Branding the Financial Advisor – For Independents Only

Boring, boring, boring. That's the brand most financial advisors have created for themselves. It's the same old pitch I've heard a million times. Many times I've been at a business event as an advisor has stepped up to give his 30 second commercial. In most cases, the audience has tuned out because it's boring or they don't understand complicated financial terms.

My goal for this article is to give you new ideas for how to brand your practice.  We'll look at what's considered boring, how to figure out what's different about you, and then how to apply it to your brand.

WARNING: If you are not willing to invest in your brand, please do not read any further. I have met far too many financial advisors who are not willing to make the investment in creating a financial advisory practice of value. Creating a brand is not inexpensive BECAUSE it is professional.  Sure, the amateurs are cheap, but you get what you pay for!!!  

If you expect your clients to give you hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest, then YOU MUST INVEST IN YOUR BRAND!

Let's look at an example of a boring brand: "My name is Ken and I'm a financial advisor with XYZ Company.  I help everyone with anything to do with investing. If you've got money to invest, give me a call."

Are you suppressing a yawn? I know I am. And I certainly would not give that guy any money. The goal for your personal brand is to be memorable. You've got to stand out from the crowd. You can't be memorable if you sound like everyone else.

So, what's different about you?

Are you:

• Well credentialed?
• Expert at something specific?
• Well educated?
• Have you lived abroad? 
• Do you have your own unique investment strategy that you can brand?
• Do you specialize in a specific marketing niche?
• What charities have you worked with?
• Any family history that is of note?

Once you decide how you're different, what do you do? 

Business Identity:  Hire an experienced professional to design your brand.  This is an investment in your financial wealth and your future. You can't attract quality clients if you're using a crappy stock design.  Take your new identity and carry it through your entire business from your biography, brochure, web site, and business cards, all the way throughout your business office using similar colors and styles in your office furniture and decorations.

Tagline: Come up with a tagline that adequately explains the benefits you provide your clients.  Make it short and zippy and tie it into how you're different.

Bio: Create a bio using no more than 250 words targeted to your ideal clients. The writing style should address your ideal clients, and how you help them.

Brochure: Create a custom brochure that tells your personal story.  The main benefits of working with you should be highlighted in simple one word blips in large-type spaced randomly on each page. People are busy and they don't want to read a whole lot of garbage about your college career or your work history. Keep it short and targeted at what the reader gets out of working with you. List your products and services on the last page, almost like an afterthought.

Website: There are two types of sites: templates and custom-designed sites. It's perfectly fine to start out with a template site developer who specializes in financial advisors, but after a year or two I strongly recommend using a custom designer who knows how to use search engine optimization.

Business cards: Make sure your business card resembles all your marketing materials. The key is to tie everything together so that it's memorable and creates a nice "package." Make sure you use your tagline on the front of the business card.

If you follow this strategy you will attract quality clients who seek you out to do business with you. You will create an image and identity of trust and competence. Practice the Gold Marketing Rule: Don't be boring with your brand!

If you're looking for an experienced brand designer, I highly recommend Art Guy Creative - an expert in Web site design and branding. He can not only design professional marketing materials, he can create a Web site that will get you to the top of the search engines.

 

Next Steps

1. Purchase my Financial Advisor Marketing Course and create a new Marketing Plan that will bring you new clients and new assets. At the end of the course you'll receive 4 sample financial advisor business/marketing plans to help you create your own custom plan.

There's no risk at all as I offer a money back guarantee. If you're not satisfied for any reason, just ask for a refund within three months of purchase.

Click here to review everything you get.

Start on the road to a more ideal life today!

2. Join my complimentary Newsletter The Prosperous Entrepreneur™ and run your practice more like a business with tips and strategies each month. Sign up here and receive Taglines That Sizzle – Six Steps to a Wow Tagline to help you stand out from the crowd and attract ideal clients.

3. Hiring me as your Business Coach can help you achieve goals you've only dreamed of – if you're considering hiring a coach, complete the Complimentary Coaching Session Form. You'll grow personally and professionally and you'll take full responsibility for your success.

 

About the Author:

Take Suzanne's Financial Advisor Marketing E-Course for advisors and RIA's who want to create a brand and grow their assets under management. The course includes four sample Financial Advisor Marketing Plans with various business models plus tools to boost your marketing results. Suzanne Muusers is an ICF-Credentialed Marketing Coach who has been coaching financial advisors on their marketing plans since 2004. If you need help building a brand and a marketing plan, visit Suzanne at http://www.prosperitycoaching.biz.   

 

Suzanne Muusers ICF-Credentialed Business Coach Prosperity Coaching LLC

 

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