"You won't go from being an unknown to a recognized authority overnight. You must first create a base and then build on it, layer by layer."

The Power of Pull

By John Bowen

Marketing is about creating an environment conducive to sales, which is more important than ever today. The goal for your marketing should be to develop an environment that creates an ongoing stream of pre-qualified and pre-endorsed affluent clients within your target market.

Reprinted from:

Many financial advisors used to create this environment the old-fashioned way, through hard selling, or pushing clients into buying. But if you want to work with affluent clients—and join the ranks of elite advisors—this type of push strategy simply will not work.

Instead, you want to use pull marketing that attracts your ideal clients to you. They are attracted to you because they see you as an expert who can solve their financial challenges. One key to pull marketing is establishing a high level of credibility with your top clients and ideal prospects. This type of credibility positions you to be first in mind, so that prospects come to you when they have money in transition and clients come to you when they have new assets to invest.

But you won't go from being an unknown to a recognized authority overnight. You must first create a base and then build on it, layer by layer. The credibility marketing process can be broken down into nine steps. Some steps take little effort and time. Others require a higher level of commitment, but also offer higher rewards.

1. Set your overall goals and strategy. Your first action should be to identify the goals for your credibility marketing strategy and the tactics you'll use to achieve them. Evaluate in detail the unique needs and challenges of your target market so that you have a deep understanding of what is most important to this group. Develop a comprehensive outlook on these concerns, as well as a full set of solutions to address them.

2. Create and update your Web site. The days when your primary marketing piece was a glossy corporate brochure are gone. In fact, because you must respond rapidly to the constant change in the market environment, it's better not to have one at all—it would quickly date you.

Instead, you should have a well-designed and regularly updated Web site. Your Web site will lay the foundation of your credibility by demonstrating to visitors that you are an expert in meeting the needs of your target market.

While many advisors have already created Web sites, most of these would best be described as brochureware. These sites are not that much different from corporate marketing brochures and tend to be static. Although this can be an effective use of the Internet in avoiding the expense of producing glossy marketing materials, it greatly underutilizes the Internet's capabilities.

Instead, you'll want your Web site to provide a multitude of reasons for your clients and prospects to visit. At a minimum, provide content designed for your target market (and update it frequently), links to quotes and financial news tailored to your market, client account access, and the ability to subscribe to your email newsletter.

3. Research and contact media resources. Some advisors are under the misconception that if they get their name in the press or are quoted in an article or two, that they will double their business instantly. As some of you have no doubt noticed, this just isn't the case.

Instead of just getting your name published, your goal should be to get your byline published. The real benefit of published articles is that they communicate your message to a greater number of people than you could reach by yourself, a benefit that is enhanced when your articles appear in publications that influence high concentrations of your prospective clients.

To locate appropriate publications, ask your top clients in your target market what they read. Identify the associations that target your market. Most trade associations have their own publications, which are relatively easy to break into. In addition, Writer's Market and Writer's Digest provide editors' names, addresses, and editorial guidelines for trade and business magazines. Another excellent resource is Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media, which has information on thousands of newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and television and radio stations in the United States and Canada.

Evaluate each potential publication and then contact the editor—before you write the article. Tell the editor why you think your article is appropriate for the publication, why you think its readers would find your article interesting, and why you are qualified to write it. Bear in mind that editors are interested in providing informative, entertaining articles to their readers, not improving your business. No editor will simply hand over editorial space so you can promote your company.

4. Write and publish articles and send reprints. In most cases, the best route is to find a freelance writer who is affiliated with the trade press to do the actual writing for you. Ask editors for references—who are the writers they are most excited to work with? Your goal should be to publish at least three articles per year, a number that will provide both a broad base of credibility and an archive of reprints.

Once an article has been published, call the publication to ask for reprints and then distribute them heavily. You have more credibility if you can show a prospect or client some of your ideas that are published in a relevant trade journal or local business magazine.

5. Create an e-zine. A well-produced and regularly-delivered e-zine, or email newsletter, is an easy and cost-effective way to remain in regular contact with clients and prospects in your target market. Your e-zine should contain two primary elements:

• A well-crafted article that speaks to the needs and interests of your audience. You may use your previously published articles, if you have them. This content must be compelling because, in essence, your readers are giving you permission to market your services to them in exchange for the content you provide.
• A marketing message that alerts your readers to a specific benefit that you offer or that prompts them to take a specific action. You might point out the advantages of consolidating their assets with you, or you could announce your upcoming workshops.

6. Deliver speeches. Standing in front of a group of ideal prospects is an effective way to build your business. You should develop a 30 to 45-minute presentation on a subject that members of your target market will find compelling and that motivates them to do business with you. To identify specific groups that will be excited to have you as a guest speaker, ask your top clients which professional associations and civic groups they belong to.

7. Write and publish white papers. Research-based white papers will increase your credibility another notch, establishing you as a true authority in your area. Each white paper should address a topic that is of serious interest to your market. To provide the most value, it should fill a defined need or help solve a specific problem. For greatest effectiveness, combine industry research (you can use applicable research widely available in the financial press) with your own commentary and recommendations.

Write your white papers in a clear, straightforward way that your audience understands but that does not patronize them. This will immediately put you in a league apart from the many experts who know their subjects well but can't communicate their knowledge effectively to others. Again, you'll probably want to enlist the assistance of a skilled freelance writer.

As with your article reprints, you'll want to distribute your white papers as widely as possible, making them available to clients, prospects, and through your Web site. Also, offer to make condensed versions available to the editors of publications that have published your articles.

8. Write and publish books. This step will bestow tremendous credibility, for few things designate expertise like having your name on the jacket of a book. If you have built your reputation by using the proceeding strategies, both creating the book and getting it published will be relatively easy.

But you should not attempt a book unless you have already published at least 12 articles from which you can draw. Otherwise, the task of creating the large block of content that a book requires will represent a major distraction from your core competencies. In addition, selling the book to a publisher will be much more difficult if you do not have a pool of previously published articles that demonstrates your ability to write for your target market.

As with articles and white papers, freelance writers are available to help with a book, usually for a flat project fee. In addition, a publishing industry consultant can be invaluable to you. A knowledgeable consultant can guide you through the entire process, from creating proposals to contacting publishers and negotiating contracts.

9. Appear on TV and/or radio. The primary reason to appear on TV and radio is not that viewers will be attracted to your service (it's unlikely that many will be within your target market), but that it allows you to say that you have been on national TV and radio. Rightly or wrongly, people like celebrities. The implied endorsement of having appeared on TV and radio will reinforce your credibility among both your clients and prospects.

By building your credibility as part of an overall pull marketing strategy, you'll align your efforts with what clients and prospects truly want—an advisor who is an expert in meeting their unique needs.