Chapter 6: Implementing Asset Transformation In Your Front-End Sales Cycle – Approach 1:

Chapter 6: Implementing Asset Transformation

In Your Front-End Sales Cycle – Approach 1:

This example covers the introduction the Asset Transformation system in your front-end sales activities.

Again, the order of the business flow chart will look as follows:

→  Advertising  →  Lead Capture  →  Presales Message  →  Front End Sales    →  Client Records Keeping System Delivery  →  High-Value Client Service Annual Reviews  →  Back-End Sales. 

Let’s go through these steps real quick to get an idea of what each one entails. Then we’ll get into the annual review related ones in much more depth as we get further into this course.

Step 1: Advertising

All marketing starts with advertising… Getting your message and your offer out into the world, and as far as I am concerned there are two types of advertising:

1: Direct Response – Advertising designed to elicit a response from a defined target audience, whether it’s to call an 800 number, go to a website, or register for a seminar.

By definition, any and every part of a direct response ad campaign can, and should be measured from the initial exposure, to the final exchange of money.

2: Image Advertising – This is what 95% of all home offices use, (probably because they don’t know any better).

Image advertising concentrates on branding and selling the company’s logo, history or goals, and is not designed to elicit a specific response by a target audience. Basically, it is a “feel good” branding approach about the company, which is not something that can be accurately measured.

Unfortunately for most lead starved agents and advisors, it is the kind of advertising that most of the wholesalers and home offices love.

With image advertising, you really don’t know if it’s making you money from the specific advertising dollars you’re spending in the end or not, which is a luxury that can only be afforded by big corporations…

Just open any trade magazine and you will see image ads jam up 90% or more of the magazine space. None of is track able, none of it held accountable, all of it meant to use up large budget advertising dollars regardless of result.

This sort of advertising is extremely costly and risky since results cannot be measured and should not be attempted by smaller businesses until the small business moves to a medium to large size operation. This type of advertising takes “money to burn” money. It’s a branding type strategy that very rarely will ever work at the agent and advisor level.

For us agent and advisor guys, image advertising is a losing proposition.

Prospects really don’t give a hoot about the Lizard or the Rock or that the company was founded 300 years ago.

Now all those can be selling points if they are actually sold instead of just DISPLAYED like window dressing in a magazine… There’s a big difference between selling these features and simply telling!

All your prospects care about is:

1: Whether or not your product or service will provide a real solution to their problems.

2: Whether or not your product or service will provide an emotional solution to the problem.

3: Whether or not you are the person that can be trusted to ensure they reach those goals.

As an agent and or advisor, the only kind of advertising we are interested in is direct response, because that’s the kind of advertising that generates leads, that sells and results in adding new clients into our practice, and fees or commissions into our bank account.

But like I said, 95% of the home offices out there don’t use direct response advertising, and I can only imagine that it’s because this is an industry of marketing and promotion pursued by people who’s idea for marketing and promoting is camera ready art, and who have no idea how to initiate a “response” from anyone.

On the other hand, direct response advertising is the type of advertising that is the ideal fit for our businesses, because it is less expensive and completely measurable.

As well, this is the form of advertising most of us are most likely familiar with to one degree or another, and have experience using in our businesses. Some of the common forms of this that we see in our industry are as follows:

1:   Direct response seminar invitations

2:   Direct response post cards

3:   Direct response radio spots

4:   Direct response letters

5:   Direct response ads

These are the most common advertising methods agents and advisors use to create leads for the purpose of acquiring new clientele.

If you’ve been in this business any time, most likely you have used one or more of the above and are quite familiar with the operational costs of doing such.

Dinner seminars alone can easily cost $5,000. A Post card campaign can easily run $600 per thousand (not including the follow-up sequencing).

Radio spots, letters and ads all ad up to significant capital expenditures that are all required front-end marketing activities each of us must become proficient at in order to kick-start and maintain the new client acquisition processes.

And this area is likely the largest areas of expense in our businesses

However, in all reality this is an investment because unlike the typical expense, this one pays a Return On Investment in the form of new clientele and new revenue.

Most of us in this business spend a tremendous amount of time, energy and resource in this step. We invest heavily in these front-end new client acquisition activities with the intent of creating more (revenue) than we put in (the investment).

And all of this is a GOOD thing, as long as you are seeing results that is.

