How a Financial Advisor Generated 15 Annuity Appointments Per Month with TikTok Ads

A financial advisor who sells annuities was paying another company for leads, but the system was expensive, time-consuming, and outside of his control. By replacing purchased leads with his own TikTok ad campaign, a video sales letter, an automated appointment funnel, and long-term email follow-up, the advisor began generating an average of 15 appointments per month from roughly the same monthly budget.

Important disclaimer: This case study shares what worked for one client. Results vary based on the offer, audience, budget, sales process, creative, follow-up, market conditions, and other factors.

Key Results

The Problem: Buying Leads Created Cost, Chasing, and Dependence

Before building his own campaign, the advisor was buying leads from a lead provider. He was spending about $3,500 per month and generating roughly three to five appointments from that spend. That put his appointment cost at approximately $700 to $1,100 per appointment.

The cost was not the only issue. The advisor also had to chase leads after buying them, which meant the system still required manual follow-up before a real sales conversation could happen. The leads often did not know who he was, what made his process different, or why they should trust him, so the sales process started from a weaker position.

The final problem was control. When another company owns the lead source, they can change pricing, change distribution, stop selling leads, or prioritize other partners. The advisor wanted a system he could own, adjust, and scale based on his calendar availability.

The Solution: Build an Owned Appointment System

The strategy was to replace purchased leads with a dedicated appointment-generation system. Instead of paying a lead provider a markup, the advisor would generate leads directly from paid ads, educate those leads with a video sales letter, and let qualified prospects schedule appointments through an automated funnel.

The campaign was built around a simple principle: a lead is not the goal. The goal is a qualified appointment with someone who understands the advisor’s message before getting on the phone.

Why the Campaign Used a Video Sales Letter

The video sales letter was the core trust-building asset in the campaign. For this advisor, the team created a presentation-style video that was about six minutes long. The advisor did not need to appear on camera throughout the video. Instead, he recorded himself talking through slides, and the campaign team handled the script, slides, editing, and polish.

The message focused on the problems retirement prospects often care about, including not wanting to run out of money, wanting to protect retirement income, and wanting to reduce exposure to market risk. It then explained alternative approaches and positioned annuities as the relevant solution for the right type of prospect.

The video also explained why a prospect should work with this advisor instead of simply speaking with another financial advisor or insurance agent. That distinction mattered because the campaign needed to sell both the solution and the advisor’s specific process.

The engagement data was strong. The transcript notes that the team typically wants to see about 80% of viewers still watching around the first minute and at least 25% watching near the call to action. In this campaign, roughly 40% to 50% of viewers were still watching toward the end of the video, which suggested the message was holding attention.

The TikTok Ad Strategy

Once the funnel was in place, the campaign launched on TikTok rather than Facebook. The reason was practical: the advisor had a monthly budget of about $3,000 to $3,500, which was not enough to meaningfully test both channels at the same time. TikTok was chosen because it had a strong chance of producing lower-cost leads and appointments for this audience.

The campaign targeted people over age 55 in the United States. Although many people still think of TikTok as a younger platform, the strategy focused only on the older audience the advisor wanted to reach.

The account used one lead generation campaign with a daily spend of about $100 to $120. The client sometimes paused ads when his calendar was full, when he was traveling, or when he had limited availability. That flexibility became one of the major advantages of owning the lead generation system.

The campaign primarily used two ad sets: one interest-based audience focused on finance and one broader algorithm-based audience. In this case, the finance-interest audience performed best, although the transcript notes that broader algorithm-based audiences often win for other clients. This is why the campaign tested both.

The team also ran multiple video ads with similar messaging but different backgrounds, including office and outdoor settings. Some prospects reportedly watched multiple ads before finally booking a call, which reinforced the value of giving the market several angles instead of relying on one ad to do all the work.

The Follow-Up Email Strategy

Not every lead booked an appointment right away, so the campaign also included email follow-up. The team created about three months of follow-up emails to start, then the advisor continued expanding the sequence over time.

The emails included client testimonials, case-study-style proof, and helpful educational content about annuities. Some emails were evergreen and could be sent automatically to every new lead. Others were time-sensitive and responded to market conditions, retirement concerns, or events that were relevant to the audience.

The email open rate was about 35% to 40%, which showed that prospects were still paying attention after entering the funnel. This mattered because long-term follow-up can turn leads into appointments weeks or months after the first opt-in.

The Results: From Purchased Leads to an Owned Appointment Flow

The clearest way to understand the result is to compare what was happening before the campaign with what happened after the advisor built his own appointment system.

The campaign also produced larger long-term volume. The transcript references more than 1,800 leads, over 1.8 million impressions, and more than $35,000 in total ad spend, with an average lead cost of about $18.62.

Most importantly, the advisor now had control. If he wanted more appointments, he could increase spend. If he wanted fewer appointments, he could lower spend or pause the campaign. That is a very different position than depending on a third-party lead provider.

The Main Takeaway

This case study shows why financial advisors should think beyond buying leads. Purchased leads can work, but they often create dependence, chasing, and lower trust. An owned appointment system can give the advisor more control over lead flow, messaging, follow-up, and sales quality.

The campaign worked because the pieces were connected. TikTok ads drove attention. The opt-in page captured leads. The video sales letter built trust. The calendar flow converted interested prospects into appointments. The email sequence continued nurturing leads who were not ready immediately.

For annuity advisors, the lesson is not simply to run TikTok ads. The bigger lesson is to build a full system that educates prospects before the call and gives the advisor control over appointment volume.