Are You Really Open For Business?

July 23, 2019

I recently read an interview with Andrew Sieg,President of Merril Lynch Wealth Management.  He, like so many of us, sees the future bright for the financial advisory service.  Consider his quote: “We’re in a unique and positive period for the industry, and over the next 10 or 20 years I see a bull market for advice. There are probably more American families in need of broad-based financial advice than at any time in the past,driven by the complexity of what they now have to manage. Traditional pensions have faded away and people are on the hook to provide for their own retirement income at a time when the investment landscape is very complicated. The high-stakes decisions that have to be made are a challenge for even the most sophisticated families, which is why we see people of all kinds looking for professional advice. Even when you look at millennials, for example, many studies find they are even more inclined to seek professional advice than baby boomers.”

 

Yes, he even states Millenials being more inclined to seek professional advice than Boomers. Which says a lot.  It also says that the way you reach these opportunities is going to need to be as varied as the age spreads of those you’re targeting.  Millenials to Boomers?  I can tell you traditional, linear media is likely not the solution.  Not from a reach perspective, expense perspective or even a common-sense, logical perspective.  And here’s another consideration.  In the June tenth issue of Investment News, Ron Carson, founder of The Carson Group, identifies what business area advisors identify will require the most attention this year.  Coming in a strong second, only to internal operations, was “Branding/Lead Gen”.  33% saw it as a one of their biggest needs.  The remainder of the list paled by comparison in response percentages by more than half.

 

The takeaway’s here clearly state both the opportunity and the challenge.  The need for Financial Advisors is going to grow at the same time more and more advisors come into practice.  The challenges are going to be what you’re doing, where you’re doing it and how it’s getting done that differentiate you from the others.  Both branding and generating leads will become more significantly important and that marketing process will evolve into something very different than what’s being done currently by most.

 

As an audio content specialist, I contend that telling your story via Podcast, is one of the best ways, not the only, not THE best, but certainly ONE OF THE BEST, ways to convey a message, distribute it in a variety of contemporary delivery mechanisms (reaching Boomers and Millenials and everyone in between) and represent your firm as the Authority.   We all agree on “word of mouth” marketing being the best marketing so why not deliver the messaging via spoken word?  Find out if it could work for you.  And if you need more information, feel free to reach out to us at www.advisorsprep.com.  We promise to make the process a little bit easier if it’s a route you choose to go.