Think for a moment about how you communicate your “team approach” to prospective clients. Being on a team, in and of itself, indicates that you’ve moved beyond the days of transactional stockbroker. You’ve built a team to provide a breadth of solutions and high-level service. You’ve organized a group of “experts” specifically for this reason.
Our question to you is: Can you explain this properly and succinctly?
We suggest creating a visual aid specifically for this purpose, a simple one-sheet that shows a headshot and a few bullet points for each team member. If you’re a veteran, it’s a great way to showcase your support and succession plan. If you’re newer, it’s a credibility-builder.
This is a document you can pull out in a prospect meeting to explain (and brag about) your team. After all, one of the biggest marketing advantages of teaming is being able to “hype” your team rather than yourself.
This is a pretty simple task overall. You start by drafting the language to describe each team member’s role and interests. The bullets under each headshot might include:
- Title or Role
- Main duties
- Personal information
- Email or Phone
Example:
Stan Stanley
Financial Planning Associate
- Builds and monitors our clients’ financial plans
- Holds a CFP®, ChFC® and CLU®
- Enjoys rock climbing, Shih-tzus and key lime pie
- Call him for any planning needs at 336-365-8110
Now let’s talk about usage. Print one of these on cardstock and carry it everywhere (one-sheets are very portable). When you mention your team in a prospecting conversation, pull it out like a demo set of Ginsu knives.
Make sure you’re prepared with a one-liner to explain each team member—you can spare them all the moving parts. You might say, “Susan is my business partner. She’s as good as you’ll find with financial planning. Mary is our lead assistant, but she pretty much runs our team and keeps everyone in line….”
This may be the simplest, but most effective marketing tool you ever create.
Stephen Boswell and Kevin Nichols are coaches with The Oechsli Institute, a firm that specializes in research and training for the financial services industry. @StephenBoswell @KevinANichols www.oechsli.com