1. Be Omnipresent.
I’ve found that a number of advisors that I’ve had the liberty of coaching and learning from are often careful and overthink about what their online presence looks like. Rather than defining themselves and being self aware, they tend to just stay away from building their brand online. They shy away from posting, sharing, commenting and engaging with their audience. I think this is a MASSIVE missed opportunity..
What do I mean by that? I believe that in order to build a strong brand, you ALWAYS need to be in front of your audience. I believe that you do not always need be talking about your planning philosophy and wearing your “prospecting” hat, it’s actually quite the opposite.
See, people want to work with people. Following another human’s life is captivating, engaging and addictive. Just think about reality TV.
Live your life through different online platforms, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and be yourself. What happens is that people will inevitably click on your profile, see the other platforms you have, each platform happens to also have your LinkedIn and Website…
People WILL find out learn what you do for work. Trust me. People WILL reach out to you. People WILL refer people to you. You WILL be their “go-to”.
2. Add Value.
Mic Drop.
Kidding, I’ll elaborate.
It boggles my mind when advisors think they can make someone a client without giving first. And I don’t mean in the first meeting, I mean before they even meet.
Whether it’s on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook — you should be spending time educating your “audience.” I have the word audience in quotes because you may not know exactly who they are or who is listening, but people either are or they will.
Think about what could happen if you made a post on LinkedIn or Twitter every single day adding true value. By true value, I’m referring to easy to digest, implementable information. Show that you are willing to give without any expectation that you’ll get anything in return.
This is for advisors that are in the long game. Not the short game. For advisors in the long game, it is imperative that people can look at your social profiles to see how much value you have provided in the past. It builds credibility and I believe even pre sells them before they even speak with you.
By providing real, valuable content without any expectation that you’ll get anything in return, these potential prospects will begin to build trust with you just by absorbing that information. They’ll implement a simple budgeting “tip” or “trick,” it will work, and then they’ll do it again when you educate them on another topic.
Once they have a problem they cannot solve on their own i.e. investing, insurance planning, holistic planning that is in alignment with their specific goals, who do you think they’ll call? Bingo! YOU!
Disclaimer: this is only for those advisors who are in this game for the long term and looking to have this be their career, not just a job.
3. Don’t Over Do It.
Know your platform and know your audience.
I believe that you can over do your self promotion and value “nuggets” if you place them on the wrong platform or if they are disproportionate. Allow me to explain..
Facebook.
If all you do is post about your practice and financial planning topics, I believe that you will have a number of people unfollow you or even worst, de-friend you. For most people, Facebook is a place to tune out, see what people are up to and brag or complain about their lives.
With that being said, it’s OK to post about your business in an effort to make people aware of what you do. I just think there should be a 75/25 split. 75% of your posts and interactions should be relevant to your personal life and 25% should be dedicated to your professional life.
These little drips along throughout the week about what you do for work that are outweighed by your personal posts does two things:
- It educates people with what you do for work i.e. financial planning
- It shows that you are not just using the platform for self promotion but instead, awareness and to add value.
LinkedIn.
This is where you not only talk about your practice and add value, but you also make sure to educate your peers, your clients, and your prospects about “industry happenings.” Think about a change in the tax code, market volatility, new product offerings, your planning beliefs, etc.
People go on LinkedIn for two reasons..
- Connect with others
- Absorb Information
Now that you know this, what do you think you should do? That’s right, go connect with as many people as you can and start creating valuable content and information.
Your clients will appreciate it, your colleagues will appreciate it, and your prospects will appreciate it. BUT. Make sure to add value, don’t solicit.
Take my advice, don’t take my advice — it’s up to you.
4. Rekindle Relationships
Ever see someone you haven’t heard from in a while post pictures about their recent trip to Thailand? Maybe they were on their honeymoon, maybe they were traveling for work. Either way, how cool is that? This is a huge opportunity!
I’ve messed this up so many times..
I’ve reached out to people and said things like:
“Hey, just saw the pics of your trip! Looks awesome! We should get together soon and talk about your planning, I run a financial planning pra…blah blah blah.”
Guess how many responses I would get from that?
Zero.
Why? Because I had no intentions of just reconnecting, my motive was to drum up business.
I’ve since changed that and let me explain a specific story.
I kept seeing an old high school friend of mine making posts on Facebook. I started to participate in his comments and conversations. I messaged him and said:
“Hope things are great with you man! Let’s get together soon and grab a drink. it would be great to reconnect — it’s been too long!”
What do you think happened?
We met, had a couple drinks, it was great. Period. End.
But a few weeks later, I get a call from that same person. He told me about another one of our old high school friends. He got a new job making way more money than he was before and wanted him and I to get together.
First off, it was great to reconnect with this other friend, and second, he became a client and generated over $5,000 in revenue to my business.
Long game. Good intentions. Rekindling. Do it and do it often.
5. Free Webinars.
Webinars are the new seminars.
People spend most of their time on their phone, tablet and computer. Understand where attention is moving to and go there.
The days of filling a room full of potential prospects is slowly going away. you might as well be a first mover in this ever changing world.
Think about the scale and think about the amount of impact you can have when there are no geographical limitations. Ever have a seminar scheduled and there was a snow storm or some other reason why your attendance was low? No more.
Webinars can be live, evergreen (autonomous) and replays can be accessed by the viewers.
In this format, add value, add value and when you’re done, add more value.
I believe you should not go for a hard sale at the end. I believe that is too soon.
Instead, make them aware of your other channels i.e. Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram. This will allow them to get to know you just by following your story and absorbing your content.
I think it’s OK to offer them the opportunity to book a call with you but don’t sell this too hard. Make it casual and continue to add value after the webinar.
You’re able to collect their email, and let them know when you publish a new article or when there has been an industry change that may impact them.
Just drip, drip, drip and drip some more content and value.
Again, those of you who are in this business for the long term, this will have a MASSIVE impact on your branding strategy and your bottom line.
Good luck and of course, reach out if you have any questions or thoughts.
Thanks for reading!
