stand apart from the crowd Archives - Don Connelly & Associates

Why You Need to Differentiate Yourself

/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

It used to be, in the not so distant past, that using words like “client-focused”, “trusted”, “comprehensive”, and “knowledgeable” was enough for financial advisors to separate themselves from the pack. But today these are just the table stakes clients expect their advisors to bring to the table. After all, how many clients do you know who don’t expect their advisor to be knowledgeable, trusted, and client-focused?

In fact, in a highly muddled and fiercely competitive advisory landscape, there is very little to differentiate most advisors from each other, which causes them to disappear among the multitude of “average” advisors. Needless to say, clients today aren’t looking for average when it comes to financial advice.

A case in point is the massive amount of attention the eighty million baby boomers are receiving from the financial services industry – and rightly so because trillions of dollars of assets are at stake.

5 Reasons Why You Should Take The Time to Educate Your Clients

/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

Don’t shy away from being a coach and educator to your clients. Adding in this extra element can help set you apart from the competition and deepen your relationship with them.

If you aren’t already educating your clients, here are five reasons why you should start doing it right away.

Five Skills That Will Make You Stand Apart from The Crowd

/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

Hard skills can be learned from a book. They’re the skills most of us spent 16 years in school focusing on. In contrast, there’s no clear path to learning soft skills. Soft skills have to be learnt ‘on the job’ via experience and with trial and error.

Soft skills are at the very heart of what it is to be a great financial advisor. They are the skills that will mark you out from the crowd. So make sure you excel at soft skills by putting in a lot of practice. And persevere.

Personalizing Your Services Will Help You Succeed as a Financial Advisor

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

All financial advisors generate income in the same way, by offering similar platforms at essentially the same price. The job description: to help people simplify their finances and get peace of mind that they can reach their goals. Naturally achieving this task is of the utmost importance but if you want to stand apart from the crowd and win more businesses you need to do more; you need to personalize your services.

By treating each client personally and making them feel important you will not just meet their expectations but exceed them. If your clients feel they’re just a number to you they won’t rate your services and they will be unlikely to refer you to others.

How to Become a Successful Financial Advisor

/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 2 comments

There are lots of average financial advisors out there, but very few great ones. And it may surprise you to learn that those that do get to the top rarely get there on talent alone. Successful advisors do however share certain attributes and have a work ethic that marks them out. They have a clear vision, work hard and never stop developing their skills.

Here are five things you must do if you want to be a successful financial advisor.

How to Find What Makes You Different from Other Advisors

/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

The financial services marketplace is heavily commoditized. There are lots of firms offering basically the same products to the same people, so being the same as everyone else in this industry will not cut it. In order to succeed you need to quickly identify what makes you stand apart from the crowd. Ask yourself these questions in order to find out if you have the unique attributes you need to succeed.

Differentiate Yourself by Seeing Things from Your Clients’ Point of View

/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

Differentiation is one of the biggest challenges financial advisors face. Clients expect you to have solid products, fair prices and a certain measure of performance as standard. But simply having the right credentials won’t demonstrate to them why you are uniquely placed to help them achieve their dreams and goals. If you really want to stand out from the competition you need to fulfill their expectations on another level. Among other attributes, you need to have empathy; the ability to see things from your clients’ point of view.

Five Actionable Ways You Can Stand Apart from The Crowd

/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

If you want to succeed as a financial advisor, you need to achieve a competitive advantage. There needs to be something about you that highlights you not superior to other advisors but different. You need to possess a ‘certain something’ that makes people want to do business with you.

Dare to be different

Why Thoughtful Advisors Get Referrals

/ by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments

Referrals are the cornerstone of your business. In order to get them you need to cement the relationship with your clients by being passionate and committed. If you are creative and look for different ways to engage with your clients you will become more referable.

To get referrals you need the soft skills that illustrate you can get along with people as well as a self-awareness.

5 Marketing Ideas for Financial Advisors to Ignite Their Business

/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

There are hundreds of thousands of advisors out there but only a small percentage ever hit the $1 million turnover mark. So what gets these advisors into pole position? The answer is ‘marketing’. The amount of time you spend marketing yourself this year will dictate how much you grow next year. If you want your business to grow by 50% you need to spend half of every day marketing yourself, getting yourself in front of people, spreading the gospel. Read up on these five marketing ideas and ignite your business.

1 2