With $ 40 million and counting in new business this year alone, Jason Wenk expects to double its AUM by the end of the year in part by mining client keyword gold
Brooke’s note: I really like this story and I find it. Once you’ve moved to California and you don’t want to go back to winter, your mind thinks in ways you never thought possible. It’s not just that you’re working for money. You are working into the steady stream of good weather you have become addicted to. This article is about smart use of web marketing. It’s also about hard work. Everyone likes to write stock commentary. Jason writes an annuity commentary and that’s where the demand is.
Brooke’s note: I really like this story and I find it. Once you’ve moved to California and you don’t want to go back to winter, your mind thinks in ways you never thought possible. It’s not just that you’re working for money. You are working into the steady stream of good weather you have become addicted to. This article is about smart use of web marketing. It’s also about hard work. Everyone likes to write stock commentary. Jason writes an annuity commentary and that’s where the demand is.
After four years of building its Grand Rapids, RIA of Mich. to $ 110 million, Jason Wenk, 33, hit a plateau in 2008. He was the head of a well-rounded retirement-focused business, Retirement Wealth Advisors Inc., and served a few dozen clients with retirement plans and asset management. But, there was one problem: He wanted to move out of Michigan – getting away from the cold winters to California’s beaches. Instead of trying to build an entirely new geographic business halfway across the country, Wenk decided to build a virtual practice to communicate back to clients in Michigan and to attract new clients who would then be more likely to be open to making everything virtual.
After four years of building its Grand Rapids, RIA of Mich. to $ 110 million, Jason Wenk, 33, hit a plateau in 2008. He was the head of a well-rounded retirement-focused business, Retirement Wealth Advisors Inc., and served a few dozen clients with retirement plans and asset management.
But, there was one problem: he wanted to move out of Michigan – escape the cold winters to California beaches.
Instead of trying to build an entirely new geographic business halfway around the country, Wenk decided to build a virtual practice to communicate with clients back in Michigan and to attract new clients who would then be more likely to be open to doing everything virtual.
Before opening his own practice in 2002, Wenk initially worked at Morgan Stanley and then did investment research for not-for-profit organizations, but left to create computer investment models and later started his own technology company, FormulaFolios, the he is still serving as the chief investment strategist. While his familiarity with technology made the idea of a virtual practice easier, the real temptation was the flexibility of being able to serve anyone anywhere. “The first part is how do I get clients without meeting them in person?” said Wenk. See: The advisor who sailed off the grid and found a new business model for his $ 550-million RIA on the road.Heading westSo nearly three years ago, with his wife and children in tow, he moved to Laguna Beach, Calif., and set up the Southern California Retirement Wealth Advisors office. He then started trying to find out how to connect with his old clients – and find new clients – online. It’s something that Loren Kayfetz did successfully when moving to Hawaii. Turns out, he was far more successful than he thought he would be. By using some simple principles to create a popular online presence and blog, Wenk says he has brought in $ 40 million in new business this year, with another $ 20 million in the pipeline. In less than two years, since the first blog post that attracted traffic in early 2012, he said, it has doubled its business and by the end of the year, Wenk expects to manage about $ 220 million of assets. See: What three highly-wired financial advisers have to teach us about social media. “The Internet is still the wild west,” said Tim Welsh, president and founder of Nexus Strategy LLC, which saw Wenk speak at a conference this spring. As the adviser explained his technique and returns, “every chin in the room hits the floor,” says Welsh. Going to the clientsSEO – machine optimization search s – is the Holy Grail for those who labor on the Internet. Plenty of SEO experts and Intern Consultants et al talk about how important it is to be high in search engines in case someone searches online for “Laguna Beach financial adviser,” for example, says Wenk.
Before opening his own practice in 2002, Wenk initially worked at Morgan Stanley and then did investment research for not-for-profit organizations, but left to create computer investment models and later started his own technology company, FormulaFolios, the he is still serving as the chief investment strategist. While his familiarity with technology made the idea of a virtual practice easier, the real temptation was the flexibility of being able to serve anyone anywhere.
