While I am not an expert on it, here is what I know as the son on a father/son team.  My father used the Bill Good system extensively...10 years ago...way before I came into the biz.  The continuous dripping on prospects led to many accounts over the years.  You have to be very disciplined and make the system habitual.  Here's the problem now:  Postage is .41 cents as we all know.  So if you're on your own for postage it will add up very quickly.  Many of the prospecting letters are timeless and we still bring a few out every now and then.  I would say don't half-ass it if you buy it and be very dedicated to it.   

10 yrs ago is very different than current day, too. 10 yrs ago people weren’t getting 18 pieces of mail a day & tossing half of it. There’s nothing better than being proactive with people. Mailing 40 - 50 & following up with a phone call. There are a lot of letters through fund companies & your back office(I hope), to get you through.



My mailing programs recently have been only white paper stuff. After the first or second mailing/calling I know whether prospects are interested in reading/receiving it and will take my call. If they won’t take my call, they won’t continue to get mail.

The basic problem I see is a decision to conduct marketing in an impersonal manner.

What do you really think of mail solicitations?

Now you have these Ed Jones reps walking around door to door, and one guy says, " this is unprofessional".

This same guy sees himself as some kind of horse jockey, cold calling in the bullpen of a wirehouse, and to maintain his own ego, he looks down upon the Jones rep.

But which method is more personal, and which would you really respond to - maybe the testosterone call from downtown, great, this your niche, maybe type A.

Mailing is really lame because the good clients, not the ones that get all excited about Allreit's little analytical (but hypocritical) shell game - rather the procratinators and the ones that would rather work outside in the yard than geek on the computer or respond to your mail - some of these will be met by the Jones rep. All things being equal, I am looking for an advisor with integrity - someone I could trust would take care of my spouses finances should I perish. Okay, Jones does not say UBS, but some people here think UBS is just a bunch of suits with French dressed up as Germans or whatever.

Look, if you want to learn the business, start to go with your instincts, the only ones that make it are the ones that get out of the little box - everything else is just asset accretion for some other planner who makes it.

I used BG in late 90’s early and part of this decade - it did bring me in on a regular monthly basis 6 figure accts. It uses a lot of postage - at one point I was using 3,000 letters a month. To understand this, you must have used the whole system (sales asst, computer operator, etc). Someone who has never used the system will make an outside judgement like letters don’t work and a waste of time, etc. But letters are just part of it, not all of it. I had pretty good success be it years ago. Now I work in a compliance first firm, they will not let me use the Gorilla or let me have the assts to go with it. I do wish I cld use it again.
Reseach it, ask BG for names of reps at your firm who use it.
good luck

I've been using it for four years and love it.  I can't imagine running my business without it.  I'll note that the system can also send out via e-mail and fax automatically.  I don't mail much except to clients and a few select prospects I haven't closed yet. 

I second the advice to ask BG for names of users in your firm.

[quote=rollinrock]

The basic problem I see is a decision to conduct marketing in an impersonal manner.

What do you really think of mail solicitations?

Now you have these Ed Jones reps walking around door to door, and one guy says, " this is unprofessional".

This same guy sees himself as some kind of horse jockey, cold calling in the bullpen of a wirehouse, and to maintain his own ego, he looks down upon the Jones rep.

But which method is more personal, and which would you really respond to - maybe the testosterone call from downtown, great, this your niche, maybe type A.

Mailing is really lame because the good clients, not the ones that get all excited about Allreit’s little analytical (but hypocritical) shell game - rather the procratinators and the ones that would rather work outside in the yard than geek on the computer or respond to your mail - some of these will be met by the Jones rep. All things being equal, I am looking for an advisor with integrity - someone I could trust would take care of my spouses finances should I perish. Okay, Jones does not say UBS, but some people here think UBS is just a bunch of suits with French dressed up as Germans or whatever.

Look, if you want to learn the business, start to go with your instincts, the only ones that make it are the ones that get out of the little box - everything else is just asset accretion for some other planner who makes it.

Yes, postage is not cheap anymore. And that’s why so few advisors mail out quality pieces anymore. And that’s exactly why you should be doing it!!! To stand out from the crowd. (But don’t waste your money on bulk mail, it will go straight into the garbage).

I used BG’s program in the 90’s. Worked so good that I stopped using it (have you heard that one before).

Twelve months ago I started using an auto-pilot relationship building system. Today, I get all the referrals I can handle without asking for them.

Worth taking a look … www.Word-of-Mouth-Referrals.com

[quote=Stephen]
Twelve months ago I started using an auto-pilot relationship building system. Today, I get all the referrals I can handle without asking for them.
Worth taking a look ... www.Word-of-Mouth-Referrals.com

[/quote]

I have a hard time believing that someone who would design a website like that one (see link above) could do anything competently. I think that is one of the worst websites I have ever seen.  It just goes on and on and on and on - scrolling and scrolling and scrolling...

It made me think I was caught in an infommercial.  You know the one that keeps telling you they have the secret to success in the stock market, real estate, vacuum cleaners, etc.  But never really tell you anything.  You get through the whole 1/2 hour only to realize it’s a 1/2 hour you’ll never get back.  I then wonder if those brain cells can be reprogrammed to store something useful.

I purchased the Bill Good System in 2000 after researching it for almost two years.  I think I spent something around $10,000, plus I flew out to Utah with my assistant for training.  I want to start by saying it is a very robust Client Relationship Practice Management software system.  If you are looking for a database that will store almost anything you can think of, and a calendar management program that will keep you and your marketing endeavors on track, it is definitely something you should consider.

The draw-backs ... Well, to be honest, the system is very difficult to manage on your own.  It's almost like they built the original version back in the 80's and decided to piecemeal it together adding good ideas over time.  It just makes the system very bulky and difficult to navigate.  You really need a team/staff that can manage all the daily tasks for you.  That was something I learned a little too late.  After using it for two years, I finally broke down and purchased Act! from Symantec (the product is now owned by Sage, www.act.com).  I am really good at computers and technology in general and decided to rebuild a lot of the functionality that Bill Good's Gorilla has into the very user friendly Act! chassy.  Now I am able to accomplish almost everything that Gorilla was doing for me and more without monopolizing my staff's time throughout each work day.

It is important to note though, that Gorilla is more than just a CRM Program.  When you purchase it, you get access to a document library that is second to none.  That is really the only thing I miss not having access too, since I no longer subscribe to their ongoing service.

I hope this helps.  Good luck with your research.