Who will be your best prospects in 2021?
Goodbye 2020. Most people are eager to see the end of 2020. You know the reasons. We want life to “go back to normal” which many feel will…
Goodbye 2020. Most people are eager to see the end of 2020. You know the reasons. We want life to “go back to normal” which many feel will magically happen in 2021. In sales, we need a pipeline of prospects. If you haven’t been filling it this year, it could be like trying to start an older car you haven’t driven for six months. Put another way, you aren’t going anywhere.
10 ideas for new prospects in 2021
Let’s assume your business includes business prospects and individual prospects.
1. Business: New business startups. Your local business journal lists them. New incorporations are filed with the state. Who around you is starting a new business from the ground up? They will need your kind of help.
2. Business: RFP’s you lost previously. You competed. You lost. How long does the winner retain the contract? You want to know when these plans are up for review. Get in there and compete again. You now know more than you did the first time around.
3. Business: Your specialty niche. You understand medical practices better than others. Why? Because you have many happy doctors as clients. They socialize on a personal and professional level. Put another way, they talk among themselves. If they are happy, can they refer some less happy colleagues?
4. Business: New management after business sales. There are several types of business sales. Big companies buy smaller ones to build a national brand. Other seek to expand their share of the local market. A restaurant owner might sell to someone who has cash to space and always wanted to be in the restaurant business. They are the new owner. They will need a benefits plan. What local businesses are in the process of changing hands?
5. Business: Your friend the accountant. Accountants can do a lot for a business. They file taxes. Keep them compliant. Advisory services help with business plans and how to grow the business. Those in a fiduciary capacity don’t sell product. They might have clients that need a company retirement plan. They supply 3+ business cards, suggesting they call and interview each provider. You want to be one of those cards.
6. Individual: People taking early retirement. The pandemic has got people thinking about quality of life. It has others facing downsizing. These people are mostly moving from the corporate to the individual plan space. Can they become your clients?
7. Individual: Friends of your retiring client. The idea has been around for years. You have a retiring client. Hopefully the post pandemic world will allow for in person lunches again. You invite your client out to lunch to celebrate their upcoming retirement. You ask them to invite a couple of other colleagues six months behind them on the retirement track.
Without prompting, your retiring client tells how you helped them get prepared. The other guests become prospects.
8. Individual: 2020’s undecideds. Some 2020 prospects didn’t become clients. Losing the business doesn’t always mean they went elsewhere. They might have decided to do nothing. Reconnect. Ask what action they ended up taking? If they tell you it’s on the back burner, then they might still be prospects.
9. Individual. Retirees from a company client. You provide benefits plans for various client companies. You give periodic talks. Each year, a few people transition from full time work into retirement. Are you sitting down with them, talking about next steps? They know they have options. Is working with you one of them?
10. Individual: Your friend the accountant. Accountants file personal tax returns. They are ideally positioned to provide financial planning as a service. They come across clients who are ill prepared for retirement. They likely suggest a few people who can help get them on track. You want to be one of those names they suggest.
Start filling the 2021 prospect pipeline now. Don’t wait until 2021. You will likely be asked to produce a business plan. You will need this input.
READ MORE: