Advisors, without an engaging email process you are letting a lot of business slip through your fingers. While a phone call, face-to-face opportunity, seminar, and even conference call help you initiate a new relationship, an effective email process helps to maintain and elevate that relationship with just the click of your keyboard.
The challenge is with so many emails filling an inbox, you must make your emails something people want to open, and I will tell you right now, a standard market update doesn’t cut it.
I wanted to give you a taste of 5 different ways to use engaging emails to get more attention and generate more interest.
1. Make it personal – Always share a little something about you or an experience you encountered to make the attached article more relevant.
Dear client,
You know I’ve been hearing and reading about this recession, but when I went to the mall with my family this past weekend, we couldn’t even find a parking spot! If everyone is struggling, why is the mall full of shoppers?
This article helped explain this new phenomenon, and I thought it would clarify things for you too….
2. Add Value – Providing a quick and easy checklist that can help your clients, prospects, friends, and family identify whether they have taken the necessary steps to address a financial issue not only engages them in the email but also inspires potential opportunities.
Dear (name)
I’m often asked, “What are the five most important steps to achieving financial security?” So I decided to share it with all of you. While these aren’t the only things you can and should do, they are certainly the first steps and should become the foundation of a successful financial plan.
Make sure you can check off everything on this list:
List 5 essential items, for example:
- Reduce your debt to __% of your total net worth
- Increase your 401 K contributions to …
- Have a 3, 5, and 10-year plan…
3. Provide a quiz – Provide a short quiz that allows the recipient to evaluate their understanding or determine their level of progress in a certain aspect of wealth management. This quiz approach can often encourage the recipient to recognize their gaps or deficiencies within that particular area. This new awareness can motivate them to call your office and schedule an appointment.
For example:
Quiz: How investment savvy are you?
Rate your answers on a scale of 1 – 5 and total your scores at the end.
- I know exactly how much money I need when I retire to maintain my current lifestyle ____
- I have a plan for retirement and am completely on track to achieve my goals ____
- If I should pass away, I am confident my spouse will be ready to manage the finances ____
I think you get the point. You can also make it fun by adding humor to the answer key or incorporating a bit of your personality into both the questions and the answer key.
4. Make it a real story – Use situations that you have experienced working with clients (changing the names and some details, of course); these real-life stories not only clarify the kinds of clients referred to you, but they identify what you are actually able to do for these clients:
I wanted to share a true story that reinforces why I love what I do. I was recently referred a new client, she was a woman in her 60s who recently lost her husband. She came to me emotionally distraught and fearful about her financial affairs. She didn’t know who to turn to nor who she could trust. After many hours of meeting with her, guiding her, and helping her understand her financial picture today she is busy rebuilding her life, with less worry and concern over her daily financial issues. In fact, just yesterday, she came into the office to share her pictures from her recent vacation, a cruise to Alaska that she has always wanted to experience.
It’s moments like these that remind me why I do what I do.
5. Ask for feedback: When providing an interesting article in your email, highlight a paragraph or section of the article that really resonated with you. Direct the recipient to this portion of the article and ask for their thoughts and feedback.
Dear _______
I found the attached article very informative especially considering what is happening overseas in Greece. The author was able to make a complicated issue more understandable. I particularly liked the section on page 3, paragraph 4; it was quite thought-provoking. I would love to hear your thoughts on this issue as well…