You Can Only Get so Many B2B Leads With Online Advice

The world of financial management and services has been with us since the medieval period and beyond. But like many age-old business industries, it’s hastening to adapt technological trends like online marketing and lead generation.

Getting B2B leads from online queries is now a norm among organizations both inside and outside the financial services industry. Thought leadership and customer service are considered the new forms of marketing.

But as many prospects are finding these trends convenient, it also leads some to overestimate the value of online conversation in solving a prospect’s and setting an appointment.

The video here is a hilarious take on the online help desk after giving it the medieval makeover. But jokes aside, it also demonstrates a lot of things online communication lacks. Notice how the guy actually helps the good brother ‘operate’ the book. He’s there. He’s present. The monk actually sees for himself how it’s supposed to be done.

Can you really say the same when you hand over financial advice over the internet?

Maybe giving a few helpful tips can already help plenty of those just starting to grasp the basics of financial management. But if you want real financial advisor leads, wouldn’t it better if you went beyond online and try to be a real part of your prospect’s buyer experience?

You might say that this is the very point of setting sales appointments and phone conferences. You’d be right. The question is, how much of blogging, chatting, and forum participation actually accomplishes the following?

• Participating in the situation – You see a call for help on your favorite niche forum and step in to comment. The prospect tries and tries to explain their situation but you just can’t understand why they’re refusing your advice. You sense a lot of emotion involved. What you’d do to actually drop by this person’s business right?

• Delivering a solution – Suppose they call you at the help desk. You give them advice and they say they’ll give it a shot. A few days they come back, saying things were better but they still had trouble. Imagine the medieval help desk only this time the inquirer is taking days of your time when you might as well head on over and fix things up in one fell swoop.

• Gets you paid – Finally, you have the age-old question of ROI. What’s the point of all this free advice? It’s already useless when you’re still detached from a prospect/customer’s experience. It takes weeks before you realize they might need more hands-on help. What have you gained? Where are the sales?

It’s pretty easy to see that the limits of online conversation can only do so much to provide value to your prospects compared to actually getting yourself involved with a prospect’s situation. That’s what you’re in the business of right? Leads for financial advisors are generated with the exception of getting an actual advisor at the door. You’ll need a heavier tech investment if you really want to go through that door online.]