Bangkok is still awash with financial advisors, or at least it still seems that way, because we as Bangkok expats are still plagued by out of the blue cold calls from financial companies, but how successful are these calls?

I have heard that the days of indemnified commissions, the outrageous  upfront percentage a financial advisor gets for selling you an off the shelf package, that has just one fund manager managing thousands of clients and chooses investments by throwing some darts at a dartboard and writes a lengthy dissertation each quarter, he knows you won’t read , will be coming to an end soon!

Will this change the whole landscape and make a better less intrusive way of life for Thailand expats? Probably!

So how will financial planners (which is a great name for ex washing machine sales people who have been trained for a week on the FTSE and NASDAQ, then wound up and sent off to Bangkok networking events) to find new clients?

When I was a salesman in the pre-internet 1980’s banging on doors was our mainstay, companies expected it, and were prepared to listen because that’s how they found out about a business opprtunity and new ideas and products on the market place.

Door knocking was successful back then, and earned us a good living. We trained for weeks on the door approach, we knew all the science and subtle techniques, now however we as a society are less trusting, and I blame the media for bringing every single crime into our homes through the TV heightening the ‘stranger danger’ element to the extreme where people think everyone is to be feared, I personally believe there was no less crime years ago as there is now, just we are acutely aware of it now.

Times change, cold calling and door knocking are just not the way business is done today. Baylor university has now proven that 89% of decision makers will just not buy anything off a cold call and research has proven it takes 5 hours of cold calling to make just one qualified appointment, times that by 10 for the little Philippina with her Yes Suur, No Suur, accent, working from a Bangkok office on $2 an hour.

So off the financial advisors went to networking, and soon even the most tenacious got tired of being avoided and dreaded, so how do they get business?

One way they are reluctantly being steered towards is the internet, in fact they are now one of the main types of industries I get on my Online Marketing workshops in Bangkok, they are now learning how to blog and provide education to be seen above their competitors, and they are learning search engine optimisation (SEO) to rank higher on keywords.

Just as a social media tip for this week; People are still forgetting about Google plus, and Google plus reviews, there are still fewer more powerful ways to get seen higher on a local search like ‘online marketing in Bangkok’ than with a few good reviews on your Google + business page, and if you have not done yours and need help, contact me.

One thing that comes from old school sales that has been somewhat forgotten by reps and is actually one massive element in success is referrals.

Latest research shows that around 80% of all your clients will be willing to give you a referral, as in a warm client who is expecting your call and is actually looking forward to a coffee and to see why their friend rates you so highly. Think back at how much business you have gotten from others who recommended you, and you will see it’s massive, but for some very strange reason we have forgotten how to ask, it appears now that:

Only 15% of business people who, after doing all the work through client acquisition, will actually ask their client for referrals. Can you imagine how much business is being missed out on here?

Just like Social Media marketing is as much about the science of ‘friends recommendations’ and how powerful that is, why do we miss out on this in real life?

One caveat though, back in the ‘80’s we were trained to actually get the client to ring 5 friends and introduce you there and then at the end of the meeting and close! When I think back to the balls we had then to do some of the things we did, which would probably result in arrest and harassment claims if attempted today, makes me think how easier it is to find new business now through the internet and blogging, social media and email marketing to book appointments and just asking for referrals today, nobody should be struggling for business!

If you really have no time to educate yourself in your business and how to find new clients for your  company and you just want to pay a few dollars and get given leads in Thailand from our people who are out there every day asking Thailand businesses want they are looking to buy, then you had better just click here and see what leads we have for you right now!