1. Harold Evensky, Long A Champion Of The CFP Designation, Explains Why He Is Joining The Board Governing The RMA Designation
(Matching tags: profession,differentiation,retirement income,advisor industry people)

Harold Evensky, long a leading voice in the movement to make the financial advice business a profession, is joining the board of governance for the Retirement Management Analyst (RMA) designation. Evensky’s ...

2. The Future Of Financial Planning Hinges On Succession Planning For Advisors And Serving Younger Generations Of Investors
(Matching tags: Advisor businesses,differentiation,profitability,prospecting)

If you cringed at the low marks a recent survey gave the financial services industry, there’s no reason to sit still and accept them. The good news is that our industry consistently forces us to ...

3. Wealthy Wine Collectors Need Advice On Managing Collections As An Asset
(Matching tags: investment strategies,alternative investments,differentiation)

If you have a passion for fine wine, you may be able to help high net worth clients with theirs. Wealthy investors often have valuable wine collections. Like art, they need advice on managing those collections ...

4. Are You Willing to be Accountable to Your Clients?
(Matching tags: client feedback,client satisfaction,differentiation,marketing,niche management,target marketing)

One thing preventing us from getting more clients is our unwillingness to take their advice.

5. A Clear and Unique Value is Critical Because Everyone Wants to Eat Your Lunch
(Matching tags: client acquisition,differentiation,competitors,marketing)

  Financial advisors are facing more competition from more directions than ever.

6. Guest Post: Yodlee Is Offering Free Account Aggregation With An Investor Dashboard For Controlling Advisor Access; Another Sign Of Fee-Compression Coming
(Matching tags: differentiation,competitors,value proposition,RIAs,financial planning,CFP Board,account aggregation)

Heads up: Yoddlee is offering free acount aggregation now that let’s investors share their aggregated data with their financial advisors.  It’s ingenious. An investor signs up and sends ...

7. Gaps In Advisor-Client Perceptions Point To New Model Of The Future
(Matching tags: Advisor businesses,differentiation,client communications,investor behavior)

A recent survey of advisors points out significant differences in client and advisor perceptions. Even when advisors and clients look at the same data on investment performance, they usually are looking ...

8. The Big Referral Myth: How The Internet Has Changed The Way Advisors Get Business
(Matching tags: Advisor businesses,Anatomy of the Referral,differentiation,enterprise value,marketing,referrals,niches,Social Media)

Referrals from clients may no longer be the primary way people find you. Google search is increasingly the way advisors are connecting with clients. This presents an opportunity but also poses a threat. ...

9. To Get Your Clients Referring, Teach Them The Trigger Phrases
(Matching tags: trigger phrases,differentiation,client education,marketing,referrals)

  “I believe any salesperson worth their salt has developed a list of phrases, situations, and verbal clues that, if heard during a sales presentation, signal it’s time to take the order. ...

10. iPad Offers A Great Way For Private Wealth Advisors To Make Marketing Videos And Save About $3,000 By Eliminating Need For Touch Screen Monitor
(Matching tags: client communications,differentiation,marketing,niche management,prospecting,Social Media,target marketing,videos)

The new iPad, when combined with the new Apple TV solution, provides a great way for investment advisors to make their own marketing videos.   I spent about 10 hours in recent months researching ...

11. Contrasting The 1% With The 5%; Why Some Advisors Serving The 5% Might Try Moving Up-Market To The 1%
(Matching tags: communication,differentiation,client loyalty,client satisfaction,investor behavior)

There’s another side to the 1%: the 5%, Middle Class Millionaires, and they are your clients. You might even serve some of the 1%. Many advisors have one, two, or three ultra-high net worth individuals ...

12. Partnering, Merging, Succession, And Other Business Deals--Including Serving Clients; Making All Your Work With People More Fulfilling And Successful
(Matching tags: client acquisition,integrity,communication,differentiation,leadership,competitors,client satisfaction,fiduciaries,Offbeat)

  Win-win relationships are a requirement of business success. The more you chase after ways to be generous in business, the more you will find success. This has been said many times before. But ...

13. Murder, Ponzi Schemes, And Lack Of Regulatory Effectiveness Point To Need For Investor Education
(Matching tags: differentiation,client education,client loyalty,compliance,client communications,Dodd-Frank)

  By the Tuesday March 6 sunset, Allen Stanford was transformed from an accused person to a convicted criminal. He had created a $7 billion Ponzi scheme touting ‘safe’ certificates of ...

14. Separate Yourself From Other Advisors By "Productizing"
(Matching tags: productizing,differentiation,elevator speech,niche,marketing,client communications,referrals)

  Face it – what most of us do for clients is indistinguishable from what other advisors do for clients, at least from the clients’ perspective.

15. The Second Step In Your Communication Plan Is Training Your Staff
(Matching tags: differentiation,client education,marketing,staff)

  Creating a compelling brand image that will attract referrals requires everyone in your firm deliver a consistent description of who you can help and how.

16. Authenticity Is Key To Success For Advisors Using Social Media, Giving Fiduciaries A Natural Edge
(Matching tags: differentiation,marketing,niche management,client communications,fiduciaries,Social Media)

The din from social media experts telling advisors how to tweet, blog, and create other content is at high pitch. The one thing I would add is a call for authenticity. People will read if you are ...

17. What Do Hugely Successful Firms Have In Common With Kleenex? How Advisors Gain From Doing One Thing Great
(Matching tags: differentiation,marketing,referrals)

When you can make your firm synonymous with the solution clients are looking for, new business arrives automatically.

18. Are You “Wowing” Clients? Most Advisors Think They Are But Are Just Fooling Themselves
(Matching tags: differentiation,elevator speech,marketing)

  We have been told that to attract referrals and clients, we have to provide a “wow” experience. But that’s just not enough on which to base a business development plan.

19. If You Want More Sex, It Is Not About How Much You Ask For It; Same With Referrals
(Matching tags: differentiation,marketing,referrals)

  Attracting referrals is like attracting sex. Stick with me and I’ll explain.

20. Do You Have The Guts To Set Yourself Apart?
(Matching tags: differentiation,marketing)

  In a recent post, Seth Godin points out that creating a competitive advantage takes guts.