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The 52: Look to COIs for More Than Referrals
Not getting referrals from COIs? Try this approach instead.
Look to COIs for More Than Referrals
It’s common wisdom in the industry that centers of influence (COIs)—attorneys, CPAs, etc.—can be great referral sources. But it can take years to gain the trust required for their referrals. Yet even while you are building those relationships, COIs can still be valuable in helping you get in front of prospects.
When you meet with a COI, ask them, “I’m looking to get in front of more [insert niche] clients. If you were me, how would you go about doing that?” Their answers can help you uncover possible marketing channels you’ve never considered. Some COIs will even offer to introduce you to other relationships to help you get in front of your niche. So instead of trying to mine COIs for referrals, use these relationships to expand your reach within your niche.
The 52: How to Know If You Picked a Good Niche
Answering these 11 questions will tell you if your niche has potential.
How to Know If You Picked a Good Niche
How do you know you made the right decision when picking a niche? We use these 11 questions to evaluate the suitability and viability of a niche for financial advisors:
Pain: Is your niche feeling real mental or emotional pain regarding their problem?
Purchasing power: Is your niche willing and able to pay your fees?
Easy to target: Is your niche easy to find for marketing purposes (e.g., purchased lists, associations, groups, social media targeting)?
Growing: Is your niche market growing?
Urgency: Is it urgent for your niche to have their problem solved?
Dominance: Is it possible for you to dominate this space due to a lack of competition?
Complexity: Is the niche’s primary financial problem something that takes a lot of time and research for the first client but would be easy to scale once you have developed the expertise and a process?
Experience: Do you have personal or professional experience with this niche?
Credibility: Do you have credibility working with clients in this niche?
Access: Can you access the niche through an existing network and opportunities?
Expertise: Do you have the skills and knowledge to serve this niche?
The more yeses you have, the more likely you will succeed with your niche.
The 52: Define the One Problem You Solve
Why prospects don’t understand what you do.
Define the One Problem You Solve
Do prospects find it difficult to understand what you do? It’s probably because you communicate a convoluted message that you are all things to all people. They can’t grasp how you specifically help them.
Instead, communicate one clear, simple message that they’ll remember. To do this, define the one problem you solve for most of your clients—for example, “plan for retirement” or “make smart decisions when exercising stock options.” Going forward, focus all your messaging on this one central theme so prospects are clear on what you do.
P.S. We know you do more than one thing! But your prospects will only remember one thing. If you don’t clearly define it for them, they’ll just remember you manage investments.
The 52: Business Books to Read in 2022
My favorite books of 2021.
Business Books to Read in 2022
In anticipation of ringing in the new year, I thought I would switch up the last issue of The 52 for 2021 to provide a list of some of my favorite business and marketing books I’ve read this year:
A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload by Cal Newport
Get Different: Marketing That Can't Be Ignored! by Mike Michalowicz
If You Want to Get Rich, Build a Power Niche: And a Bundle of Other Utterly Brilliant Marketing and Sales Ideas that Actually Work by Bruce M. Stachenfeld
Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller
I hope you enjoy these books as much as I did. Happy new year!
The 52: Don’t Want to Write? Try AI!
Week 52: Let AI do your marketing for you.
Week 52
Don’t Want to Write? Try AI!
Financial advisors who don’t want to write their own content have been limited to two alternative options: hiring a ghostwriter or buying canned content. But a third option is arising—artificial intelligence. There are now services like Jarvis that will generate marketing content for you. While it is a bit cumbersome to use, the output is quite impressive. If you are looking for an alternative solution to creating content, put this on your list to try.
The 52: Your First-Mover Advantage Is Slipping Away
Week 51: Online reviews will be commonplace by 2022.
Week 45
Your First-Mover Advantage Is Slipping Away
This year, financial advisors were allowed to solicit online reviews from clients on sites like Google and Yelp for the first time. Since then, some independent RIAs have had a unique advantage since they have been able to implement online reviews faster than their competition. This has improved not only their search rankings but also their close rate. But we are seeing other advisors, including national brands, taking advantage of online reviews. If you have been thinking about implementing reviews, your window for a first-mover advantage is quickly closing.
The 52: A Simple Way to Develop Your Marketing Message
Week 50: The one book to read this holiday break.
Week 50
A Simple Way to Develop Your Marketing Message
It’s not easy to develop an engaging marketing message for your website that sounds different from other financial advisors. In our 15-plus years of working with financial advisors, the easiest way we have found to develop a simple marketing message is to use Donald Miller’s Building a StoryBrand methodology. If you are looking for one marketing book to read over the holidays, make it this one.
P.S. Kristen Luke is now a StoryBrand Certified Guide who can help advisors focused on a niche clarify their message.
The 52: Get Out and About
Week 49: Make 2022 the year of in-person interaction.
Week 49
Get Out and About
During the height of the pandemic, most people limited their in-person interactions with others. And even though the world has since opened up, some advisors have fallen into the habit of avoiding networking activities.
Marketing in financial services is all about relationship, which means connecting with other people. For 2022, instead of prioritizing your marketing around some new online channel, prioritize it around connecting with other people face to face. That could mean going to some new networking events or having coffee with a center of influence. Sure, it may sound old school, but human connection is always a winning marketing strategy.
The 52: Repeat Your Message
Week 48: If you think you are repeating yourself, good!
Week 48
Repeat Your Message
Last week we talked about the importance of creating a simple message that people can’t help but remember. Once you have crafted that message, the next step is to repeat it. And repeat it. And repeat it.
The only way for people to remember what you do to the extent they can repeat it is for them to hear it over and over again. Dave Ramsey became well known because he repeated the same simple message about debt for years. And it worked!
People aren’t paying close attention to your marketing. Even if they are, they still need to hear your message dozens of times before it sticks. So don’t worry about repeating your message too much—there is no such thing!
Are You Ready for Marketing to Get Harder in 2022?
Here are three reasons marketing will get harder for financial advisors next year and beyond. Yet the situation isn’t hopeless. You can adopt strategies that make your marketing easier even with the changes on the horizon.