“The first part is how do I get clients without meeting them in person?” said Wenk. See: The advisor who sailed off the grid and found a new business model for his $ 550-million RIA on the way.
Contents
Heading west
So nearly three years ago, with his wife and children in tow, he moved to Laguna Beach, California, and founded the office of Southern California Retirement Wealth Advisors. He then started trying to find out how to connect with his old clients – and find new clients – online. It’s something that made Loren Kayfetz successful when moving to Hawaii.
Turns out, he was far more successful than he thought he would be. By using some simple principles to create a popular online presence and blog, Wenk says he has brought in $ 40 million in new business this year, with another $ 20 million in the pipeline. In less than two years, since the first blog post that attracted traffic in early 2012, he said, it has doubled its business and by the end of the year, Wenk expects to manage about $ 220 million of assets. See: What three highly-wired financial advisers have to teach us about social media.
“The Internet is still the wild west,” said Tim Welsh, president and founder of Nexus Strategy LLC, which saw Wenk speak at a conference this spring. As the adviser explained his technique and his returns, “every jaw in the room hits the floor,” says Welsh.
Going to the clients
SEO – search engine optimization – is the Holy Grail for those working on the Internet. Many SEO experts and Internet consultants talk about how important it is to be high in search engines in case someone searches online for “Laguna Beach’s financial adviser,” for example, says Wenk.
Welsh Team: Every chin in the room hits the floor.
Welsh Team: Every chin in the room hits the floor.
But why? Wenk asks. First, very few people are looking for “Laguna Beach’s financial adviser.” But, more importantly, he said, those may not be serious potential clients. See: How Google Love Can Put RIA on a Marketing Basis Equal to BlackRock.Pam waiting for your target market to reach you, Wenk asked. Instead, “you meet them where they are.” In other words, state specifically what your ideal client is looking for. Retirement Wealth Advisors focuses on conservative retirement planning, so potential clients are older and, naturally, on the conservative side. But that is still pretty generic. To further narrow the field, the first thing Wenk did when he started his blog was to ask his current clients what specific questions they had on the assumption that potential clients would have some of the same concerns. In his case, clients were looking for information on retirement products, and citing queries such as: I’ve just sold my business, what do I do with the money? Many of his clients were worried about the US economy and how much debt was accruing, so he started a recession probability model on his monthly blog. One client asked him for a specific annuity that a seller had offered. ‘Sensational details’ Wenk answered those questions. He wrote a review of that particular annuity that his client requested, “in shocking detail,” he says, with an hour-long video and a coded model showing all the different possible outcomes and how it all worked. See: A $ 17-billion RIA double on a social media strategy that netted 50 Facebook employees. That post went up in January 2012 and was the first thing on his blog and a thumbs up. Suddenly, he said, he was getting 500 to 600 unique visitors a month for that review alone. “There was pope th makes sense after that post, ”he said.
But why? Wenk asks. First, very few people are looking for “Laguna Beach’s financial adviser.” But, more importantly, he said, those may not be serious potential clients. See: How Google Love Can Put RIA on a Marketing Basis Equal to BlackRock.
Why wait for your target market to come to you, Wenk asked. Instead, “you meet them where they are.” In other words, state specifically what your ideal client is looking for.
Retirement Wealth Advisors focuses on conservative retirement planning, so potential clients are older and, naturally, on the conservative side. But that is still pretty generic. To reduce the field even further, the first thing Wenk did when he started his blog was to ask his current clients what specific questions they had on the assumption that potential clients would have some of the same concerns.
In his case, clients were looking for information on retirement products, and ran into queries such as: I’ve just sold my business, what do I do with the money? Many of his clients were worried about the US economy and how much debt was accruing, so he started a recession probability model on his monthly blog. One client asked him for a specific annuity that a seller had offered.
