This case study is based on the situation of a client of the Covenant Group. Names and details have been changed to preserve client privacy.

“I have thought about that great vision statement you wrote for our last session, Henry,” I said as the meeting started. “It really captures the essence of what you want your business to look like in the future.”

Henry and I have been working to help him break out of the plateau he is on, to take his business to a new level. With a clear picture of the type of clients he wants, how he will serve them and the role he personally wants to play, it was time to lay out the marketing plan.

“Thanks,” Henry responded. “I really enjoyed that exercise. I finally have a motivating, clear mental image of my practice. Now, all I have to do is make it happen!”

“That’s today’s objective,” I responded. “The next ‘big rock’ item is developing your marketing plan. The greatest vision in the world will be for naught if it doesn’t attract the right people to your business. So, first, let’s define the ‘right people.’ Describe your ideal client.”

“I am comfortable with someone who has between $500,000 and $2 million of investible assets,” he answered. “I don’t seem to click as well with multimillionaires.”

“What other qualifications should they have?” I asked.

“Well, in my vision statement, I said my practice would focus on business owners, executives, professionals and their families, as well as retirees looking for income,” Henry offered.

“Anything else?” I probed.

“I’d have to like them!” he said, “which means they buy into my philosophies, support how I conduct my business and are willing to partner with me in managing their financial affairs. As we have discussed, there are qualitative as well as quantitative characteristics of the ideal client.”

“Excellent,” I congratulated him. “Now, what type of message do you think would appeal to them?”

Henry responded: “It would have to reflect the depth and breadth of the work I do — the entire wealth-management approach. I think I can build a good image around my professionalism and the disciplined methodology my team uses for creating a comprehensive strategy to meet financial and personal goals.”

“And how do you think a message like that is best delivered?” I asked.

Henry thought for a minute, then said: “Quite frankly, I think it is best done in person, by me. I doubt that an advertising campaign or brochure could adequately communicate the standard of care we use with our clients, or our commitment to understanding them on both a personal and financial level.”

“I agree with you,” I said. “There is a place for selective advertising and well-designed collateral material as support for a more personalized approach. However, the types of people with whom you want to do business typically do not respond particularly well to broad-based, anon-ymous promotion. They expect to be recognized for their accomplishments in a more intimate manner.

“Consequently, the best results are likely to be obtained through a marketing effort that puts you in close contact with them — either one on one or in small groups of carefully chosen people with similar needs. Given that, what might be the best way for creating those more intimate opportunities to tell your story?”

“Referrals!” Henry answered.

“Yes,” I responded enthusiastically. “In fact, we want you to obtain personal introductions rather than traditional referrals. If you can have some of your best clients introduce you, face to face, to someone who approximates your ideal client profile, your chances of them becoming a high-value client is substantially improved. There is an immediate transfer of credibility that may not come across in a telephone call that starts with ‘Bill told me to call you’.”

“I can see that,” Henry said. “But how do we make that happen?”

“By creating an event during which these introductions can take place,” I suggested. “It can be something big, and costly, such as a special client appreciation event to which you encourage your top clients to bring a guest, or a golf game, sports outing or a simple cup of coffee. What’s worked for you in the past?”

“Every six months or so, I arrange for a prominent investment manager to speak at a high-end, invitation-only Evening with the Expert dinner for about 20 of my top clients,” Henry offered. “There’s no reason I couldn’t open it up by sending them two invitations and suggesting they can bring a friend or associate along to this exclusive event.”

@page_break@“That’s great,” I told Henry. “Your marketing plan is starting to take shape. What other promotional activities might gain you access to your target markets in a one-on-one or intimate way?”

“Direct referrals from another professional advisor — a lawyer or accountant — are always nice,” Henry suggested. “Although I don’t get enough, those opportunities usually lead to a new client relationship.”

“So, might a part of your marketing strategy be to develop additional alliances with members of the legal and accounting communities?” I asked. “I know a number of advi-sors who have been quite successful at doing that by, for example, organizing small ‘lunch & learn’ sessions for accountants on topics they need to know about to serve their own clients. Just like financial advisors, accountants require continuing education, possibly even CE credits. It will give you a chance to meet someone new, as well as demonstrate the value of your knowledge and experience. One big opportunity you haven’t mentioned is asking your best clients directly for introductions to people like themselves.”

“I haven’t been very successful at that,” Henry admitted. “I’m never sure when or how to ask.”

“In the same way: by creating an event,” I responded. “In this case, a full-scale annual review with your best clients. Put it right on the agenda for your meeting, so both you and the client know that the conversation is coming up. We can create some language around what to say that is comfortable for you, but first institutionalize the process of asking each top client at least once a year for an introduction. Even if you are successful only a third of the time, you’ll add several new, high-value clients every year.

“These can all be effective ideas,” I continued. “Now, answer this question: what percentage of your marketing effort should be directed internally to people you already know and what percentage should be external — that is, directed at people you’d like to know?

“In most instances, established advisors allocate the majority — say, 60%-80% — of their marketing resources internally to activities that involve existing clients and centres of influence, while assigning the balance to external activities that are designed to build brand awareness, such as advertising. What is the appropriate weighting for your business?”

“Definitely, internal,” Henry replied. “And I’d go to 80%, or even higher.”

“That’s good,” I said. “But we always want to have some external, profile-building message out there because it makes it easier both to give and receive referrals if there is an awareness of your brand. The next question is: what is your marketing budget? I can tell you that most advisors spend less than 2% of their revenue on marketing, while the top advisors with whom we work commit up to 10%-15% of revenue.”

“I have never been afraid to invest in the business,” Henry boasted. “So, 10% of revenue doesn’t bother me, even though it is more than I have spent in the past. According to our formula, then, 8% of revenue will be directed to internal activities and 2% externally. I guess the next decision is exactly how much I allocate to each individual activity.”

“My, you are a good student!” I congratulated Henry. “There is only one thing left to do, and that is to put all your marketing activities on a calendar to see if the timing makes sense. It will also act as an alert: if you want to have a client event in February, for example, you need to start organizing it in November. You also need to assign the people to make it happen.”

“I can certainly see how a disciplined marketing process is important,” Henry said. “I’ll have my budget and calendar ready the next time we meet. Where are we going from here?”

I answered: “Assuming you are satisfied with your marketing program, we’ll look at the processes you use to deepen and strengthen relationships with the people who are attracted by your message. In other words, how do we graduate from a marketing stance to a sales position. Sound good?”

“It certainly does!” IE



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George Hartman is a coach and facilitator with the Covenant Group in Toronto. He can be reached at george@covenantgroup.com.