Financial Advisor Marketing - Discover How Trust Can Help To Market Your Financial Advisory Practice
Our own marketing survey of financial advisors says that "building trust" is vital to growing their practice. But did you know that only 34% of Americans now believe that other people can be trusted? That's according to a survey by sociologist David Halpern.
Coming to our rescue is Stephen M. R. Covey in his book "The Speed of Trust."
"We can increase trust - much faster than we might think," he wrote, "and doing so will have a huge impact, both in the quality of our lives and in the results we're able to achieve."
Here I've added our experiences working with financial advisors to Covey's strategies and tips for increasing trust.
4 FACES Of TRUST
1. Show That You're Good At What You Do
Covey calls for demonstrating "competence." Financial advisors can't use testimonials -- a powerful trust-building tool for other professionals. You can, though, call on case studies. And you can use your credentials to your advantage. Most often, we see the financial advisor's name followed by initials such as CIMA. Who really knows what this means?
These initials are meaningless unless you explain that you took a nine-month course and passed an exam given by professors at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. And CIMA requires living by a Code of Ethics (another trust builder) and completing at least 40 hours of continuing education every two years. (That leads to the second Face of Trust.)
2. Don't Get Stuck With A "Final Answer"
Luciano Pavarotti, one of the greatest tenors ever, got it right when he called himself an "eternal student." Personally, I love that role! Being an "eternal student" shows that you are not stuck in the old ways or left behind in a high-speed world ... that you're continually improving.
Stephen M. R. Covey said this: ". . . to remain credible in today's world, we need to constantly improve our capabilities."
Only on a game show is there a "final answer."
A client is a research fanatic. Seven screens in his office arm him with up-to-date information from top-level services -- the same ones that big institutions rely on. That's how he reassures clients that they aren't getting last-year's "final answer," but results from up-to-the-minute research into solutions just for them.
3. Give Back
Is your work about you or do you give back? Covey in "The Speed of Trust" lists "giving back" as a vital trust builder.
Mark, a financial advisor, over the past 5 years has helped a non-profit in his city raise over $40,000. He went far beyond sitting on a board or giving a nice contribution. He took on the job of events planner and shouldered all the nitty-gritty details to put on the events. Also, he took on the role of Master of Ceremonies for the events.
He has now focused his practice on the people the non-profit serves. With the relationships he built, he has been invited as a speaker by the non-profit. And, of course, many of their members remember him through his fund-raising events.
4. Keep Commitments To Yourself And To Your Clients
It seems like such a little thing: Asking your assistant to tell a caller that you are in a meeting when you aren't. Small lies are giant trust killers.
Our client (we'll call him Matt) was described in his survey of his own clients by the heartwarming phrase, "Trust with a Capital T."
Covey may have explained why Matt won such a powerful feeling of trust when he wrote,
"One of the fastest ways to restore trust is to make and keep commitments - even very small commitments - to ourselves and others."
Matt earned his "Trust with a Capital T" by small daily courtesies, honest concern for his clients and caring enough to tell the truth.
I invite you to use these 4 trust-building tools to market your financial advisory practice.
And now I'd like to offer you free access to more marketing tools in our report "7 Client-Attraction Secrets" for financial advisors. You'll find it at http://www.marketingplanfinancialadvisor.com
From Shirley Hanson for breakthrough marketing for financial advisors.
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/
Added: April 30, 2008
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