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Help with Prepping For Offline Client...

by Edward Aw
9 replies
Hello Warriors,

Next week I have a conference call with two people in the life insurance business and securities business.

They want to increase the marketing from their websites.

Currently, they have sites that are heavily regulated by their respective companies (big national companies). The sites are company "owned". Any changes that are made, are immediately put into a que that is reviewed by the headquarters compliance department. If the changes are declined, then they must be fixed and reviewed again before they become live.

So, in an industry like this, how can you help them in their internet marketing strategy?

Any suggestions would be of great help.

Thanks,

Ed
#client #offline #prepping
  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Ed, one question you'll want to ask is "What have tried or proposed in the past, that compliance has already shot down?"

    You want to get a feel for the parameters you'd be working within. You also don't want to pitch things they already know they can't do.

    Ask for copies of the kinds of disclaimers they have to use. Or check it out on the company site before you speak with them.
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  • Profile picture of the author tremayne
    Ed:

    I guess the first question is will their firms allow them to have their own websites? Even if they do, will they not still need to have content approved by Compliance? I used to be a stockbroker and everything reaching the public (even current clients) has to be approved by the compliance department. This is demanded by regulators such as the SEC regardless of the size of the firm.

    Other than face-to-face meetings there is virtually nothing that does not need prior approval.

    I had fair success holding public meetings, especially after my first book came out. Books give credibility IF THEY ARE QUALITY and address audience needs. Another option is to invite qualified authors to speak for a fee. Cost, including advertising and all expenses: about $8,000 to $10,000and up.

    This can be shared among others in the office and most costs can be recovered by changing admission. Leads are then shared among the broker partners. Self-servings comment: Let me know if they need a speaker.

    The advertising will need to be approved but nothing else has to be.

    Sydney
    Signature

    CEO
    Wealthy Investor Limited
    http://wealthyinvestorweekly.com

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  • Profile picture of the author IMChick
    Three ways to work with Compliance, provided they approve the website concept itself:

    1. opt-in box, this generates a "click here" in their specific area of interest. You are now sending requested info. No Compliance issue here. Lead Generation, no problem.

    2. autoresponder newsletters, pre-written generic industry stuff that has already been approved by Compliance. Be smart and submit 1 or 2 months at a time, in advance. Have a look at industry leaders in newsletter delivery for an idea.

    3. Get a contact in Compliance with decision making authority, and ask them to outline the setps or procedures for 1. content, 2. approval 3. the secret key that they're actually looking for/looking to avoid. Compliance can be your worst nightmare or your best friend. Learn how to work with them, not around them.

    These three things can get you immediate momentum while you're waiting around trying to figure out what Compliance wants to do.
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  • Profile picture of the author tonyscott
    Run away, you'll go grey or lose your hair if you don't. The primary job of compliance departments is to stop anybody doing anything (unless they own a bank). This justifies their existence, but will make a misery of yours.

    cheers

    Tony
    Signature
    Free Listbuilding Course
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  • Profile picture of the author GoGetta
    I would probably agree with tony here.

    Dealing with companies that have to go through many people to get a decision are a waste of time. You could find business owners that can make there own decisions right now without having to go through the review steps!

    I do believe they are more hassle than they are worth! You will never get a decision from them and when they do it could take months. Too much time wasted in my honest opinion.

    GoGetta
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  • Profile picture of the author Edward Aw
    Wow!

    Thanks everyone for your responses!

    It does seem like it will be quite an issue in dealing with these problems! I guess I need to talk through with them carefully. Also, one of them is my sister! SO I at least have to listen.

    May be a couple of ways that are easier to do....

    1. Rewrite articles that have already been approved for by compliance. Then send the original and the rewritten to compliance for approval. Use these to populate a blog, submit to search engines, use in a specific autoresponder.

    2. Work on a PPC campaign. This "should" have easier approval since they are short!

    3. Purchase text backlinks. Again should be easy approval since short.

    Any other simple things like this?

    Thanks everyone.

    In the movie Nemo... The krill said when the whale was coming "run away run away!"

    Ed
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    • Profile picture of the author MarkKennedy
      I think you will have an easier time with the insurance guy vs the securities guy just due to the regulators. Insurance is not that regulated.

      I would look into the possibility of doing personal blogs for them, with optins, autoresponders, etc.. and of course, links to their corporate pages where the regulated info is. This will require some on-going effort on their part, but may be a way around some of the regulators.

      If not, look for other offline businesses - there are too many out there that need your help to lose sleep over one or two clients.
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      • Profile picture of the author Sheila
        Hi,
        I worked in the insurance and sequirities markets for years, so here's my two cents worth in reference to your ideas:
        "May be a couple of ways that are easier to do....

        1. Rewrite articles that have already been approved for by compliance. Then send the original and the rewritten to compliance for approval. Use these to populate a blog, submit to search engines, use in a specific autoresponder.

        2. Work on a PPC campaign. This "should" have easier approval since they are short!

        3. Purchase text backlinks. Again should be easy approval since short."

        I'm not trying to rain on your parade but, unless you're working with a company that is market-savvy (and most of them aren't) then compliance will not approve anything with a sales message. They use image-based marketing, and will probably not approve any re-writes. It's just the way it is. Long or short, it doesn't matter.

        If the people you're meeting with are not captive agents, you'll have a better chance of being able to help them. In that case, I'd suggest using a landing page and autoresponder as has already been suggested. You just have to be careful not to mention any products or make any outrageous claims - stuff I'm sure you already know.

        If I were you, I'd find out first just how much they're tied into the compliance department. That is KEY. Jeff Paul wrote a direct marketing course for Financial Planners years ago, before he got into IM. There's a guy by the name of Dean Cipriano that's picked up the baton for insurance agents. If you google him, you'll probably find some examples of what you can do in this industry IF your offline clients are working for a non-captive agency. If they're not, I'd walk away. Just my opinion.
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  • Profile picture of the author joel623
    I have also spoke to an auto/home/life who works with a large national company. He is not allowed to use that companies logo or reference the company on anything other than the company provided website, which is is really bad and they have to pay a lot for. These insurance guys also have large companies like dataquick selling them leads and creating direct mailers for them. These seem to work pretty good. Dataquick gets the home sales info from the all counties and then sell these leads to the insurance guys monthly. This is done around 11th month after the person is moved into the home, just when it's time to renew their home owners insurance. They send a direct mailer with all the home owners info (beds/baths,sqft, area, etc) and projected new quote for insurance. It's a pretty slick process and does not cost much.
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