Reasons to Work with You

First, the message must be client-focused. As At Ease consultant Brigid O'Connor notes, "Advisors are taking time to consider the client's perspective and this is a stellar step in the right direction." It's about articulating the benefits of your practice, not just the features.

Yet far too few advisors put the time [and money] into creating a winning marketing program: brochures, a website, newsletters, events. In fact, two years ago, O'Connor judged a contest of about 50 advisor brochures, representing tens of thousands of dollars. None passed her "smell test:" that the message be client-based rather than advisor-based.

One advisor who has gotten it right: Mark Thompson, an advisor for over 20 years, has a very deep marketing program, including newsletters, brochures, e-mail correspondence, cards and topical reports. With $155 million in assets under management, the Raymond James & Associates certified financial planner has a thriving practice.

But Thompson, based in Melbourne, Fla., is currently sharpening his marketing message after realizing that 10 percent to 20 percent of the referrals he was getting were people who weren't the right fit for him.

At the moment, Thompson, 44, is investing up to $10,000 in new brochures that will more clearly align his marketing message with his ideal practice.

"This was an awakening," says Thompson. "I don't want to have to cull through clients; I'm trying to only have the appropriate ones come to me. My client-based message is that I want to work with more people like my clients. So I need to make sure that my referral sources — CPAs, tax attorneys and clients — know exactly who my target market is. The marketing package needs to say the same thing that the referral source said."

Value Proposition

Creating a marketing message is a good exercise if for no other reason than it triggers reflection: What's my business model? What makes it special? What kind of advisor do I want to be? What kind of clients do I wish to attract?

"One of the biggest issues is: How does an advisor best present himself/herself in terms of their value proposition? What is the advisor's value to a prospect? Inherent in this is that so many people are out there offering services. Let's face it. You have to give a potential client a good reason to work with you versus the rest of the world," observes Howard Gendel, an industrial psychologist who serves as Advisor Products' research director. "What is it that makes you valuable?"

Yet when Gendel — who has conducted focus groups for Merrill Lynch and many other firms — asks advisors just what it is they do, many come up short.

"They're not necessarily aware, then suddenly they'll say: We do all of our money management internally through a committee, and — boom — the light bulb goes on. Suddenly, they realize not everyone in the world does this and you build a value proposition around their unique delivery," he adds.

Gregory Powell, president and CEO of Fi-Plan Partners in Birmingham, Ala., has built his marketing message around a financial planning process he designed known as "Your Financial House." With $200 million in assets under management, the 47-year-old LPL fee advisor is now marketing the concept through his chief contacts: clients, estate planning attorneys and CPAs.

In particular, Powell is pushing his website, which he calls "today's business card." On the site is information about his planning process; bios that show his team's educational and professional credentials as well as non-profit and community involvements; company news and updates; and his stated goal: to make a difference in the lives of his clients, his team and his industry.

The website is part of a marketing program that includes brochures, a monthly newsletter that Powell outsources and get-togethers in his Birmingham Barons skybox, always outfitted with the firm's marketing materials.

"I just don't believe an advisor today can make it without marketing support. And it's a wonderful way [for prospects] to get to know us without feeling like they're being sold. And once your marketing is laid out, there is this momentum effect," says Powell. "And as long as your marketing backs up the true client experience, your business just continues to grow and grow."

Simple and Sincere

Where to start? From the top down.

As Gluck puts it, "You need an elevator speech but you don't start with an elevator speech or a four-word slogan. You start by writing 1,000 words about who you are and what you do and you boil it down to the most important concepts. You get it to 500 words, then boil it down again into a version that could fit a brochure nicely. Then boil it down again into a slogan and an elevator speech."

As for brochures, Advisor Products research suggests that a four-page, 11-inch by 17-inch brochure is by far the most effective and efficient. The so-called Slim Jim, or pocket brochure, is considered downscale and lengthy brochures too weighty. Ideally, they should be professionally written and designed. Charts, diagrams and photographs should all play a part.

"They're deadly unless done well," says O'Connor. "By done well I think brochures should be light on text and easy on the eye. Limited text means what's there might actually get read so the text needs to speak clearly and with great impact."

Gendel's research has also led him to conclude that prospects want to "click" with a brochure "like it's talking to me about something I care about." A lot of advisors favor images of architecture or nature but both Gendel and O'Connor say the better choices are photos or illustrations of people in situational settings, like the classic shot of an older couple strolling casually on a beach.

"I know of a firm that relies on a pyramid for the brand logo. I suspect it holds great meaning for the partners, but it says nothing to other audiences. This isn't necessarily bad marketing, but it is a missed opportunity to say something simple and sincere about the firm," O'Connor notes.