Financial planners and advisers often wonder about the best way to generate pension leads.
It can be a particularly difficult nut to crack. First of all, many people who are looking for help with their pension may not be suitable enquiries. Perhaps they have little/no pension savings, meaning you cannot realistically profit from the enquiry.
Also, pension leads often represent people who are in their 50s or above. This demographic can bring its own set of challenges, such as a more pervasive suspicion of technology – or a reluctance to use it (e.g. contact forms on websites).
Setting these aside for a moment, financial planners also need to wrestle with how to generate pension leads.
In particular, should you use a 3rd-party provider to send enquiries your way, for example, or should you try and build your own lead generation infrastructure?
Also, the behaviour of pension leads – as well as the environment in which they operate – is also subject to change and new trends. COVID-19 is a dramatic case in point. With strict UK lockdown orders, it was impossible for many traditional lead generation tactics to take place, such as financial advisers holding local pension seminars.
Given this complexity, it is little wonder that many financial firms struggle to generate pension leads. At MarketingAdviser, we will be honest and tell you that there are no shortcuts, here. Rather, you need a firm marketing strategy which can be adapted, if necessary, as you gain more insight into what is working for your pension lead generation.
Below, we share some thoughts on how financial planners can improve their pension lead acquisition efforts in 2022. We hope this is useful and invite you to get in touch to find out more about how we help financial firms gain more pension leads.
Put 3rd-party vendors in perspective
There is no shortage of financial planner/adviser “directories” today. Here, websites such as VouchedFor and Unbiased can be useful tools for businesses looking to connect with potential clients seeking advice. However, they come with their limits.
In particular, these platforms are becoming increasingly used by financial firms across the UK. This is making the space more competitive, often leading to a rise in pricing for businesses relying on them.
Also, as recently as a few years ago prospects in a given area may have only had the choice of a handful of financial firms in their local listings, today they might have dozens to choose from (as more local businesses have signed up).
This, naturally, often leads to a reduction in pension lead volumes for each financial firm, since they same number of “fish” are now being distributed amongst more “fishermen” who have come to sit by the pond.
Whilst the UK population is growing older – which may lead to a rise in pension leads in certain areas over time – the trend towards more financial firms listing in directories also does not seem to be slowing down.
As such, whilst you may wish to sign your business up to services like these (you never know what might come through), we suggest not expecting this to open the floodgates for your pension lead generation. You are going to need more, to gain greater volumes.
Make a SMART plan
How many pension leads do you want to generate, within a specific period of time?
What kind of characteristics would you, ideally, like these to have (e.g. investable assets value), and what kind of conversion rate (CR) is realistic? Many financial planners, frankly, expect too much from their own – and partners – lead generation efforts.
Try and make your expectations realistic. For instance, as a relatively new, small financial planning firm, can you reasonably expect to process 100s of pension lead each month (if this was even possible)?
Instead, could you aim to generate 6-12 pension leads each month, on average, over the next 6-12 months as you get your campaign(s) up and running?
Once you have some clear numbers in your head for your pension leads, it becomes easier to make a marketing plan which can move you towards them. It will also help clarify the budget you can assign, say, to a monthly marketing retainer with an agency – if you wanted to go down this route.
Invest in yourself
At the beginning, we referenced the question about whether to use 3rd-party pension lead providers. By now, you might see that, in general, we favour developing your own lead generation infrastructure – perhaps with some support from other vendors.
For many financial firms, this means investing in a great brand and website. These will be the first contact with your business, for many prospects, and it is vital that you make a great impression.
To stand head-and-shoulders above competitors, it might mean developing a range of other brand/marketing assets, too. For instance, you could gather 4/5-star client Google Reviews, testimonials and even client videos – for social proof.
You could also add thought leadership to your website and other digital channels to show your authority and competence in the space, such as downloadable PDF guides, in-depth articles and animated “explainer” videos.
With these kinds of assets in place, you are well-positioned to set up your own lead generation infrastructure. Depending on your strategy, this could involve building your website’s SEO, crafting a Google Ads campaign, developing a client newsletter or doing “influencer marketing” – e.g. via social media and/or industry publications.
The great benefits of having your own digital marketing infrastructure is that you have more ownership and control. You are less reliant on the systems and other users of 3rd-party platforms, and are not forced to share pension leads with someone else!
