Advisor Marketing: Top Financial Advisors shared their insight at the recent TD Ameritrade Conference.
The article was originally written, by Mike Byrnes and published in Financial-Planning.com.
My comments and insight regarding these top financial advisor’s marketing strategies are included in this blog.
These top marketing ideas shared by industry leaders, will help you create a financial advisor marketing plan and business that provides the results you desire.
These three top financial advisors, are ranked in Barron’s Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors 2010 list. They share financial advisor marketing strategies that helped them to become and remain top financial advisors.
The first top financial advisor:
David Kudla, CEO of Manistay Capital Mangement, LLC
He shares, my opinion, that an affluent target market is one of the most important keys to success. He added humor stating, “Even if it is a dying target market like mine.” His affluent client niche is comprised of automobile executives in Detroit. Targeting an affluent niche is crucial to becoming a top financial advisor. As Dave confirmed, “Do not get diluted with a lot of clients from a lot of different walks of life.”
Cultivating an affluent niche market has numerous benefits including increasing client retention, referrals as well as winning clients for life. He shares my philosophy that you should be selective in your affluent client acquisitions and not work with too many affluent clients. While it is hard to not work with anyone when you start out, as soon as possible, specialize in a niche market. When financial advisors who work with clients, outside their niche market are not as efficient.
He also added that “within a niche, you can become the “go-to” person for media.” When you “Become the expert – it will bring tremendous business building opportunities.”
Furthermore, he shared that “Institutionalizing processes is important to grow, so others can fill responsibilities where needed.” He added that is important to, “Know what you like, so you can delegate the things you do not like to those that are the best in that area. I wish that we had done a better job of building the infrastructure before each next step, so we would have had resources for growth.”
His final words of wisdom, “Know your unique value proposition.” If you are still using a USP, Unique Selling Position, it is time to replace it with a UVP, Unique Value Proposition.
By applying Mr. Kudla’s wisdom into your financial advisor marketing plan you too can improve your odds of becoming a top financial advisor.
The second top financial advisor:
Thomas Muldowney, Partner of Savant Capital Management
Muldowney stated, “The clients need to be in a position of trust. Treat your clients and staff well and make yourself trustworthy. That is the way you want to grow the business.”
He educates his affluent clients “to understand that they are not playing a market.” By educating your clients that they are purchasing a piece of a company whose responsibility is to provide a return on investment, helps to influence their expectations.
Muldowney shared advise on leveraging relationships with smaller accounts, as well, “For smaller asset accounts, we built a feeder program for our wealth management business.”
He shared advice many financial services companies would be well served to adopt, “We are moving away from the maverick entrepreneur model. As a mature organization, you need to leverage others expertise, including human resources, compliance and operations.”
He also reiterated the importance of specializing, “Avoid being a jack of all trades, master of nothing. Ask yourself, what can be done to institutionalize the business so it can live for 100 or 200 years.”
The next top financial advisor:
Randy Conner, President, Churchhill Management Group
Conner shared insight on challenges all advisory firms face when growing, “Any successful organization will constantly bump into limitations where expansion is needed to grow. When a firm is smaller, it usually is in need of 1¼ or 1½ of a person, so that needs to be figured out.” He shared insight all top advisors experience, “In the beginning you are used to doing everything. When it comes to delegating, you need to let go.”
Conner also shed light on the importance of our intentions, in making our financial advisor marketing plan a reality, “The big thing that triggered our growth was really a conscious effort to grow. We made a decision, within the practice, to be an organization with a marketing and sales arm.”
He challenged other financial advisors by asking, “Look at yourself… and ask, ‘Can I get good at competing for business? If you can’t get better at it, you need to partner with someone.” Randy continued, “Some advisors focus on referrals for growth because that is what is comfortable. Sometimes to grow, advisors need to do what is uncomfortable.”
By incorporating two ideas from this article into your financial advisor marketing plan and then measuring the results, in no time, you will see the impact on your bottom line!
