As a financial advisor, what's your “perfect wave?” The plan sponsor who will understand the value you provide, the individual who desperately needs your advice or the business owner trying to create a succession plan? And just as important, how do you catch your perfect wave?

Your pipeline is most likely built through referrals, networking, internal business partners and possibly some good, old-fashioned cold calling. But once you've created your pipeline, how do you turn those prospects into clients?

Here are two easy steps you can take today.

Step 1: Create a simple marketing calendar. I know this sounds obvious, but do you have one? Most advisors I meet admit they don't but realize they desperately need it.

A marketing calendar allows all the players on your team to understand what should happen and when. Here are a few tips to get started:

Don't get hung up on the details. Just get your feet wet by starting a simple calendar. Brainstorm some marketing touches you can make weekly, monthly, annually, etc., to stay in front of prospects.
Assign someone on your team to oversee the execution of your marketing plan. This accountability will ensure communication is done accurately and on time.

Step 2: Determine content. Fill in your marketing calendar with specifics. Here are two ideas for reaching existing and prospective clients:

Quarterly webcast. This may sound scary at first because you might not have subject matter experts on staff to create content. Tip: leverage your service providers and investment options providers. There's an abundance of content out there. Just ask for pieces you can brand as your own!
Drip email campaign. This is great way to stay in front of clients, but again, it's time consuming to create and share relevant, timely and quality content. Tip: take a look at this prospecting microsite for topical content you can start using immediately.

Follow these two easy steps, and you'll be surfing your pipeline like a pro in no time–hopefully catching some new prospects to feed into your pipeline while turning others into loyal, long-term clients.

You can read more from Julie on blog.principal.com.

The subject matter in this communication is provided with the understanding that The Principal® is not rendering legal, accounting, or tax advice. You should consult with appropriate counsel or other advisors on all matters pertaining to legal, tax, or accounting obligations and requirements.

Insurance products and plan administrative services are provided by Principal Life Insurance Company. Securities are offered through Princor Financial Services Corporation, 1-800-547-7754, member SIPC and/or independent broker dealers. Securities sold by a Princor® Registered Representative are offered through Princor. Princor and Principal Life are members of the Principal Financial Group® (The Principal®), Des Moines, IA 50392.

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2 easy steps to surf your pipeline like a pro

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