SMART ADVISOR MARKETING

“Financial advisers with little training give counsel they are unqualified to offer, advocates for the elderly say.”

The Sunday New York Times on July 8th, had a front page article that will definitely be stirring up the competition. Basically it reported how unscrupulous annuity agents were using questionable designations to take advantage of seniors.

Read the whole article

There’s no doubt that few, if any, of the advisors we work with have succumbed to these questionable tactics. In fact, most advisors have committed to a path of professionalism and integrity. But, I think we will all agree that it’s a competitive marketplace for financial advisors. News like this adds to the ‘noise’ clients hear and influences many relationships. Here are what I see as takeaways:

1. This is an opportunity. Now is a great time to reach out to your top clients. Whether they have seen the article, heard about these issues or not there’s no downside to being proactive. No need to really go into a lot of details but it is an opportunity for you to reinforce your role as a ‘trusted advisor’. Many financial advisors learned after 9/11 that some personal contact with the clients yielded referrals and new accounts. I’m not saying this is a 9/11 kind of event but I think we would be naive to assume our clients aren’t hearing this from news sources and the competition.

2. Strengthen your positioning. We all strive for the ‘trusted advisor’ role in our clients’ lives. One practical strategy is to position yourself as a ‘problem solver’ in your target market. Successful seniors and baby boomers are searching for professionals who can help them address their financial challenges. Use all your marketing material to strengthen their perception of you as a problem solver. You do this by being consistent in communicating your value proposition. You do this with high quality, relevant content. You need to be educating. This will differentiate you from your competition.

Where can you find proven marketing tools to help build stronger client relationships? Visit www.buildyourmarket.com today! It is the undisputed industry leader in web-based marketing for financial advisors. You will be able to achieve total brand management, stronger client communication and more consistent lead nurturing by using their tools.

That’s the way it looks from here, what do you think?