Why Podcasting Is the Best Prospecting Tool for Financial Advisors

Summary: Leverage the power of podcasts to build new relationships with business owners and entrepreneurs! All it takes is the right focus, a microphone, and good conversation.

As a financial advisor working with business owners and entrepreneurs, you probably spend some portion of your week pitching your services to prospects. 

Some advisors have a beautiful, well-practiced, and compelling elevator pitch. Others are still working on it. However, regardless of your skill and comfort, I would imagine that the outcome is fairly predictable. There is a small chance that the business owner might get curious about the financial planning, investments, or tax planning services you can provide for them… But more likely than not, they will shut you down or ignore you. After all, who likes getting hit up with a sales message coming from a stranger? 

Now, imagine that you are reaching out to the same business owner — except now you are inviting them to be a guest on your podcast. 

You explain that the purpose of your show is to interview successful business owners in order to explore their business journey. Each episode provides deep insight into specific industries and highlights personal highs and the lows on the path to success. When the episode is produced, each guest gets links to the episode, as well as personalized sharables (like quote cards and audiograms) that they can use however they like. Right now, you are booking business owners for episodes that will air in 2-3 months. There is no special equipment for the guest to buy — all they need is an Internet connection. The whole thing takes under an hour. 

Would they like to be a guest on your show?

It’s an easy ask

The truth is that most business owners and entrepreneurs wish that they could share their story with more people. No matter their level of personal and business ambitions, across all industries and specialities, business owners are a special breed. They are risk takers, independent thinkers, and brave humans who set out to build and grow something that did not exist before. They have precious, hard-earned lessons to share — and very few outlets that allow them to do that. 

All that makes it easy for them to say “yes” to appearing as a podcast guest on your show. 

A recorded conversation that highlights their values, personal choices, and their story as a business owner can be a fantastic follow-up piece that they could share with a vendor or a brand-new client. Visuals with quotes or short audio snippets are the perfect touchpoint for their social media audiences. So, chances are that your podcast invitation will get past gatekeepers much faster and smoother than a cold call or an email pitching your services as a financial advisor.

Show prep and prospecting get simple

Niche focus is a beautiful thing — and it will work in your favor as you get into the rhythm of recording podcasts episodes. Because you have already decided to focus your show on business owners and entrepreneurs, sourcing guests is simple. In addition to local business owners, virtually every niche has a large number of vendors, consultants, and influencers that supports it. That’s a deep pool of potential guests you could invite on your show.

It also streamlines show preparation. Ask the guest to send you a bio, headshot, and background information. You only need about 8-10 questions and good listening skills to keep the conversation interesting.

Many advisors are reluctant to start their own podcast because they worry it will take up too much of their time. So, let’s talk about the minimum necessary commitment. After you get clear on the main idea and message of your podcast, you should expect to spend 15-45 minutes per day to source guests, coordinate introductory calls, and manage the logistics. That level of effort should yield 4-7 business owner conversations per week. Recording podcast episodes only takes an hour or two a week. 

What about the payoff?

It depends. For example, I know one financial advisor who launched his podcast in the summer of 2020, right as the COVID-19 restrictions have locked us all at home. He has since generated about $95K, of which $65K was related to planning fees, and the rest is recurring annual revenue. He credits that directly to the podcast. Of course, your mileage may vary, so I will leave you with some averages. If you record about one episode per week for a year, you will have connected with about 50 business owners. If 1 in 5 becomes your client, that’s 10 new clients. At $8,000-10,000 per client, that’s $80,000+ in revenue.

Using the podcast to launch the conversation

The process of collaborating to record a podcast is a natural stage for you and the business owner to get to know each other. Whether you are spending 15 minutes with them to ensure a good fit, emailing to confirm the date and time for the podcast recording, or asking questions during the interview, use every touchpoint as a test-drive of what it’s like to work with you and your team.

After the podcast is recorded and produced, send each guest a media kit. You might include a few “quote cards”, clips from the podcast, visuals for social media, as well as a link to the full episode. The owner and his employees can pass those out to promote the show.

After the episode is also a good time to remind the business owner that you are a financial advisor with services that could be of value to them. You may consider a “give-to-get” offer, like a free report or an analysis on some aspect of their business. Or, offer to pick up the conversation on some aspect of life and money that they may have mentioned in the episode. Now that you have built the initial connection and rapport, following up will feel natural to both of you.

I will close with one side benefit to approaching prospecting from this angle: Introductions. If a business owner has a fantastic time being a guest on your podcast, they will happily connect you with other business owners in their network. For many advisors, this is an effective shortcut to growing their network organically and with minimal financial spend.

Have a question?

Are you thinking about launching your own podcast — but don’t know where to begin? Model FA offers podcast production services to several advisors in the Model FA community. If you are looking for help with podcast naming, brand vision, equipment, post-production, show notes or sharables, our team can help. Visit this link to get started: https://www.modelfa.com/accelerator-call-cf/

See you on the show!