It’s January. Marketing plans are being implemented. Seminars are being scheduled. Social media posts are being designed.
As we start the new year, lead generation is top of mind for financial advisors.
So, what topics will convert high-quality prospects into appointments (and clients!) in the year ahead?
2024’s Top-Converting Lead Gen Topic
Content is the foundation of a strong lead gen plan. After all, content is the message you use to get the attention of your prospects and motivate them to take action (like booking an appointment with you).
So, I’m going to be bold and share my prediction for 2024’s best content topic.
Not only is this lead gen topic timely, it’s important. Not only is it top-converting, but it differentiates you as an advisor and gets prospects to respond to your offers.
And it’s already on everyone’s mind.
All Eyes on Washington: The 2024 Election
Whether your prospects are Democrats, Republicans, or something in between, I’m confident they are not happy with the state of affairs in Washington these days. We’re living in politically volatile times, and Americans are more attuned to the debates in Washington than at any time in recent memory.
Oh, and did I mention there’s a Presidential election coming up in November?
So what does it all have to do with your clients? And why do I think the election will be one of 2024’s top messages in lead generation for financial advisors?
Most savers - particularly savers in their 50s and 60s - are worried about what’s happening in the halls of Congress. Yet they may not realize that all that legislative debate can have a big impact on the success - or failure - of their retirement approach.
Legislative changes can impact a saver’s retirement income just like market performance. But while American savers are usually hedged against market volatility, most are wholly unprepared to address legislative volatility in their retirement approach.
And that’s your opportunity to uncover a risk - and address it.
Leveraging the Election for Lead Generation
One of my favorite email marketing subject lines for 2024 is: Will the election impact your retirement?
It has all the hallmarks of a great attention grabber:
- It’s timely
- It’s connected to something already on their mind
- It asks a question they don’t know how to answer
- It shows why they need your guidance
Of course, content isn’t just about grabbing a prospect’s attention. It also has to educate the prospect and lead them to take action.
So, where does the story go from here?
Uncovering the Risk of Rising Taxes
Leveraging the election in lead generation for financial advisors is all about uncovering and addressing the risk of rising taxes.
As we look at the news coming out of Washington, it’s clear our government will need to increase revenue in the years ahead.
Last month, I crunched some Congressional Budget Office numbers that show why taxes must go up by necessity, so if you missed that post read it here.
This means savers who have all or the majority of their retirement funds in tax-deferred vehicles - like 401(k)s and IRAs - are at risk. After all, by deferring their taxes to the future in one of these accounts, they’ve made a bet their retirement taxes will be lower than their taxes today.
But for many Americans - especially higher-net worth Americans - that just may not be true. And if a saver’s taxes are the same or higher in retirement, they could end up sending more money to the IRS, and having less to spend as income.
Are the prospects you’re targeting prepared?
Do they have retirement income plans that have evaluated the risk of rising taxes?
Will they still be able to meet their retirement goals if Washington changes the rules on their tax rate, or implements new taxes that impact IRAs and 401(k)s?
I’m betting the answer is “no.”
Most savers are woefully underprepared to address tax risk in retirement. And therein lies the opportunity.
You can be the advisor who educates prospects on the risk of rising taxes - and helps them craft a more complete retirement approach to address it.
Not a legislative expert? Not a problem.
The election will be one of the best-converting, best-differentiating marketing topics of 2024.
And the good news is: You don’t have to be a legislative expert to leverage this content.
Before leading Stonewood, I spent more than a decade in our nation’s capital, working in the White House and on Capitol Hill. In fact, my time in Washington is what led me to define Legislative Risk as one of the key risks facing our generation of savers.
My time in Washington also made me realize it isn’t difficult to help your clients protect themselves from legislative risks… IF you understand them (and leverage some fundamentals of financial planning you’re probably already using in your practice).
If you want to leverage the election in your 2024 lead generation efforts, here are two Stonewood resources I’ve created to help.
(These are freebies for you to enjoy. If you’d like to see how Stonewood’s marketing tools and client reports can help you close business with the tax story, let’s connect here.)
A few months ago, I hosted a webinar on the current debate in Washington and how it could impact your clients. Check out the recording here. In a focused 20 minutes, I cover everything from the debt and federal spending to tax policy and pending legislation.
In this white paper, I cover five ways your client’s taxes could be higher in retirement based on what’s happening in Washington today - and, of course, how to help them reallocate assets to protect against the risk of rising taxes.
The 2024 election gives us an opportunity to help educate American savers on the real risks they face in the years and decades ahead. It’s sure to be 2024’s top-converting topic for higher-net worth savers.
