/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments
Becoming a thought leader enhances your personal and professional stature within your industry and community, making you much more appealing as an authority and person of influence. When an advisor is viewed as a true thought leader, they attract the attention of influential clients who use their influence to refer other influential people.
As previously discussed on the blog, content is the key to building influence. Producing compelling, thought-provoking content delivered through your website, a blog, and emails, is how you establish your authority in the field. The more it is viewed, the more influence you can build, which is where social media comes in. Posting your content on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites expands your potential audience and builds your online influence.
But that’s just the beginning. While influence is critical, without credibility, it can be fleeting. Blogging and social media engagement are essential for building thought leadership, but when you can share your thoughts in high-profile settings you gain invaluable credibility.
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Ten Strategies for Encouraging Your Clients to Spread the Word About Your Business
/ by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments
We’ve often posted about the importance of creating an extraordinary client experience to make yourself more “buzzworthy” as an advisor your clients will want to discuss. You can’t even think about creating a compelling word-of-mouth buzz until you create the kind of service that feels personal, unique, and genuinely caring to your clients. That should be your primary focus.
However, beyond creating an extraordinary client experience, it’s essential to turn your clients into vocal advocates, like human billboards spreading the word about your business. While it does happen—having a delighted client go on and on about your service to a friend or colleague—most people are not naturally inclined to initiate a conversation like that without some help and encouragement.
Here are ten effective ideas to inspire your clients to spread the word and advocate for your business proactively.
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Financial Planning Challenges for Financial Advisors
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
In today’s saturated market, financial advisors must offer holistic financial planning for several reasons: It’s a sure way to differentiate themselves from those who only offer investment management. It can build deeper, more trusting relationships with clients, and it leads to better financial outcomes for clients. It can also attract a broader client base and retain those who might otherwise seek these services elsewhere.
Financial planning should unquestionably be a cornerstone service offered by financial advisors. However, performing the service is not without its challenges, particularly as it relates to communication and relationship skills. Awareness of and overcoming these challenges through focus, practice, and sound execution is critical to providing effective guidance and building enduring relationships with your clients.
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Niche Marketing: Narrowing Your Focus to Attract More Quality Prospects
/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments
In recent years, the commoditization of investment advice has forced an increasing number of financial advisors into offering more comprehensive financial planning as a way to add more value to the client relationship. As a result, the financial planning space is becoming much more crowded, making it difficult for financial advisors to stand out.
That is why many practice management consultants recommend that financial advisors establish a niche to more quickly build their businesses, focusing on a more targeted market they can dominate rather than a broader market they can vanish in. The key to differentiation in a crowded field is to become more focused and specialized to become recognized as the best-of-breed for a specific type of clientele that can be served profitably and effectively.
Successfully crafting a niche is not without its challenges, and most advisors avoid attempting it for fear of narrowing their field of prospects. However, any advisor who has found success in a niche will tell you that, while you may narrow your field of prospects, you increase the likelihood that a higher percentage of prospects in the niche will choose to do business with you.
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For Highly Ambitious Advisors, Influence + Credibility = Thought Leadership
/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments
Becoming a thought leader enhances your personal and professional stature within your industry and community, making you much more appealing as an authority and person of influence. When an advisor is viewed as a true thought leader, they attract the attention of influential clients who use their influence to refer other influential people.
As previously discussed on the blog, content is the key to building influence. Producing compelling, thought-provoking content delivered through your website, a blog, and emails, is how you establish your authority in the field. The more it is viewed, the more influence you can build, which is where social media comes in. Posting your content on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites expands your potential audience and builds your online influence.
But that’s just the beginning. While influence is critical, without credibility, it can be fleeting. Blogging and social media engagement are essential for building thought leadership, but when you can share your thoughts in high-profile settings you gain invaluable credibility.
Read more
Bear Market: What You Do Will Make or Break Your Financial Advisor Career
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
Every advisor gets just a few great career-building opportunities: Times when they can really establish themselves as experts, build long-term credibility, and differentiate themselves from the competition – most of whom are hiding from their clients because they don’t know how to guide them through the bear market.
What do the real pros do when things are scariest? When your clients are calling you scared witless, and they want to go to cash?
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Why Is Online Reputation Important for Your Success as a Financial Advisor
/ by Diana Marinova / Connelly Corner, Marketing Yourself / 0 comments
As Don Connelly always says, only three things must take place for you to get a new client: that person must like you, trust you and think you are smart. But how could prospects like you, trust you and think you are smart if they never met you? How do you come across as likeable, trustworthy and smart if you have no prior relationship with them?
The answer lies in your online reputation.
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How to Win Over Clients by Becoming More Likeable
/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 3 comments
People will only do business with you if they like you and trust you. Human decisions are generally subjective. Even if you are the most professional financial advisor out there, if people don’t warm to you they won’t commit to you. Prospects will not choose you simply because you are competent; they will choose to do business with you because you are competent and likeable.
By becoming likeable you will stand head and shoulders above other advisors. And you don’t need innate talent to become more likeable. You can learn how to radiate confidence and charisma.
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