‘Excruciating detail’
Wenk answered those questions. He wrote a review of that particular annuity that his client requested, “in shocking detail,” he says, with an hour-long video and a coded model showing all the different possible outcomes and how it all worked. See: $ 17-billion RIA doubles on a social media strategy that netted 50 Facebook employees.
That post went up in January of 2012 and was the first thing on his blog that blew up. Suddenly, he said, he was getting 500 to 600 unique visitors a month for that review alone.
“It all made sense after that post,” he said.
The strategy reminds someone of Amazon.com Inc.’s approach, Wenk said. If someone searches generically online for “flat screen TVs,” for example, then they are probably not a serious buyer. But, if they are looking for a specific brand or size of flat screen TV, then they are shopping to buy. Similarly, if someone is looking because they have questions about a particular annuity product, then they are not 100% sold, he says, but they are looking for answers and options – possibly working with a financial adviser or planner. That’s where it comes in. ” “You put your tent up next to the bigger tent,” says Welsh – in this case the larger tent is the big annuity companies. Now, Wenk is near the top in a Google search for those products. See: Asset tapping with long tails: Exactly how RIAs of any size can market with the big boys with ‘Google Love’.Wenk emphasizes that it’s not just rubbish of the products in its reviews; he writes fair and impartial reviews to show that he knows what he is talking about and to convince a potential client to trust him. it is running as part of its Internet expansion, they are directed to an option to learn more. Often, he says, people email him using the contact form with detailed information about their concerns, problems, finances and situation. Wenk, or one of his other advisers, then writes back to arrange a phone call. About 50% of the people follow through, he said. Even scheduling the call is automated, via a link to his online calendar that is included in his email. Everything is done virtual, making it easy to run a virtual practice from the start. See: Online brokers may be more of a threat to financial advisers than they realize, a study says. “All he has to do is put more people through the pie and bring in more advisers. ”
The strategy reminds someone of Amazon.com Inc.’s approach, Wenk said. If someone searches generically online for “flat screen TVs,” for example, then they are probably not a serious buyer. But, if they are looking for a specific brand or size of flat screen TV, then they are shopping to buy.
Similarly, if someone is looking because they have questions about a particular annuity product, then they are not 100% sold, he says, but they are looking for answers and options – possibly working with a financial adviser or planner. That’s where it comes in.
“You put your tent up next to the bigger tent,” says Welsh — in this case the larger tent is the big annuity companies. Now, Wenk is near the top in a Google search for those products. See: Asset Collection with Long Tails: Exactly how RIAs of any size can market with the big boys with ‘Google Love’.
Wenk stresses that he doesn’t just trash the products in his reviews; he writes fair and impartial reviews to show that he knows what he is talking about and to persuade a potential client to trust him.
Nothing but scale
Once potential clients find their personal blog, which links them to Retirement Wealth Advisors, or one of the many other blogs it runs as part of its Internet expansion, they will be directed to an option to learn more. Often, he says, people email him using the contact form with detailed information about their concerns, problems, finances and situation. Wenk, or one of his other advisers, then writes back to arrange a phone call. About 50% of the people follow through, he said.
Even scheduling the call is automated, via a link to his online calendar that is included in his email. Everything is done virtual, making it easy to run a virtual practice from the start. See: Online brokers may be more of a threat to financial advisers than they realize, a study says.
The ability to scale is impressive, says Welsh. “All he has to do is get more people through the pipeline and bring in more councilors.”
Too much to handle
At this point, however, Wenk is not sure how fast it can grow. Incoming assets are directly related to Internet traffic, which is why it is exploring different ways to reach its online marketplace. Currently, it gets about 10,000 unique visitors / month to the dozen different sites it operates. In August, Wenk says, it had 105 potential new clients. “Nobody could keep up with that,” said Wenk. Grand Rapids office, most of them hired since the company’s business expanded. They deal mainly with back office work, with the three advisers working with clients both virtual and in-person. About half of the company’s clients stayed in Michigan.Wenk also hired an advisor in Northern California, one in New Mexico and one in Louisiana, who all work with a variety of clients, mostly remotely. It plans to bring in 10 to 20 more people next year if the business continues to move in from the Internet. He wants to talk to JasonWenk saying he owns nearly 300 domains but only uses about a dozen of them. As he does all the blogging himself – which he stresses is less time consuming than cold calling or steak dinners – he can play around with different ideas on how to attract visitors. Ultimately, he hopes to get 25,000 to 30,000 unique visitors / month. Wenk recognizes that when potential clients come in through “JasonWenk.com” https: www.jasonwenk.com there are those people who like to talk to Jason Wenk. But on some of the sites, his name does not appear. If so, any of the advisers at the company will do so. “There is nothing great about me personally,” he said.
