"Your desired results will stem directly from your ability to be seen as a true authority."

Authority Figure

By John Bowen

The most successful advisors in the business have an uncanny ability to attract the types of affluent investors they want to work with and can serve profitably. The key to their success in getting the right clients is simple: They pull instead of push.

More specifically, these advisors use pull marketing techniques, which enable them to connect to ideal clients and position themselves as experts in solving these clients' financial needs. Pull marketing relies on building relationships with key clients and other professionals, such as accountants and lawyers, from within your target market. This is distinctly different from—and much more powerful than—traditional push marketing strategies that focus on mass marketing (such as direct mail) and hard selling.

The first step toward building those relationships is to establish your credibility among those clients and professionals. Indeed, your desired results will stem directly from your ability to be seen as a true authority. With that in mind, here's an overview of how to market your credibility, setting the stage for you to communicate your expertise and bring a constant stream of qualified prospects right to your doorstep.

THE RIGHT STEPS

As you know, credibility doesn't happen overnight. To become a recognized authority, you've got to start with a base and then build on it layer by layer. The following 12-step process can help:

Step 1: Set your goals and strategy. Research the specific needs and challenges faced by the types of clients with whom you want to work. Develop an outlook on these needs and formulate ways to meet them—your value proposition. You'll need to tap your comprehensive knowledge of your niche's needs in everything you do.

Step 2: Review your marketing materials. Do your existing materials fit into your new strategy, or will you have to redo them? Review everything, from your logo and business cards to your brochure.

Step 3: Perform a SWOT analysis. Take an honest look at your business—its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Step 4: Create a positioning package. This should describe in detail your firm's history, mission, personnel, fees, alliances, philosophy and process for working with clients. It should also highlight the benefits that clients will enjoy in working with you as an expert.

Step 5: Create (or update) your website. Before tackling this job, visit at least 10 other advisors' sites, noting what you like and dislike about their content, design, language and functionality. Then, update your site regularly—with articles you've written, for example (see Step 7 below)—so clients keep coming back and are reminded of your expertise.

Step 6: Leverage media resources. Don't look simply to get quoted in articles, which won't actually do much to boost business. Instead, find out which publications your target market reads and contact the editors of those publications about writing articles and columns for them. Consult Writer's Market for ideas as well as the Encyclopedia of Associations (most trade associations have their own publications, and they're often looking for story ideas).

Step 7: Write and publish articles. Your articles should describe the challenges your target clients face and offer potential solutions. Look to publish at least three articles per year and get reprints so you can distribute them to prospects and clients.

Step 8: Create an email newsletter. This is a cost-effective way to stay in front of your clients and prospects. Your newsletter should include articles that speak to the needs of your audience as well as marketing messages alerting readers to the benefits you offer them.

Step 9: Deliver group presentations. Create a 30- to 45-minute-long presentation covering a subject that interests your target market and that ties in with the solution you offer. Find the right groups to speak to by polling your top clients, as well as professionals who have clients in your chosen niche, which clubs and associations might be welcoming. Also, make sure your presentation contains a "call to action" that will motivate your audience to seek out your services.

Step 10: Write research papers. Research-based white papers help cement your credibility and are a big step up from articles you may write. These papers should combine industry research on a topic that is of serious interest to your target market with your own commentary, recommendations and solutions. Of course, you'll also want to distribute your white papers to clients and prospects and put them up on your website.

Step 11: Write and publish books. Becoming a published author can significantly enhance your credibility. This advanced step can occur once you have published at least 12 articles that you can draw from to create your book chapters.

Step 12: Appear on TV or radio. The purpose of these appearances is not to drum up business, but to be able to say that you have been on TV or radio and benefit from the resulting credibility enhancement.

IMPLEMENTING CREDIBILITY

A critical part of implementing these steps is deciding whether to do the work in-house or outsource it to a freelancer or advertising agency. As with any business decision, there are pros and cons to each choice. You'll want to assess these three options and decide which approach will provide you with the best results.

Hire in-house personnel. The upside of hiring in-house staff for your credibility marketing efforts is that each employee is dedicated to your projects full-time and may hone his or her expertise in serving your business. The downsides include overhead costs, the time it takes to find, train and manage a marketing staff and the responsibilities and expenses associated with salary, taxes and benefits.

To hire an employee, consider using an employment agency, running a classified advertisement online or in print or networking to find the right candidates. Salaries for creative personnel vary widely and depend on factors such as their areas of responsibility, amount of experience, whether they have specialized knowledge of financial services and conditions in your local labor market.

Work with a freelancer. Freelancers are a good choice because you pay only for the services you use and you don't have to pay the expenses associated with an employee. Freelancers are often specialists, so you can collaborate with someone who is an expert in your niche. You can also end a freelance relationship more easily than you can an agreement with an advertising agency or employee. The downside of working with freelancers is that the very best may not have the time to dedicate to your project, or they may have a conflict of interest with other clients.

Hourly fees for freelancers can vary tremendously—from as little as $50 per hour to more than $200 per hour. To find a one, you can advertise online at Craigslist or in print, or check with local professional organizations. Most cities have an advertising club, and you may be able to search the membership database for listings. And don't forget to ask for referrals from colleagues and clients.

Use an advertising agency. Full-service ad agencies range in size from just a handful of employees to hundreds. Agencies generally specialize in a certain niche or type of marketing. The advantage of working with an agency is that it provides one-stop shopping for design, writing, photography, printing and other tasks. The primary negative is price, as agencies mark up the costs for all the talent and vendors (such as copywriters and printers) used on a project. If you decide to go the agency route, be sure to get a detailed proposal that includes all fees.

Advertising agencies are easy to locate. Every agency will be listed in the phone book, and many belong to professional organizations such as a local advertising or marketing club.

In the end, your credibility is one of your most powerful assets as you develop your business—far more powerful than a glossy advertisement or a mass mailing. By focusing on how to build and leverage your expertise, you'll position yourself in a fundamentally different way than most of your peers, winning more business in the process.

Reprinted from: FINANCIAL PLANNING