Why are some financial professionals successful at marketing, while others struggle to connect with prospects and clients? For advisors, figuring out what messaging works best for each stage of the customer journey is one of the biggest marketing hurdles they face. From peaking a prospect’s interest to building rapport to gaining trust to closing the deal, messaging matters.

If you’re finding it difficult to create marketing messaging that gets results, fear not. We’ve got five tips to help transform your messaging from meh to YEAH (as in, “Heck YEAH! I want to talk to this advisor about my financial goals.”)—one of the keys to growing an advisor practice.

Tip No. 1: Stop talking about on how much you know.
This tip ranks at the top of our list because it is by far one of the most common mistakes advisors make when communicating with clients. We’ve all been guilty, at least to some degree, of dumping information on clients (PowerPoints, charts, graphs, fact sheets …) to show how knowledgeable we are about financial planning.

And if you take a look at the websites of most financial services firms, you’ll generally see the same messaging. It tends to focus more on the firms’ qualifications, achievements and products, and less (or not at all) on client challenges, needs and benefits realized. In other words, most financial firms’ websites look the same, which also means those sites will be hard pressed to peak a prospect’s interest. NEXT!

Tip No. 2: Nail down your value proposition so you can differentiate yourself.
OK, we know this is a tough one and it takes time and reflection but it’s important. In fact, one of the key distinguishing factors between highly successful advisory firms and average firms is the really good ones have been able to get a good handle on their value proposition.

Think about it … If you can’t explain why you’re different than everyone else, why would anyone want to do business with you? So, what should a financial advisor value proposition say? As concisely as possible (in its final iteration), an advisor or wealth manager value proposition should answer these questions:
• Who are you?
• What do you do and for whom?
• How do you do it?
• Why should people work with you (focus on benefits you provide), instead of somebody else?

Your answers to these questions may be long to start, and that’s fine. Just take the time to whittle them down and focus on information that really matters to the people you want to serve. Your value proposition needs to explain how you’re different than everybody else. Once you nail it down, it will be much easier to develop messaging that helps you stand out and get noticed. (You’ll also be able to develop a better elevator pitch, once your financial advisor value proposition is fleshed out.)

If you are an advisor or financial professional who is affiliated with InsurMark, and you haven’t pinned down your value proposition yet, reach out to your Advisor Development Consultant for help.

Tip No. 3: Stop trying to be everything to everybody.
One of the reasons we see so many of the boring, generic, “We’re great!” websites we mentioned in Tip. No. 1 is because those advisors want to cast a wide net. They want to appeal to EVERYBODY! Guess what? The appealing to everybody strategy doesn’t work. In fact, the most successful financial services practices reel it in instead, by focusing on a specific niche that they really understand and know how to serve well.

We take a deep dive into this concept in our recent blog: There are riches in the niches. You should definitely check it out.

Tip No. 4: Speak to your client’s problems instead of pitching products.
Clients don’t care about your products. They care about how your solutions can help them address their fears and challenges, achieve their goals and realize their dreams. Are your clients:
• Afraid of running out of money in retirement?
• Not sure how they will pay for healthcare in their golden years?
• Hoping to travel the world with their grandchildren?
• Wanting to earmark funds for a charitable organization?
• Hoping to set aside money for heirs?
• Unique in regard to the type of retirement accounts or stocks they own, so they need an advisor who knows how to work in those arenas?

Your messaging needs to speak to those concerns and explain how you have helped other clients like them achieve their goals. For example, say your niche is airline pilots, a message that explains how you helped a 50-year-old airline pilot assess options for his company stocks will get more attention and resonate better than talking about the great annuity options you offer.

Tip No. 5: Embrace personalization.
In a survey of 650+ consumers by YCharts, a whopping 75% of respondents said they wanted to receive updates from their financial advisor that were personalized to them, including interesting statistics, visuals and/or articles relevant to their portfolios. While every message you send may not be a one-to-one communication, the messages you DO send should align with each client’s individual needs.

If you can include a personal note, even better. The more your messaging speaks to the individual (and their goals, desires, fears, etc.), the more likely they will feel like “Hey, this guy/gal really gets me.” It’s also easier to accomplish personalization initiatives when you narrow your scope and focus on serving a specific niche because you won’t be wasting time trying to serve everybody. You can focus your energies on finding information and solutions that serve your niche well.

We can help simplify your marketing and create messaging that gets results

As an Advisor Development Organization, InsurMark is dedicated to helping ambitious advisors stand out, get noticed and grow their advisor practices. From Hubbard, our innovative leading-edge advisor platform, to Catalyst, our 24/7 automated marketing and lead gen platform, to strategic marketing programs that tap into what prospects want NOW, we’ve got you covered.

If you’d like to learn more about InsurMark and the technology, tools, training and support that we offer advisors and financial professionals, please contact us. You can reach our office toll-free at (800) 752-0207 or connect with us online.

As an ADO – Advisor Development Organization™, InsurMark provides solutions to meet the ever-evolving needs of financial professionals with a mission to protect and enhance the financial security of every home in America.