At this point, however, Wenk is not sure how fast it can grow. Incoming assets are directly related to Internet traffic, which is why it is exploring different ways to reach its online marketplace. Currently, it gets about 10,000 unique visitors a month to the dozen different sites it operates.
In August, Wenk says, it had 105 potential new clients. “Nobody could keep up with that,” said Wenk.
Instead, he is now directing some of those prospects to the other advisers he has on staff, who “never have to do any searching,” he said.
There are seven employees based out of the Grand Rapids office, most of whom have been employed since the company’s business expanded. They deal mainly with back office work, with the three advisers working with clients both virtual and in-person. About half of the company’s clients stayed based in Michigan.
Wenk has also hired an advisor in Northern California, one in New Mexico and one in Louisiana, who all work with a variety of clients, mostly remotely. It plans to bring in 10 to 20 more people next year if the business continues to move in from the Internet.
Wanting to talk to Jason
Wenk says he owns nearly 300 zones but only uses about a dozen of them. As he does all the blogging himself – which he stresses is less time consuming than cold calling or steak dinners – he can play around with different ideas on how to attract visitors. Ultimately, he hopes to get 25,000 to 30,000 unique visitors a month.
Wenk acknowledges that when potential clients come in through “JasonWenk.com” https: www.jasonwenk.com those people who kind of want to talk to Jason Wenk. But on some of the sites, his name does not appear. If so, any of the advisers at the company will do so. “There is nothing great about me personally,” he said.
One such site, annuitygator.com, features an alligator mascot called an “annuity researcher” that promises “in-depth annuity reviews that reveal the facts on what you can do” really expect from your annuity. ” The site offers instant access to a free annuity ebook. If a visitor has questions, he is instructed to contact an “annuity gator,” which leads them to Retirement Wealth Advisors.
One such site, annuitygator.com, features an alligator mascot called an “annuity researcher” that promises “in-depth annuity reviews that reveal the facts on what you can do” really expect from your annuity. ” The site offers instant access to a free annuity ebook. If a visitor has questions, he is instructed to contact an “annuity gator,” which leads them to Retirement Wealth Advisors.
Target moveFrank Troise: The hard reality is that most of what is available is already built. Blogging is a good first step, but it’s not going to attract thousands of people easily, says Frank Troise, founder of My New Financial Advisor Inc., which uses FreeRetirementReport.com to bring in prospects. “There is nothing wrong with what it does,” he said, the principles are sound, but there are many reputed internet experts who claim to have discovered the big secret to attracting business online. See: RIA online will generally fail – and here are 10 reasons why. If you’ve actually cracked the code, it says, “you’re not telling people” – especially in conference talks or to reporters. When you figure out the math, he says, you want to order the business as quickly and quietly as possible. Troise points out that a lot of annuity information already exists online. “The hard reality is that most of what is available is already built.” So to make mail stand out, or go viral, you would have to take a crazy or controversial stance to separate yourself from the herd. He said that might attract web visitors, but not business. “The secret is always changing,” said Troise. High-profile keywords may not be the next, and Google changes its SEO algorithm frequently. To stay on top of the constantly shifting target, Troise has about 22 people on staff who analyze the data and test different analytics. They test how big a button should be, what it should be in bold or what fonts should be used. That’s what it takes to be successful online in the long run. See: The 10 deepest fears — and the highest hopes — of RIA practitioners. No more secrets
Moving target
Frank Troise: The hard reality is that most of what is available is already built.
