Last year, I was fortunate enough to be hired at Scotia Mcleod as a Marketing Clerk, working for Justin Queree and Michael Fahy, Associate Portfolio Managers. Now I know what most of you are thinking, “what the heck is Scotia McLeod?” Well, you know Scotia Bank? It is the investment arm of it, so it provides financial advice and personalized wealth management.
The reason why I chose to look at Scotia McLeod this week is because many would overlook the simple fact that a FINANCE firm is inextricably linked to marketing -in fact, marketing is what provides the foundation for this firm to succeed. When I say succeed in this context, I do not mean that make profits on the spot.
Essentially, what I learned from the Portfolio Managers is that the very essence of this rigorous industry and being successful of what you do is getting new clients. Sure, you can be as smart as hell but if you can’t market yourself, you won’t go much far.
As a marketing clerk, I assumed the duties of cold-calling prospects, follow-upping on them, sending existing clients mail-outs and inputting data in databases. In doing this, I recognized what my portfolio managers do to acquire new clients.
- Purchase a Business Phone Directory
[The reason why they use a business one as opposed to home one is because during the majority of the day, people are at their jobs — not at home. ] - Hire a Marketing Clerk (me!)
- Get the clerk to work 2-4 hours shifts -calling 100 to 300 prospects
[The clerk follows a script offering the prospect the opportunity to receive a FREE weekly newsletter… the only catch is that they must provide their e-mail so we can send it to them] - Sift through the 200 calls and compile a list of prospects (ppl interested)
- Repeat process.
- After 1-2 months, follow-up on the prospects
[At this step, the clerk will encourage the prospect the opportunity to speak with the Portfolio Manager
From this, the Portfolio Manager uses the free newsletter to grant them a WARM call. In other words, when the clerk calls the prospect after 2 months, the clerk is warranted in doing so.
You may think this process is too simple to work. But from my experience, trust me it actually does. This is how an establish Portfolio Manager uses the forces of marketing to attain new clients, spur investments, and make money!