The purpose of lead generation has always centered around information. Information, in turn, is ideally based on fact, based on truth. Truth is your primary weapon when fighting against the dangers of mass hype and mass hysteria.
And when it comes financial management, there are plenty times when you get a huge serving of both:
Example of Mass Hype: Regardless of whether you agree or not, you'll find more than one naysayer who has criticized the Facebook IPO as one of the most over-hyped stock market events in history. It's also hard to deny the clear effect of hype on your financial planning leads. When many people are parroting about how this or that makes for a good investment, others are simply overwhelmed to even think of going against the tide.
- Example of Mass Hysteria: Ever read the news about how the economy is nose-diving, jobs are being lost, and the world is in one big crisis? Of course you have. In fact, if you're a veteran in the financial planning industry, such sentiments have been common across all points in history. But whether or not there's an actual decline, it will affect the buyer behavior of your prospects and the financial morale of your customers.
- News and Current Events – Even if you're just a casual net surfer, you'll find plenty of people who like to question one news network over the other. The abounding accusations of spinning are common knowledge despite their actual validity. That's why it's actually a good thing that there's more than one provider. If something is buzzing across the business section of your local paper or across the mainstream channels, use tools lead generation tools like telemarketing to run your own surveys and compare it to theirs. If not a survey, you can at least check if these recent events are coinciding with the responses being given by your prospects and customers.
- Social Media – One of the greatest capabilities of social media is that it's the next level of information sharing. That makes it an even faster tool than the news networks when it comes to spreading the things that draw mass reactions from the general population. But again, there is plenty room for clutter so your lead generation team should have some means to participate in social media and see through any possible lies or distortions.
- Competitor Reactions – The actions of your competitors are another major indication that something is stirring up the market in terms of financial planning and management. Make sure your marketers keep an eye on their marketing messages as well as your own. Are they banking it on what's been happening or are they also questioning the buzz they've been hearing? Are their actions, in turn already, changing the expectations and buying behavior of your prospects?
