Re-brand yourself to target core clients

December 01, 2006 at 07:00 PM
Share & Print

Someone from the Midwest called me and asked, "how do you actually promote yourself or promote a specific image which you want to be associated with?" This is the $64,000 question.

I am very particular about my image and that of my company. That's why I only work with two FMOs who are both very image conscious and a broker/dealer that has won "B.D. of the Year" four out of the past six years. I have also hired a P.R. firm to help me with my image, as the image you put out there will directly influence the type of clients you attract.

I have said for years, "I don't want to create any brain damage by trying to acquire the wrong type of clients." That's why my office staff and I wrote a list of our 10 best clients. Between the five of us, we came up with seven of the same clients.

We profiled these clients and said we need 100 more just like them. We geared all of our marketing toward these types of clients. This is what we call our core client type (perfect client). Some of the common characteristics were "fun" and "friendly," so all of our ads and literature talk about those attributes. I then went through an extensive re-branding with a well-known branding coach. Then I hired AdvisorPR, a firm who mostly deals with financial advisors.

We have all heard for years how important it is to get free press. I've tried like most of you have, but couldn't get it done. That is not one of my core competencies. I realized that I need to do what I do best and delegate everything else to someone who is great at that job. That is why we hired Alana Schofield of AdvisorPR to accomplish that task.

We then started a campaign to reflect who we are, what we do, and what we do in the community. Alana handles press releases, T.V., radio and other media sources.

So now we have picked our perfect client; designed a marketing campaign; and also a media campaign. Our goal is that by January 2008, I will be the most recognized financial advisor in my region, and if you want to work with me and my staff, you had better be fun.

You can do all this yourself as I could have, but I only know how to close deals, gather assets, manage relationships, and have fun.

You should first create a perfect client profile, a marketing plan and then your action plan as well as your goals.

Work through your FMO or BD to help you use the proper marketing systems. See my October article. Prospect Digital will do most of this for you. Possibly hire a P.R. person like Alana, or work with an FMO who has a P.R. expert on staff, like I do. I use both.

Then turn on the plan and in 18 months you will be as successful as you could have ever imagined.

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Related Stories

Resource Center