However, here is the problem: If you’re like most agents and advisors, more than likely you’re constantly focusing on the expensive front-end new client acquisition activities, and you’re likely not leveraging or maximizing this HUGE investment. This is a HUGE mistake – one of the biggest, most costly mistakes you and most all of us will ever make.

How you leverage this “investment” this “client file asset” is the same way NetFlix, or Block Buster leverages their client file asset. That is through the use of highly effective back-end up-sell systems. And if you’re not doing this, you’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what could be, and are likely leaving the majority of your revenue behind for someone else to clean up.

So, what you are now holding in your hands is THE KEY to unlocking the chest and leveraging and maximizing the ROI of the HUGE investment you’ve made in your client file asset. Asset Transformation will set up for you what NetFlix has set up for themselves: Your high-value-client-service client annual review back-end up-sell system!

Through the use of Asset Transformation, each year you’ll have the opportunity to revisit your client file asset (your clientele) and care for it by better serving it and thus maximize your ROI by leveraging a high-value service model for additional new business revenue.

And what makes this such an awesome win-win process, is the Client Records Keeping System and the updating of it with new reports and statements for your clients.

They love it!

And will reward you for doing so!

Step 2: Lead Capture

This is that single most important step of your entire marketing process!

The purpose of this step is simple: To build a list by capturing the contact information of the prospect.

That’s it.

This step has no other purpose but to gather contact information, turning prospects into leads. This step literally “adds people to your list”, every time they respond to the lead capture mechanism or technology you are using.

And if you are adding new prospects to your list, you can continue to communicate with them (follow up), serve them, build a relationship with them, and market to them with newsletters, reports or what ever.

Your lead capture mechanisms are the “front door”, to the rest of your direct marketing processes.

A great lead capture mechanism is a 24 hr. toll free 800# that rings into a voice mail capture system. Typically, you design some sort of ad, a post card or whatever and the offer is say a FREE Report. The call to action is for the prospect read the post card and then to call the 800 number, listen to a 30-60 second commercial (recording), and afterwards leave their name and address to get the report.

This is a very effective, practically INSTANT front-end lead capture system I have personally used a lot in my business. The up side is the system not only captures leads for you, but it captures the callers phone numbers as well, and since they’ve requested info from you, you can now follow up without violating the Do Not Call rules.

Additional information such as a report is then mailed to these leads. You continue to mail periodically and sequentially while following up by phone to schedule appointments.

One of the most important objectives of this is to build a prospect list that you can continue to promote your services to, and build relationships with.

A few months back I put together a new lead generation campaign laid out exactly as I just described above. The direct response piece was a post card. The niche was the 403(b) niche (teachers). The first post card I tested (1000 post cards) generated a 1.5% response rate. The second post card I tested (again 1000 post cards) generated a 14% response rate!

The winner was quite obvious!

Doing the above allows you to do low cost tests and perfect the message you are attempting to match to the market. Then when the results are in – scale up!

You cannot do this with image advertising!

Another great lead capture system is also a landing page. This is a very similar approach to the voice mail system above, but custom fit for the internet.

The objective here is again to build a prospect list that you continue to send promotional messages to.

The method here is to drive traffic to your landing page that does not give away any information at all except enough to create great “WANT” in the prospect. The purpose of the landing page is that of a commercial that informs just enough to stimulate a “I got to have this” response from the visitor, whereby they give you their name and email address in exchange for the right to enter the site.

Now you have a lead and a list that you can build promotional email sequences that you will send regularly to your list. You can send the prospect to a FREE Report sales page that sells your product or an appointment or whatever.

What I just described to you here is the ONLY internet and web site marketing strategy that works. With almost every other kind of web site, including most financial services web sites, you cannot use them in the kind of results based marketing I just described above.

And thus most web sites are basically “image” based and useless in as far as results driven “marketing” is concerned.

A good example if a results driven website is the Asset Transformation landing page and web site at: www.AnnualReviewMillions.com. This is an ideal example of a results driven internet marketing system.

Step 3: Presales Message

Here’s a little human psychology to keep in mind as you pursue the mastery of the science of marketing and your presales message:

“Emotional people make buying decisions and everyone else has to be sold”

Getting people to become clients is EASY as long as long as your message sincerely appeals to their emotions. If this is done, it will be THEIR idea to buy.

Its much more effective if you emotionalize the sales process, than it is to pitch your product through logic attempting to close a sale. Doing this effectively gets deep human emotion and the subconscious involved, and triggers the “I WANT IT” desire…

I’ve actually closed $300,000 cases completely on the phone, having never met the prospect, using the above approach. It just makes the buying decision so much easier and clearer for the prospect.

