Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
What your clients know is often profoundly disconnected from what your prospects think.
Your clients love you because they know how great you are at your job and how well you treat them. They truly appreciate all the work you have done for them. And, in many cases, you have changed their lives. You’ve helped make those big milestones – weddings, buying a second home, retiring early – happen.
Due to perceptions of the brokerage industry, prospects, on the other hand, are weary of you. Even if they were referred to you, you’re just another person vying for their “business.” They believe you may try to sell them something. They don’t quite “get it” or “get you” yet.
Plus, people are often looking for reasons not to see a financial advisor. They may be embarrassed that they don’t understand how investing works, or they know they are spending above their means. Most importantly, no matter how wealthy a person may be, they likely have not been perfect in their handling of money.
It is also tough to make a move to a new financial advisor. And it is time consuming to share everything in your financial life with someone else – and can cause great anxiety – especially for those who have great wealth. What if the instinct was to put it off?
Yes, the instinct is to put it off until they can’t. This often reaches a tipping point when a planned or unplanned transition happens in their lives and the urgency is high.
But to serve more people who need your services and insights, often before the urgency is critical, you must close this profound gulf between what your clients know and your prospects think.
The smart way is to let prospects in on the little secret that your clients already know but don’t always share: You are a different kind of financial advisor and do not fit any negative stereotype.
This is your hook. You are not what people inherently assume that all financial advisors are. You are not here to sell them something like insurance. You are here to help them live their best life, stop worrying about money, and have peace of mind.
Share more about who you are and what makes you different. The one thing that people will read before scheduling an appointment or coming in to see you is your bio. They want to know who this person is that they may meet. Will they judge me? Will they be friendly? Will I be taken advantage of?
Writing your own bio can be intimidating. Consider changing yours up. Here are five tips for building a bio that will inspire people to want to come in and see you:
-
Be your authentic self: A lot of bios follow the same boring formula. Yours should follow who you are. If you are more buttoned-down in personality, stick to more formal language. But if you are more creative or laidback in personality, be more casual in tone as long as you make sure to communicate that you also take your job seriously.
-
Be open and detailed: Share as much about yourself as a person as you can. Do you love dogs? Talk about your pooch using their name (“my three-legged rescue dog, Norman”). Spend your weekends camping with the family? Throw in something about your favorite getaways. Have a crazy collection of handbags that would make for a great conversation starter? Toss that in! Your education and work experience is great, but people want to connect with you as a person first.
-
Be friendly: Your bio is a marketing piece. You aren’t trying to one-up your classmates from college in how impressive you sound. Even if you use more formal language, your bio should still read like an invitation to learn more. And it should include a call-to-action, such as a link to your LinkedIn profile where people can see what posts you are creating and engaging with or to your firm’s blog where you have articles that you have written. All of this will aid in their researching you as a person.
-
Use pictures: They say pictures say a thousand words. Include a family picture in your bio or one of you participating in an event or activity that you love.
-
Create a video bio: You can use a short, one- to two-minute video to complement your written bio. A video bio can share why you are in financial services and go into more depth about who you are. This makes a remarkable difference when you typically are focused on sharing the side of you that your clients already know.
Undo the disconnection and let your prospects in on the secret that your clients already know.
Dr. Maribeth Kuzmeski is the president of Red Zone Marketing, a consulting firm specializing in business growth for financial services firms. She is the author of nine books and a professor of marketing at Oklahoma State University.
Read more articles by Dr. Maribeth Kuzmeski
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
