The Illusion Of Easy Prospecting

A “Numbers Game”?

LinkedIn is where most advisors attempt to “network” and lead generate, given the restricted options available to find new prospects.

Remember the “numbers game” sales approach from the 80’s and 90’s, it still alive and well inside of LinkedIn.

Many advisors are either hiring LinkedIn “experts” to set them up with a list of what appear to be ideal prospects, or they do it themselves, then off they go to ping as many people as they can (remember the cold calling days), hoping for a warm reception.

The difference between cold calling and LinkedIn, is that in LinkedIn, you don’t feel the emotional punch or sting of being personally rejected.

Why is that?

The Illusion Of Connecting

Because there is no actual real conversation to initiate the sales process, it feels painless when your invite is not accepted or when your message is not replied to.

It’s as if you’re playing a video game, you’re just playing in an artificial simulation, but never really interacting toe-to-toe with real human beings.

It’s a simulated illusion of hoping that playing the numbers game will create enough qualified human beings to agree to a one-on-one meeting with you.

Tons of activity, lot’s of invites/messages sent, with a very low rate of effectiveness.

Is that your experience as well?

Maybe you’re on the other side of the equation, seeing more and more people you don’t recognize trying to connect with you, along with an increasing number of unsolicited messages arriving in your LinkedIn inbox.

Most likely, you’re experiencing that more and more.

A Zero Sum Game?

Both sides of the equation create a zero sum game, where ultimately, there is no net gain for anyone.

That’s what happens when a platform reaches the commoditization stage.

By participating in it on the prospecting side, you only commoditize yourself and your own positioning.

FOMO?

Platforms like LinkedIn, have normalized agenda-driven behaviour to such an extent, that people now have no self-awareness and are totally out of touch with how they’re being perceived in their approach to selling.

It used to be relatively easy to generate a consistent flow of prospects very affordably with these types of online platforms.

But if you’re using them today hoping to land new clients consistently, then you haven’t come to terms with the reality of those days being long gone.

You see, all forms of marketing degrade in efficacy over time — and the more people that adopt a particular marketing format or channel, the faster its efficacy degrades.

It’s a bit like watching the herd amass in one area and assuming that’s where the green grass must be.

Actually, the green grass was mostly eaten by the time the herd got there.

The pioneers that discovered the grass are gone.

Stay Ahead Of The Herd

They stay ahead of the herd, never with it.

Because they know once the herd catches up to them, the grass they found won’t stay green for long.

LinkedIn is alluring in terms of the potential business opportunities that the thousands of people on it represent.

And it’s easy to be seduced by the idea that a quick friendly message is all it takes to capture one of those opportunities.

But don’t be fooled.

The size of a platform or marketing channel is not reliable evidence of a fertile prospecting environment.

It’s time to shift your thinking.

The first step to finding high quality prospects for your advisory practice, consistently and affordably, is not to go where everyone else is.

It’s to be strategically contrarian and go where everyone else isn’t.

To build trust with high-net worth prospects, you’ll need a sales approach that positions you as unique and totally different to other advisors.

To do that, you’ll need a marketing system that bypasses LinkedIn and other platforms like it, where trust has already been trampled into the ground.

To learn more about this strategically contrarian trust-based approach to selling, order your complimentary book and consultation below.