and businesses there, so arm yourself with some brochures and promotional items and have fun! Likewise, you can get involved with charity events and by being listed as a sponsor of the event, you will get your name out there and known; same with sponsoring local youth sports teams.
Give Seminars
Why wait for an event to come around to you? Create a small event yourself! There are many places where you could rent a room that will allow you to give a small seminar. For example, libraries, community centers, and even restaurants often have a back room or a banquet room for rent! You can advertise through local newspapers, flyers, opt-in emails from your website, newsletters, emails, or even through promotional postcards and mailers. By setting up a seminar, you will be more than just a business name to the attendees; you will be somebody who is proving that you have the knowledge and the tools
Internet/Social Media/ Newsletter
The best way to increase your visibility is to give your company an online presence. Having a website is vital because it gives people a way to reach your business, to see what you are all about and what you have to offer. Your website is a reflection of your company and should be informative and interesting to the viewers.
Along with your website, you should also have a web presence on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn; LinkedIn is a social media site that is designed around companies and professionals and is a great way to network. By linking your website to social media sites, you can reach a broader base of clients and potential clients and it is a great way to keep in contact. Staying in touch is important! Having a website is okay, but if you do not have a blog to go along with it, offer an opt-in email newsletter, or post on social media sites then you are doing your company a huge disservice. Out of sight is out of mind and through social media you can be guaranteed that you are making yourself visible.
With the above in place, the next logical step would be to use newsletters to promote your services, new products and educate not only your clients but also your potential clients; opt-in emails allow you to reach your clients and by linking your newsletters to your social media sites, you will reach more people. Managing your customer relationships is often overlooked but with I Pro Advisers, your customer relationship management will be in the best of hands. Not only will they help with web site hosting, but also they are customer relationship management specialists and can help you with your newsletters, email marketing and more. See http://www.CRM.to/ to see how I Pro Advisers can help boost your business and your visibility today!
This is just a sampling of some of ways that you can set yourself apart from the competition and get some name recognition for yourself. Having on online presence is simply not enough; you need to promote yourself in order to stand out; but your online presence is the foundation of allowing yourself to be able to stand out and get noticed. At I Pro Advisers, we understand the importance of visibility so let us help you get a leg up on the competition.