The presales message step does several things:

1: Provides valuable FREE information to your complied list of respondent prospects tailored to the emotional aspects of the topic of interest.

2: Continues to build relationship with your compiled list of prospects through constant communication such as FREE reports or newsletters. This positions you as an expert, as the person who can provide them with solutions to their problems.

3: Schedules the initial interview, whereby you gather facts, objectives, goals and concerns by using the Asset Transformation in-house client suitability system (or your own questionnaire set). This lays the foundation for suitable recommendations and your in-house suitability system. Review the emotional aspects of their facts, objectives, goals and concerns. Schedule subsequent interview(s). Prepare plan and or recommendations. Review the plan and the emotional aspects of their facts, objectives, goals and concerns. (Also during this step, you should present the prospect with a sample Client Records Keeping System, let them review it, review it with them, let them know that as a valued client they will receive this a part of the high-value service you bring to your clientele.

You might even gather testimonies from other clients who already have the My Asset Journal Client Records Keeping System. This is a powerful way to demonstrate you, and the unique service you bring to your clientele.

There is a complete, proven science behind this emotional sales and marketing concept that is beyond the scope of this course. If it is that your marketing and sales does not incorporate this, I would highly recommend you begin to educate yourself in this. Becoming proficient at this will dramatically effect your results for the better. Basically, the approach takes the “sales” out of selling and instead focuses on the prospects “pain” which allows you to nearly perfectly position your product and or service as the solution.

Once effectively done, you won’t be “closing the deals”, instead what happens is it becomes the prospects idea to initiate the buying decision.

A great place to begin is the book: “You Can't Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar” by David Sandler. I recommend you head on over to www.Amazon.com read the reviews and order a copy. This will revolutionize your sales approach and is an excellent introduction to The Sandler Sales Institute's 7-Step System for Successful Selling.

Step 4: Front End Sales

This is the critical step in your business model, where you are now prepared to reap the rewards of successfully working the previous 3 steps. And that reward is the creation of new clientele, the implementation of your recommendations, and the new business revenue.

More importantly, you have just expanded your client file asset, and you have just expanded the reach of your leveraged back-end up-sell Asset Transformation system!

Using the emotional marketing and selling approach I discussed earlier, the prospect would have for the most part and by now made a buying decision. There would only be a review of their “pain” at this point and how it is your recommendations fulfills and or resolves that pain, and from there its implementation.

Of course, at this point in your career you likely have your own methods and approach to marketing and selling that all work very well. Each of us come from unique backgrounds and those backgrounds for me and for you have likely had a mixture of many different sales mentors and coaches.

One thing that is for certain, and that is if you are running a somewhat to a successful operation in this industry – Congratulations! You definitely are the “right stuff” type of person because it does takes a special makeup to make it in this business.

And so now, by implementing your very own back-end up-sell system – it’ll be Katie-Bar-The-Door as far your new found level of success and revenue is concerned!

Because now for the first time in your career, you will have a system of back-end excellence in place, a system of high-value-client service that will position you to write loads of previously undiscovered new business revenue through your existing client file asset.

Step 5: My Asset Journal Client Records Keeping System Delivery

Now it’s time to “install” your high-value client service back-end revenue model. And it’s very important that you understand the importance of this step.

It is this step that starts it all!

It is the KEY to so many things that you are about to discover first hand. It is the KEY to that starts your back-end revenue system engine. You do not want to skip this, if you do, your annual reviews will not carry a lot of significant value to your client. And your up-sells will suffer.

It is this step that gives birth to everything in as far as your back-end up-sell system is concerned.

This step accomplishes several things:

1: Prepares a platform for future client annual reviews.

2: Prepares a platform for future up-sell opportunity.

3: Highly organizes your clients assets.

4: Positions you in your clients eyes as an advisor who is very unique in as far as delivering a unique high-value service is concerned.

5: Dramatically increases the “trust” your clients place in YOU.

6: Hugely pleases your client! They absolutely love the Client Records Keeping System.

7: Separates you from the other lazy agents and advisors who don’t care.

Lets back up and take a look at the big picture here for a moment. At this point, the initial round of front-end selling is over, and client asset documents are in your office and ready for delivery to your client.

Note: You may want to reference the sample records keeping system as we move forward at this point.

