How to Make Sure Your Appointment Book Is Always Full
If you want to achieve success as a financial advisor you need to have plenty of prospective clients in the pipeline. In an ideal world your appointment book should be full to bursting – giving you the opportunity to win enough new clients to keep your business thriving.
Getting appointments takes hard work and perseverance – so if your book is a little on the light side at the moment here are some things to consider.
Have concrete goals and targets
Work out what you want and work backwards. Like builder of IBM Thomas Watson, imagine where you want to be in a year’s time or five years’ time. Then work backwards, step by step. Make sure you can measure success along the way.
Set yourself measurable and achievable targets to help you reach your goals. How many clients do you want to have in a year’s time? How many appointments will you need in order to win this many clients? So how many people do you need to call in order to get this many appointments?
Be number- and time-specific, for example say “I’m going to prospect A, B and C this week and win ten new appointments”. And when you achieve this target give yourself a pat on the back – you just completed an important step on the road to success.
Identify your target market
In order to make appointments on a regular basis you need to identify your target market. Drill down and pinpoint your “ideal client”. Who would you ideally love to do business with and why? Identify the characteristics they should have and how you can address their specific needs. Do you have an affinity with them? Also how will you approach them – via seminar or referral? Create an ‘ideal client’ sheet to give to members of your community. Let people know what type of person you would like to meet.
Prospecting is the only way to a full book
Whether you’re just starting out or stuck in a rut prospecting avoidance can only lead to one thing – an empty appointment book. You will never develop a successful career unless you overcome your fear of prospecting. Rather than fear it – see it as a number’s game that you will win at – but only so long as you keep on doing it.
Eliminate all activities that don’t contribute to your success and focus on calling people and setting appointments.
You will never have a full book without having talked to a lot of people no matter how good you are. And don’t make the mistake of ‘getting ready’ to prospect. If you find yourself doing this, formally block off structured time to prospect. If we don’t structure time to prospect, but instead say we’ll prospect when we get everything else done, we never get around to prospecting. Unstructured time for prospecting doesn’t work.
You will get appointments by being persistent
Follow up leads, phone calls, promises and opportunities until you actually get through. Leaving a voicemail is not following up. See everything through to completion. Appointments will only come your way if you follow up.
Have conviction and be enthusiastic. Be politely persistent which is not at all like harassment. If people don’t get back to you it may be because they were busy, not that they weren’t interested in talking to you so don’t give up on prospects too soon. Don’t just leave a message and expect a call back.
Keep at the back of your mind that you are prospecting in order to help someone secure their financial future. You have valuable professional advice to give – so get this across to prospects – that you can help them increase their income, reduce their taxes or get the kids through college.
Think long term
Just because your appointment book is full this week, that doesn’t mean it will be next week. Prospecting and setting appointments is your insurance going forward – so you must continually strive to keep interested prospects in the pipeline.
Fill your appointment book & keep it full!
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P.S. If you already bought this product and need further guidance, have a look at the prospecting category on Don Connelly 24/7.
