Prospect: What’s your smartest marketing strategy for me?
Our Coach: The one you execute.
One of our coaches was recently asked this question by a prospective coaching client. Our initial thought was that our coach’s response was a little too curt. However, after further examination we realized its fundamental brilliance. Not only because he diffused an unfair question from an aggressive prospect (our coach knew nothing about the prospect’s situation), but also because his response contained three invaluable, but hidden, marketing lessons.
Lesson 1: Your smartest marketing strategy is the one you EXECUTE.
Planning without action is futile. We know this but still fall victim. Consider the number of times we’ve started something but haven’t finished. The workout programs or home renovations that we plan to start or finish tomorrow. More specifically, consider the business plans we’ve all taken the time to create, and fine-tune but sit on a shelf the second half of the year collecting dust. The best advisors commit to action and see it through. Getting ready to get ready is a debilitating disease.
The truth is, every activity works to a degree. If you are active, results will ensue. The catch is that every action does not result in the same level of return. Which leads us to marketing lesson number two from our candid coach…
Lesson 2: Your smartest marketing strategy is the ONE you execute.
The type of activity you engage in matters. If you are stuck in the 1980’s dialing for dollars, you’re going to have a tough row to hoe. The smartest marketing strategies for advisors are focused on the activities that generate the greatest return. Our latest research is unequivocal; relationship-marketing tactics work with today’s affluent. Activities that stimulate positive word-of-mouth lead the field in acquisition results. It’s been our experience that the best advisors master a handful (two to three) of relationship-marketing activities and shy away from the shotgun approach.
Lesson 3: Your smartest marketing strategy is the one YOU execute.
The activity type must also fit the personality of the advisor. Trying to convince an advisor who loathes public speaking to hold educational events is a fool’s mission. Identify the activities that resonate with your personality and target market. Once you identify those activities, become an expert in seamless execution.
We know that there are always nuances, exceptions, and shades of grey. But a lot of times we over-think and over-prepare instead of committing ourselves to an activity type that works for our personality and relentless follow-through.
So, what’s your smartest marketing strategy?
Stephen Boswell and Kevin Nichols are thought-leaders and coaches with The Oechsli Institute, a firm that does ongoing research and coaching for nearly every major financial services firm in the US. To take the first step towards coaching, complete the pre-coaching business profile for a complimentary consultation.
