The old saying that
“the shadow is a lot taller than the man” is one I’ve never forgotten. I first heard it from one of our industry’s icons — a superstar advisor, frequent headliner at conferences and all-round highly regarded individual.

The occasion was a national advisors’ conference, at which I had just made the keynote address. As I stepped from the platform, he approached me, introduced himself and, after congratulating me on my presentation, asked if I would consider taking him on as a client.

I was flattered and said, “Of course.” Then I asked: “Why do you think you need my help? You are a legend in the business and have reached about as high as most advisors would ever dream.”

That’s when he came back with: “The shadow is a lot taller than the man.” I realized that he had created an ethos around his business that was much larger than himself and he was concerned that it was not sustainable, given the dynamics of the financial services industry and his waning energy as he approached retirement.

In subsequent conversations, I learned that he had expanded his practice the old-fashioned way — by being a terrific salesman who worked extraordinarily hard.
His sales success garnered attention from everyone — clients, other advisors, suppliers, industry associations and so on.

He was a classic “income producer” who woke up one day to the realization that there had been a shift in the industry to a marketing focus from a sales orientation, and he hadn’t kept pace. Had he taken more of a “business-builder” approach — had he created a brand separate from himself — he would have been far more at ease about the value and viability of the practice he had spent so many years building. He would also have had greater optimism about his succession and the legacy he wanted to leave the industry.

His experience emphasizes the importance of building an effective brand and highlights the difference between marketing and selling. Marketing is everything that takes place up to the point of being face to face with a prospect; selling is everything that happens afterward. Our hero was a great salesman but a not-so-great marketer.
Successful marketing programs are founded on strong branding, which is all about creating an image that the people with whom we want to do business will find compelling.

Before we can create such a profile, however, we need to define whom we want to attract: our target market, that desirable group of people with common characteristics (occupation, income, age, net worth, needs, etc.) and with whom we can communicate. The communication is reflected in our positioning and brand.

The starting point for creating a brand is your “unique value proposition.” What makes you different from all the other financial advisors competing in the same market? Is it your experience and expertise, your approach and process, your philosophy and style, or something else? Is that differentiation meaningful to your target audience, and can it be effectively communicated? The measure of success in branding is how effective you are at being perceived as an expert, how often you are invited to demonstrate your capabilities and the ease with which you are able to network within your chosen market.

Having identified your unique offering, the next step is to determine the key message.
What impression do you want your target audience to have after it has been exposed to your marketing communication? What are the one or two major points of differentiation between you and the competition you want them to recall? What style and tone do you want to convey?

There is no right or wrong. There are very successful advisors who take a low-key approach to marketing and others who emblazon their automobiles with signage and personalized licence plates (MR RRSP and DLR DR come to mind). Some want to project the image of a high-priced law firm; others portray themselves as
“family-focused.” Whatever your preference, the image you create must be appropriate for your intended audience. For example, high net-worth candidates for comprehensive investment and estate-planning services are not likely to be attracted by marketing messages promoting “Income tax returns prepared free.”

Similarly, the look and feel of your brand-building tools should be consistent with what your target market expects. A professional photograph and tasteful “profile” ad in a respected business journal will probably appeal more to high net-worth prospects than will a billboard display — not that the latter doesn’t work well in some markets. Strip plaza locations are convenient for access and parking if you are focusing on the seniors’ market, while senior executives expect well-appointed downtown offices. The quality of your stationery sets a tone, as does the appearance of your newsletter and Web site.
I am not suggesting that everything you do in the area of brand-building has to be expensive, just appropriate for the market you want to address.

@page_break@Now that decisions have been made about the image you want to convey, let’s move on to implementing it.

The changes you want to make can be as subtle as altering the colour of your brochure to a more dramatic creation or an entirely new identity. In any instance, your strategic brand plan is best carried out in two stages:
a transition phase from whatever your brand is today (you do have one, even if it happened by default rather than design) to the new one you want to project; and the post-change of brand phase to identify opportunities to implement the new brand through a “best practices” marketing program.

The transition phase begins with the development of a professional corporate image, if an exciting one does not already exist. Things such as your name and logo should verbally and visually depict what you do. Even if the work is not extensive, seriously consider hiring a good marketing communications firm to drive that process.
You will recoup your investment many times over through its experience and objectivity.
Get input from all stakeholders — clients, staff, suppliers, sponsoring firms and compliance. To ensure consistency of image, your integration plan must include a set of rules about how and where each communication component can be used and deal with more seemingly mundane matters such as font types and sizes, colour and Web-based specifications.

Develop a priority list, including your corporate capabilities brochure, specific expertise brochure, letterhead, business cards, signage, advertising, Web site, newsletter. Obviously, you need a budget and a timetable to monitor. Don’t underestimate the amount of time this process will take. A few months spent getting all your thoughts and resources together at the beginning means a better chance of meeting your expectations at the end.

The second phase — post-change of brand — anticipates that you won’t get it perfectly right the first time. Update, revise and enhance the brand as experience dictates into an ongoing, proactive marketing communications plan that may include a client referral program, lead generation, community-based marketing and a public relations strategy.

Building a brand is an essential step in taking your practice to the next level and sustaining it. It is what will make your shadow longer than you are and ensure that when the sun starts to go down, the glow will remain. IE

George Hartman is a coach and consultant with The Covenant Group and can be reached at george@covenantgroup.com.