Blogging is a good first step, but it’s not going to attract thousands of people easily, says Frank Troise, founder of My New Financial Advisor Inc., which uses FreeRetirementReport.com to bring in prospects.
“There is nothing wrong with what it does,” he said, the principles are sound, but there are many reputed internet experts who claim to have discovered the big secret to attracting business online. See: RIA online will generally fail – and here are 10 reasons why.
If you’ve really cracked the code, it says, “you’re not telling people” – especially in conference talks or for reporters. When you figure out the math, he says, you want to order the business as quickly and quietly as possible.
Troise points out that a lot of annuity information already exists online. “The hard reality is that most of what is available is already built.” So to make mail stand out, or go viral, you would have to take a crazy or controversial stance to separate yourself from the herd. He said that might attract web visitors, but not business.
“The secret is always changing,” said Troise. High-profile keywords may not be the next, and Google changes its SEO algorithm frequently. To stay on top of the constantly shifting target, Troise has about 22 people on staff who analyze the data and test different analytics. They test how big a button should be, what it should be in bold or what fonts should be used. That’s what it takes to be successful online in the long run. See: The 10 deepest fears – and highest hopes – of RIA practitioners.
No more secrets
Wenk says he has no big secret, though. These are all things that anyone could do or learn with a little research. “It’s no secret,” he said – that’s the beauty of the Internet.
Wenk says he has no big secret, though. These are all things that anyone could do or learn with a little research. “It’s no secret,” he said – that’s the beauty of the Internet.
“The average councilor can do the same,” Wenk adds. It has all of its social media accounts published automatically from its blogs, and the blog archives instantly for compliance purposes. The blogs and social media also make it easier for existing clients to share or direct it to others. Instead of spending hours calling cold, Wenk focuses on blogging and online outreach. “If all I did was blog one hour a week, I would bring in $ 30 million in new business a year,” he said. See: How RIAs can maximize their web marketing with ‘friend-ing’ or tweeting nary.Your caveat: It’s only that easy if you know how to do it. Wenk recently wrote a blog entry that said it only took him 15 minutes – including an eight-minute video. The detailed annuity reviews take him longer (much longer), but he also has to code the automated calculations for that. What it doesn’t do is contract the blogging out. “Anyone who hires web-writing things makes a huge mistake,” said Wenk. It does 100% of the writing and videos. Equal great Councilors do this not because it’s difficult, but because they don’t understand, he says Welsh. “Most financial advisers are very conservative,” he says, so they are afraid to drive clients away or say something wrong – instead of understanding that this may be why clients want you. They’re going to have to come around, though. “This is the order of the new world,” says Welsh. “The Internet is the great equalizer,” said Wenk.
“The average councilor can do the same,” Wenk adds. It has all of its social media accounts published automatically from its blogs, and the blog archives instantly for compliance purposes. The blogs and social media also make it easier for existing clients to share or direct it to others. Instead of spending hours calling cold, Wenk focuses on blogging and online outreach. “If all I did was blog one hour a week, I would bring in $ 30 million in new business a year,” he said. See: How RIAs can maximize their internet marketing with a ‘friend’ or tweet.
His caveat: It’s just as easy if you know how to do it.
Wenk recently wrote a blog entry that said it only took him 15 minutes – including an eight-minute video. The detailed annuity reviews take him longer (much longer), but he also has to code the automated calculations for that.
What it doesn’t do is contract the blogging out. “Anyone who hires web-writing things makes a huge mistake,” said Wenk. It does 100% of the writing and videos.
Great equalizer
Councilors do this not because it’s difficult, but because they don’t understand, he says Welsh. “Most financial advisers are very conservative,” he says, so they are afraid to drive clients away or say something wrong – instead of understanding that this may be why clients want you.
However, they will have to come around. “This is the order of the new world,” says Welsh.
“The Internet is the great equalizer,” said Wenk.
