If we are in the prospecting and promoting business, and you truly believe that the most successful financial advisers are the best prospects, then it is vitally important that you continue to improve your ability to consistently get high-quality, favorable presentations. Success depends on your ability to identify and execute proven techniques that increase the effectiveness and efficiency of your prospecting processes. One of the most powerful prospecting techniques is a concept known as nesting. This is our topic for this article.
What is nesting? Nesting is a prospecting technique that can be applied in a variety of situations. For example, a financial advisor may choose to nest within a certain organization, such as a law firm. The advisor can start by working with a couple of clients in a particular organization and then actively prospect and obtain multiple clients within that same company through prospecting for referred leads. Another example is when an advisor obtains clients within a particular industry and then continues to prospect and obtain clients within that same industry. Prospecting within an industry is obviously not limited to people with the same role or responsibilities. For example, an advisor may obtain favorable introductions to suppliers or strategic partners within a particular industry. So what are the benefits of nesting? What can you gain by taking advantage of the nesting technique? First, it is the most incredibly efficient prospecting technique. We’ve all heard time and again that the name of the game is a lot of activity. The more people you see, the more opportunities you have to make something happen. Trust me, this is not just managerial brainwashing. The leaders of your organization don’t just preach because they have nothing else to do. They do it because they have an obligation for you to be successful in business. Look, if you don’t see three people a day, you haven’t earned the right to complain about the business. When it comes to nesting, the statistics speak for themselves.
The difference between an advisor who sees an average of 2 people per day vs. 3 people a day constantly for a year. . . it is four times the level of production. (only 1 more person per day). The difference between an advisor who sees 2 people per day vs. 4 people a day constantly for a year. . . it is eight times the level of production. (only 2 more people on average per day)
How is this possible? Well think about it. The typical advisor works 18 to 20 days a month. If an advisor sees 1 additional person per day. . . That’s roughly 240 additional appointments per year, which adds an additional four months of production for that particular advisor. The consultant serving four people a day is adding an additional eight months of production! So here is the correlation between efficiency and nesting. If you schedule 2-3 meetings in the same organization or building, you can eliminate those appointments in half the time it would take if they were in different locations. There is no time to waste traveling from one place to another. Some of the consultants I train are in various law firms in downtown Chicago. They can see 6 to 7 people in a day and never leave the building.
You could argue that even having all your dates in the city throughout the day is a form of nesting. Here in Chicago, some of our consultants spend a lot of time driving from one appointment to another. One could be in the city, the next in the suburbs. One on the north side of the city, the next one on the south side of the city. If your goal is to see sixty people per month, which it should be, then it is very difficult to achieve this without taking advantage of nesting. We train our advisors to set aside certain days of the week to be in the city and certain days of the week to be in the suburbs. This creates maximum efficiency and minimizes stress.
Another benefit of Nesting is that you become an expert in that particular organization or industry. You are beginning to understand group benefits, such as the 401 (k), the Group Life and Disability Insurance Plan, and possibly the Stock Option Program. He also has a deep understanding of the personal and professional issues that often concern employees. Other employees in the organization see him in the office. Come meet your associates with you. He quickly begins to be perceived as an expert by the people in the organization.
When I entered the business as a young consultant, I quickly began nesting in a small tech company where some of my friends from college worked. At first I was a bit embarrassed because it seemed like I was always at the firm. People would make comments like, You should get an office around here. However, over time, I began to realize the power of nesting and that comments like that were actually a good thing. In fact, I remember sitting down with one of the employees for the first time and he jokingly said, I was wondering when you were going to call me. You are working with everyone else. . . Am I not good enough? Very powerful!
In conclusion, nesting is a very powerful prospecting strategy. It is incredibly efficient and very effective. It increases your credibility and positions you as an expert within a particular company or industry. Remember, mediocre growers are one mile wide and one foot deep, while the best growers are one foot wide and one mile deep.