Well, according to industry research… it’s about $395. If you want a more accurate picture of your situation… do your own math. Add up what you spend on marketing and divide it by the number of new clients you’ve brought on using that marketing.
If you did a seminar that cost $5,000 and you brought on 4 clients… then your cost is $5,000 ÷ 4 = $1250.
Once you know how much it costs to bring on a new client, then you need to figure out if there is a better or more cost-efficient way to bring on new clients.
On an extreme basis, if you were confident in your sales ability, if you paid someone $1,000 to come see your presentation (yes, I know it’s not allowed, but follow me here) it would be more cost-efficient than spending $1,250 per new client using seminars.
Seminars are neither good or bad… feeding at seminars is neither good or bad… direct mail or Facebook marketing is neither good or bad…
It’s what it costs you per new client, that is good or bad, and even that is relative.
So, once you know how much it costs per new client, think outside the box. Are there better or more effective ways to spend that money? For example:
- What if you put together a list of your best
client’s neighbors (that’s easy to do with technology)… and mailed them a (funny,
helpful, provocative) post card every week for a year? (I actually have a
system that does something like this AND IT WORKS!) What would that cost? Let’s say it’s 10 neighbors, at 50 cents a
card, multiplied by 52 weeks… that’s a total of $260.
- How many of them would know your name by the end of the year? All of them.
- How many of them would recognize you, if you gave them a call or dropped by their house? All of them.
- What if you reached out to them right after the market crashes… or some other event that would cause concern… would they talk to you… the advisor that has communicated with them 51 times more than their current advisor who only calls them once a year? I know they would.
- How likely is it that they might bring it up in a neighborhood get-together? If so, might your good client hear about it and let them know you are a good advisor. Odds are pretty good.
- How many might respond to other types of marketing you are doing once they know your name? Odds are really good.
- There are so many other ways you can leverage this marketing, if you get a little creative.
What are your chances of landing a client? At least as high as spending money marketing to a bunch of strangers who don’t know any of your clients.
This process does work. My advisors have done it. Should you? I don’t know, how much are you currently spending to bring on a new client. That number is your answer.
