“Coach’s Forum” is a place in which you can ask your questions, tell your stories or give your opinions on any aspect of practice management. For each column, George selects the most interesting and relevant comments from readers and offers his advice. Our objective is to build a community of people with a common interest in making their financial advisory practices as effective as possible.



Advisor: I heard you speak at a conference last month, at which you made the comment: “There are literally thousands of marketing ideas that have worked for financial advisors. If you pick two or three that are appropriate for your practice and execute them well, you will be amazed at the results.”

I wanted to jump up right then and there and ask: “So, why don’t you give us a hundred or so?” But I didn’t want to put you on the spot in front of the audience, which was obviously enjoying your presentation.

Can I do that now? I have tried a large variety of marketing ideas over the years, and haven’t yet found one that I could say is consistently successful.



Coach says: I remember making that statement, and I certainly wasn’t trying to suggest in any way that successfully marketing a financial advisory practice is an easy thing to do. In fact, I wish you had challenged me at the time because there may have been others in attendance with the same question. I would have been delighted to respond then and there.

As you know, the topic of my presentation at that meeting was the buying and selling of a financial advisory practice. My comment was made in the context of maximizing the value of the transaction — for both the seller and the buyer — by having a sound, proven marketing program in place.

So, it was in that context that I implied there have been an unlimited number of promotional ideas that have worked for advisors, providing lots of choice in the creation of a strong marketing program. Had the topic of the meeting been more specifically about marketing, I would have gone on to say that each advisor, however, has to choose from this broad array those marketing activities that are appropriate for his or her practice.

Different markets, different objectives, different advisor personalities, different budgets — and so on — all figure into the decision about how a practice can be best promoted.

Often, deciding what to exclude is more important and difficult than deciding what to include, so here is the process I recommend:



Step 1: decide on your purpose. Marketing can serve a number of objectives. In a financial advisory practice, they are typically one or more of the following:

> Client Appreciation. To deepen and strengthen relationships so existing clients become enthusiastic advocates for you and the work you do.

> Increasing Share Of Wallet. To open up opportunities to cross-sell additional products and services to existing clients.

> New-Client Development. To attract potential new clients who meet your preferred-client profile.

> Brand-Building. To enhance your image and reputation within your target market.

It is not uncommon for advisory practices to have all of the above objectives. The good news is that some marketing activities can be used effectively for more than one purpose.



Step 2: Allocate For Both Internal And External Marketing. Internal marketing is directed at people with whom you already have a relationship, such as existing clients and centres of influence. External marketing is directed at people with whom you would like to have a relationship, such as prospects within your target market.

It is important to allocate your marketing resources where they will have the greatest impact. If you have both an established client base and COI network, an emphasis on internal marketing is likely to be most productive.

If you are relatively new in the business or want to develop a new market, you will probably get the best results by overweighting external marketing activities, such as advertising and open seminars.

Allocating marketing resources includes your budget. If, for example, you decide to invest $10,000 in your marketing program and have elected to weight your activities to 70% internal and 30% external, $7,000 should be directed at existing clients and COIs and $3,000 should be directed at prospects within your target market.@page_break@Step 3: Choose Activities Appropriate For Your Purpose. The marketing activities you choose must be suited to your objectives. Here are some examples:

If your objective is client appreciation, try activities such as small dinners, cooking classes, wine tastings, holiday parties, birthday lunches, family-oriented events and sporting events.

If you are looking to increase share of wallet, consider webinars and educational seminars, scheduled client reviews and email campaigns.

When you are pursuing new-client development, try activities such as “bring a friend” client events, contacting COIs, public seminars and discussing referrals as part of scheduled client reviews.

Brand-building calls for a different set of tools, such as advertising, sponsorships, community involvement, media relations, websites and social media.



Step 4: Choose Activities Appropriate For Your Market. It would be wonderful if all clients had the same reaction to all marketing approaches, but they don’t. Whereas a bowling, beer and pizza night may be just the ticket for some, it might not fit for many among the symphony and theatre crowd. High net-worth clients, for example, generally do not respond well to seminar invitations, preferring to meet advisors by way of a personal introduction from a trusted source. Middle-income retirees, on the other hand, often look forward to seminars as much for the social interaction as for the education.

Put yourself in the shoes of your intended audience and ask: “If I were a [target market description], what sort of marketing would appeal to me?”

The most successful marketing programs incorporate a number of promotional efforts, so try to come up with at least six activities, some large-scale and some relatively small. For example, if your target market was “retail business owners,” you may choose to the following:

> Identify retail business owners among your current clients who might be able to introduce you to associates.

> Meet with your COIs to seek introductions to retail business owners they know.

> Conduct seminars for retail business owners jointly with other professional advi-sors, such as accountants and lawyers.

> Join the Better Business Bureau and your local chamber of commerce, and attend their meetings.

> Place a brand-building advertisement in a retail business journal.

> Create a link on your website specifically for retail business owners to access topics of interest to them.



Step 5: Implement Consistently. Not only do successful marketing programs incorporate a variety of activities, they also implement those activities consistently over a sufficient period to make a positive impression on the target audience. In order to ensure that happens, you will need:

> A calendar of events, preferably on a rolling 12-month basis.

> A budget sufficient to cover the costs of your chosen activities.

> A list of tasks, timelines and responsibilities specifying who does what and when.

> A review process to evaluate the effectiveness of each activity and refine, if necessary;

I apologize that I don’t have sufficient space to list a “hundred or so” of the best marketing ideas I have encountered, as you requested. Hopefully, however, you can apply the steps above to create a marketing program that works for you and the unique characteristics of your practice. If you get stuck for specific ideas, however, let me know.

We would be delighted to hear from any advisor who has a marketing or promotional idea that has worked well for them, so we can pass the information along to all our readers. IE



George Hartman is president and CEO of Market Logics Inc. and a senior coach and facilitator with the Covenant Group. Send questions, comments and opinions to george@marketlogics.ca.