A tweet from Michael Kitces earlier this week alerted me to an article in the Wall Street Journal called "Your Advisor Did What?! The story starts by asking a question all advisors should consider periodically: "what are you getting for that hefty annual fee you are paying your financial planner?" Continue reading
Getting Feedback Is Required In Discovering Your Brand
Your brand is what people (and Google) say it is. Your brand is critically important to attracting referrals and new clients. In some ways, it is the cumulative whole of your marketing efforts. It is the totality of the experience someone has with your firm. It includes your marketing, your office, the appearance and demeanor of your staff, what you do for clients and how you do it, and your customer service. And as much attention as you might paid to it, it is not under your complete control. Continue reading
When You Describe Your Differences, Say What Others Say About You
Your clients’ words are more credible than yours. To attract new clients, you have to establish why you are different. Beyond why you provide a solution the prospect needs, establish why it would be in their best interest to choose you over all the other advisors they could choose from. And when you talk about your differences, using the words your clients use will do a better job of communicating than your words. One of the biggest mistakes in advisor marketing is developing your messages yourself and not involving your clients. That's one of the main reasons a client advisory board such a good idea. Gathering clients together for a facilitated group conversation is a more effective way of understanding your value and your difference. When advisors describe their value and their difference without the clients input, they very often miss the mark. Continue reading
Study Shows Clients Get First Impression From Your Website – Make Sure Your Message Is Clear
Don't make the mistake of saying what other advisors put on their websites. Continue reading
New Schwab Study Shows Why Clients Have Been Moving
Clients weren't getting what they wanted, and they want to address more than the portfolio. Continue reading
Niche Marketing Will Become Mandatory For Clients To Find You
Back in March, Lisa Gray posted an article on Advisors4 Advisors entitled “The Big Referral Myth: How The Internet Has Changed The Way Advisors Get Business." In it, she suggests that referrals are no longer the most important way advisors get new clients, but that searching on the web has become the single most critical way to attract new clients. Continue reading
Lessons From the Dow Jones Man-on-the-Street Referral Survey
Veronica Dagher of Dow Jones recently posted a video in which she asks passersby on a Manhattan street what would cause them to make a referral to their financial advisor. Some sample questions and answers include "What do you like best about your advisor?" "He gives me thoughtful ideas." Continue reading
Technology Won’t Organize Us, it Creates a Greater Need to be Organized
Technology was supposed to make our lives simpler, and it has – provided you have discipline and realistic expectations. Continue reading
Curian Makes A Common Mistake In Explaining A Drop-Off In Referrals
A volatile or declining market is too easy and superficial an explanation why clients are not referring. Continue reading
Reason #27 To Get Client Feedback – Your Clients Don’t Like “Fee-Based”
Advisors who don't seek client feedback don't know what their clients want, they know what the advisor thinks they should want. Continue reading