Henry James, a financial advisor in Ohio, has managed clients’ money for the last dozen years, after 15 years as an engineer in the private sector. A recent encounter with a classmate from his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, led to a seven-figure investment account and a great idea for growing his practice. Financial advisors are growing their business through social media and you can, too.

An old classmate recently sold a business and was looking to reinvest the cash proceeds. After investing his new client’s funds, it occurred to Henry that his friend couldn’t be the only success story. With that insight, Henry decided to reconnect with friends and acquaintances from his days in the city of Madison. But, he needed a plan.

1. Setting the Groundwork

While Henry had a good Web site, he didn’t feel that his LinkedIn profile was special.  Since prospects would view his LinkedIn profile, he decided to upgrade its content so that it would better represent him. Specifically, he wanted to accomplish two things with his LinkedIn presence:

• Create a clear, but simple message about the problems he solves for his clients, framing it in the language engineers would appreciate.

• Reflect a personality that spoke to his intended audience; not only did he want to post content that matched the education and process-orientation of engineers, but he wanted to publish engineering content that would engage his target audience.

2. Setting a Plan for Outreach

Once satisfied with his LinkedIn page, he decided on a multi-prong contact strategy that included:

• Joining the University of Wisconsin’s School of Engineering group on LinkedIn
• Searching and filtering for engineering graduates in a three-year range (plus or minus) of his graduation date
• Contacting his fraternity’s national headquarters to obtain a Theta Tau directory, focusing on past members that overlapped his membership period

3. Execution

Henry developed a disciplined, structured approach for making contact with his target audience, including:

• Three LinkedIn posts a week, with at least one involving recommended reading of an engineering-related topic

• Two hours per week participating in engineering groups on LinkedIn

• Sending out LinkedIn invitations to connect with fellow engineering graduates

4. Results

After seven months, Henry has seen very encouraging results.  He has opened four new accounts with aggregate assets of $3.6 million, has two outstanding proposals with potential assets in excess of $2.5 million and was recently referred on a 401(k) plan for a 47-person engineering firm.

Turns out that meeting up with an old college buddy was much more than a trip down memory lane.

See referenced disclosure (2) (6) at https://blog-dev.americanportfolios.com/disclosures/