It’s Open. Are You Closing?

by Kacy Seitz Senior Marketing Manager

Generating leads. Creating content. Advertising your business. Connecting with clients. Requesting referrals. Adding new appointments. Nurturing relationships. Maximizing growth. Whew. You’ve got a lot to do, and sometimes not enough hours in the day to get it all done. Running a successful financial services or insurance practice takes persistence, commitment, resilience … and sometimes, a little help. That’s why we created and launched the Dynamic Marketing Portal (DMP). This one-stop-shop for your marketing needs is available online anytime, making it easier than ever to grow your sales using specific, executable tools.

It’s been a little over a year since we unveiled this web-based marketing hub, and we continue to modify and expand the offerings to meet your needs based on evolving marketing challenges and the ever-changing financial landscape. We’ve concentrated our efforts thus far on three categories of marketing assistance: lead generation, relationship management and a resource center. Within these core areas are a number of services, tools and resources that can help you streamline your marketing plan, simplify your efforts and, ultimately, increase sales. Let’s take a more in-depth look at what’s inside.

LEAD GENERATION

There’s nothing you need more than qualified leads to consistently fill your sales pipeline. Yet, we constantly hear that most lead and referral programs don’t work, they’re expensive or are time-consuming to manage. Let’s face it, most lead programs are a dime a dozen, and many of them produce mediocre results at best. That’s why we’ve hand selected, evaluated and tested a powerful set of tools that deliver real results and stay within compliance guidelines.

According to Nielsen NetRatings, search engines have become the number one resource for people looking for a local product or service. That means the yellow pages, newspaper ads and other traditional forms of advertising aren’t enough to get you noticed. From young adults just starting their careers to individuals already in retirement, people in all stages of life are online – but are they finding you when they need you? Using the Online Advertising program, you can increase the visibility of your practice and get found more quickly and easily than your competition. This pay-per-click (PPC) service is simple and cost-effective, allowing you to provide a pre-determined monthly budget that you can turn on and off as needed, while your very own professional account representative handles everything else.

Many producers we work with talk with us about the challenges they face in obtaining good referrals. To help simplify the process, we developed a proprietary referral “catch up” tool called AutoReferral™. By tapping into your existing book of business, this patent-pending email system allows you to ask clients for referrals without fear. Our “set it and forget it,” web-based innovation lets you track response rates and reward existing clients for successful referrals if you choose.

If these options don’t fit, you might choose to utilize a program created by one of Creative’s advisors, those (like you) who are in the trenches growing their business every day. We partner with some of the nation’s most successful producers to help you systematize your practice, expand your reach and target niche prospects through proven systems. These programs will walk you step-by-step from implementation through execution as you leverage the benefits of the E-Myth process, a nationally syndicated radio show designed for registered reps, or a unique approach that provides access to hundreds of small businesses and their employees.

RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Once you’ve chosen the right lead generation process(es) for your practice, it’s imperative that you continue building relationships with your clients to keep them for life. You need to communicate on a regular basis to maintain top-of-mind awareness and maintain constant access to organized client details as you gain new opportunities to assist them. This is where the resources in our Relationship Management tab, the most popular section of the DMP, come in handy.

To enhance production, retention and client satisfaction, consider tapping into e-Relationship, the first client and prospect e-connection tool in the insurance and banking sector in the U.S. and Canada. This patented system helps you stay in touch with clients using an automated e-strategy that will create regular responses and increased sales opportunities throughout the year. In addition to celebrating your clients’ birthdays and anniversaries, and reaching out to them electronically, our unique Web to Print system provides you with immediate access to professionally designed, compliance-approved customizable sales materials. From drip mailers and stationery to brochures and booklets, simply customize your piece and place your order. The system will then send your selection to your client database, making it easy to deliver a serious impact. If you need marketing content for newsletters, blog updates, your website or otherwise, you can also visit the MarketingLibrary to access thousands of compliance-approved content pieces to boost credibility and augment client communications.

Meanwhile, you’ll want to keep client information organized and accessible anywhere, anytime. The Connect2 CRM (customer relationship management) tool is a highly secure, web-based program that can be especially handy for agents and advisors with multiple office locations, or those who travel to see clients. The integrated workstation walks you through every step of your client interactions, providing tabs for needs analysis, asset allocation, planning, plan monitoring and more. For only $30 a month*, there’s no reason why this system couldn’t make your life easier.

RESOURCE CENTER

As you continue to generate leads, turn them into clients, build those relationships and grow your practice, you may think you don’t have enough time to catch up on best practices or read relevant, industry-related news and information. Generating leads, gaining new clients and building relationships are all important. But because marketing best practices can change quickly with the tides of technology and culture, we’ve provided a section of the DMP to keep you up to date. Our comprehensive resource center offers access to articles, studies, statistics, podcasts, book recommendations and even our very own Marketing Corner Blog for educational updates from reputable sources.

The DMP’s complimentary, pay-per-use and subscription-based resources are accessible 24/7 to contracted, qualified agents through the Creative Marketing website (www.creativemarketing.net). All you need to do is log in and click on the blue box in the top right corner of the home page menu to start taking advantage of a marketing solution that’s second to none. To find out more about this exclusive Creative resource, including qualification requirements and specs on each of the tools available, contact your Sales Consultant.

The DMP is open, so make sure you’re taking advantage of this resource to continue closing more business than ever before.

FOR AGENT USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC. 12057 - 2011/11/17

*Pricing subject to change. Must be a Creative Marketing qualified producer to gain access to the DMP. Some of the programs available through the Dynamic Marketing Portal are offered by a third party vendor exclusively through Creative Marketing. Creative Marketing assumes no liability for the programs or their results.

“I signed up for e-Relationship because I was looking for a program that was easy to use, automated and something that was consistent with my clientele base to be able to reach out and make some touches to them on an on-going basis. I also wanted something unique, not something that everybody else was using in the industry. Would I recommend others to use this program? Absolutely!”

– Kevin A., Indiana “The Web-to-Print program is very easy to use. For a guy like me who’s not tech savvy, it didn’t take me long to get into the Creative website, and there are a lot of different choices in there. We particularly like the beneficiary guide [in the Web to Print system] and have already seen results in the first week!”

– Steve B., Kansas