So what we do now is to create a highly organized client records keeping system bundle whereby all of their new asset documentation is three hole punched and inserted into its own tabbed section within the Client Records Keeping System.

This includes:

1: Asset documents including: policies, contracts, prospectuses, etc.

2: Related product brochures.

3: Company product suitability documentation.

4: Any other company issued product documents related to the asset.

5: The My Asset Journal asset summary reports and charts.

6: The My Asset Journal asset reports and charts.

7: Clear insert tabs

8: The My Asset Journal Client Records Keeping System binder.

So now rather than just delivering a royal mess as far as paper work is concerned, you’ve bundled everything up in one highly organized Client Records Keeping System.

You’ve now essentially taken the one thing that represents a very large part of your client’s life and treasure, and you’ve shown great regard for it and your client by systemizing and organizing all of it for them!

You have demonstrated through your actions that what is important to them is also of great importance to you.

What you have really done is you have created a tangible money management “System” for your client, that your client can wrap their hands around.

In all reality, you’ve done something much more deeper than the things we deal with on the surface. What you have done is given your client the gift of them having the sense of being in total CONTROL!

Not a single advisor in your area does this!

So, in preparation for asset delivery, all the above items we mentioned earlier are bundled up into an empty Client Records Keeping System binder and then delivered and reviewed with your client.

This completes the front-end sales cycle, and prepares everything for your first high-value service client annual review.

Your clients will love the My Asset Journal system.

Step 6: Subsequent High-Value Client Service Annual Reviews

Now we roll the clock forward one year and It’s time to leverage your high-value client service back-end revenue system.

At this point, what we do here is update the client’s My Asset Journal client records keeping system we delivered a year earlier, whereby all of the most recent asset documentation is three hole punched and inserted into its respective tabbed section within the Client Records Keeping System.

The review step generally includes:

1: The My Asset Journal asset summary reports and charts.

2: The Asset Transformation Insurance/Securities/Deposit assets reports and charts.

3: Most recent asset statements.

4. Your client’s favorite pie.

The use of this system and the high-value service that it enables you to deliver to your client will be an AMAZING crowd pleaser in as far as your clients are concerned.

Doing this will greatly increase the value of you in your clients life. I will as well greatly increase the trust that exists between you and your client.

Through this you WILL become the ‘trusted” advisor your client desperately wants and needs.

And through this, you will be positioned to provide additional service to your client, whether it be making changes to beneficiaries or moving the next $100,000 CD.

Our business is all about getting in front of people. What this system does by default is it essentially automates this process, and gets you out in front of the best people in your circle of influence – your clients – who have already in the past decided to give you one of the most honored privileges.

Who will do so again. If it is you demonstrate you deserve it!

And that is what the use of Asset Transformation automatically builds and does for you!

Step 7: Back-End Sales

Back to a point I mentioned earlier; by displaying your client’s assets in such a highly organized manner and especially if it is that the assets you’ve set up for your client never results in any losses. This whole approach gives your client a tremendous sense of “CONTROL”.

Which is a fundamental desire in the life of every senior citizen.

Which is something you will have just given your client. This is HUGE and even a more significant issue than all the planning and products you’ve done for your client.

We get all hung up on products and strategies…

…Your clients don’t really care!

What they want is CONTROL and SECURITY…

And when it is you figure that out and then deliver this, you’ve just mastered what 90% of agents and advisors are totally clueless about.

All that matters is what is important to your client, and so now knowing this, we give what is important to them.

This is where each component of the Asset Transformation system operates for your client in the areas of CONTROL and SECURITY.

As for the back-end sales, when it is you deliver and review their My Asset Journal Client Records Keeping System, all sorts of new business opportunity “appears” because what inevitably happens is:

1: A transition from discussing assets you have already set up to other assets not yet under management. – OR:

2: Discussion of repositioning assets you already set up – OR:

3: The suitability review.

What I have done is dedicated an entire chapter in this manual to the final step of the back-end sales process. So what we’ll do is keep the details for then and stick to general overview of the entire process here.

What I will say is this much: “You Are About To Enter The Easiest Sales You’ve Ever Made In Your Life Zone”

Now let’s look at the second approach for implementing Asset Transformation.

 But before we do just a quick reminder for what it is you can expect of “Asset Transformation”:

It is a “system” that by default and through the use of it, positions you to “Give” into the lives of others that which is of value. And by default, and through the use of it, positions you to “Be Given Unto”. Only because you first “Give”!