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A Better Mouse Trap Mazzei uses seminars and systems to turn prospects into clients SEPTEMBER 19, 2007 - As anyone in sales will tell you, there is nothing worse than spending lots of time on a potential client, dispensing knowledge and advice, only to see that client take his business elsewhere. But Mike Mazzei, a branch manager in Tulsa, Okla., believes he has a system to attract prospects who are more likely to commit to your services, with greater efficiency and profitability. In Monday morning’s session, “Grow Your Recurring Revenue With Less Time and Effort,” Mazzei introduced the audience to two concepts: the Successful Marketing Solution and the Foundation Freedom Formula. The former helps advisors develop educational seminars that create a continuous pipeline of prospects, while the latter is a new process for life and financial planning that takes client relationships and productivity to the next level. Through use of the Successful Marketing Solution, Mazzei said he was able to switch the traditional sales dynamic and get potential clients to respond to him. The starting point was recognizing a need for 401(k) education among corporate employees. Those 401(k) seminars allowed Mazzei to build relationships several years before an employee’s retirement. That put him in position to become the advisor of choice for their rollover assets, which was his end goal. That system became the Successful Marketing Solution when Mazzei realized he could make it work for more companies with more advisors. He also realized he would need to change his operating system in order to continue his growth, and that meant less selling and more marketing. “Selling gives away time and knowledge,” Mazzei said, “because the client typically takes that information, sees it is similar to advice given by others, and makes a decision based on price.” That’s why Mazzei charges a fee or requires a transfer of assets before he delivers any knowledge to a potential client. During a brief complimentary session, he outlines what the client will get if she goes through the complete planning process, along with the costs associated with Mazzei’s services. He noted that this typically gets the prospect to commit quicker. Once the client is on board, Mazzei seeks to create a collaborative experience by providing a visual package of strategies and tools and working through the planning aspects together. Instead of giving out specific instructions, he lets the client make the final decisions, which tilts the process to the client (and reduces legal risk). The Foundation Freedom Formula also helps to jumpstart the advisor’s productivity, Mazzei said, noting it requires less preparation time for each potential client. The planning work is done with the client during sessions, and the process is scalable and repeatable. He suggested that advisors who are interested in using his system should roll it out to a small group of existing clients first before adding the Successful Marketing Solution component and targeting new clients. |
