Financial Advisor Marketing: The Million Dollar Financial Advisor Question
Our first Financial Advisor Marketing System course helps you create a solid foundation, in your life, and your financial services business. As we discussed, in a previous blog post, the first step to creating a solid foundation is to decide what you want. You may be saying, “If only it were that simple!” Because deciding what we want is a pre-requisite to getting what we want, both in our financial advisory practice and life, take time to determine exactly what it is that you desire in your advisory business and life.
Ask the Million Dollar Financial Advisor Question
Once you are clear on your desired financial advisor marketing goals (personally as well as in your financial services practice), the next step is to ask yourself, what I believe to be the most important question of your journey to becoming a top financial advisor.
“Am I getting my desired results?”
If you are getting your desired results, with your financial advisor marketing plan and business and life, then keep doing what you are doing. If you are not then either accept the results or determine what beliefs and behaviors you need to change to get your desired results.
Too often, financial advisors, financial advisory firms and independent professionals who want different results, continue to do what they have always done and then wonder why they continue to get the same results, in their financial advisory business.
Albert Einstein shared his insight. He said that wanting a different result but still doing the same thing is insanity. While the vast majority of financial service professionals can quote this saying, how many times do we forget it in the actions we take?
Interestingly, financial advisory firms who have retention rates as low as 2% (when the first affluent client spouse dies), which is typically the husband, are a perfect example. While these financial services firms want different results, they are continuing to do what they have always done.
Another financial services firm (who revised their financial advisor marketing plans and also created a department to better determine how they can capitalize on the affluent women niche) shared that they intentionally do not track their affluent client retention rates. When asked why, the response was that the top decision makers don’t want it to be known. While that is one strategy, it is probably not the best decision if the goal is to increase or maintain a piece of the pie in the financial services market.
One thing is clear, neither firm will likely increase their retention of affluent clients. The great news is that financial advisors who take the time to create relationships with both their affluent clients and spouses, will have those affluent spouses and families for life. They will also have the benefit of a consistent flow of qualified affluent client referrals.
Just yesterday, I was discussing these stats with another top female financial advisor, who is a seven figure producer. She casually said, “Increasing retention rates of affluent women is easy… financial advisors just need to change the way they approach their affluent clients.” She then laughed and said, “The reality is that most financial advisors won’t change and that is why it is so easy for us, the one’s who incorporate these strategy of relationship marketing into our financial advisory marketing plan and in turn continue to increase market share.”
The Power of Beliefs
Our beliefs also play an important role, in our achieving our financial advisor marketing goals. Henry Ford’s quote says it all, “Whether you think that you can or that you can’t, you are usually right.” While I may think you have the potential to become a top financial advisor or work with affluent clients, if you don’t share that belief then it doesn’t matter. You first have to believe that you can become the financial services professional you aspire to become and then be willing to take action to make it a reality. This applies equally, in all areas of our financial advisory business and life.
While I have yet to find a financial advisor (or other independent professional) who doesn’t want to become financially free, too few are willing do what they need to do to achieve financial freedom. To become financially free, we must change our behaviors including saving, not using credit cards and not over spending. The reality is that too many financial advisors and independent professionals want the result but also want to continue to do what they have always done. The great news is that by simply becoming aware of the behaviors and beliefs that are not supporting your goal and having the courage to make different choices, we can dramatically increase our odds of achieving our desired result!
Now, take a few minutes to determine what areas of your financial advisor marketing plan and business (as well as your life) you are not getting your desired results. Once you create a list, prioritize it. Then commit to replace the behaviors that are not supporting you in achieving your desired goal and begin working on the most important issues.
In our next financial advisor marketing webinar, we will discuss a simple method to help you dramatically increase your odds of achieving your desired financial advisor marketing goals: HVFDAs (high value fixed daily activities).
Join our next marketing webinar at Advisor Marketing System!