If you’re in a crowded market, we recommend changing the rules of the game so that you’re The Only Game in Town. The best way to be radically different and better than the competition is not to play by the same old rules.
We work with Financial Advisors and that’s a crowded field. “Financial Advisor” means different things to different people, and even within the industry it could mean any of the following… Tax Accountant, Financial Planner, Estate Planning Lawyer, Investment Manager, stock broker, et. al.
So, it’s a role that’s confusing to clients, which means they usually respond, “I already have a Financial Advisor,” just as a brush-off because the term is so broad. Therefore we recommend Financial Advisors focus on their strengths, identify client outcomes you’re great at achieving, and then become known for those outcomes. Make your name synonymous with these unique and valuable client outcomes.
By refusing to play by the standard rules of the game, you are changing the rules by defining the value you provide in a different way. In our business, don’t simply cite the client services you deliver, such as “I provide Financial Planning and Investment Management services, etc” instead you focus on client outcomes.
What if you were to describe your value differently, “I only work with people who are currently struggling with a Significant Financial Issue. We resolve the issue that’s keeping you up at night so you can then continue working with your current Financial Advisor or team.” Can you see how this is not your typical Financial Advisor? Rather than a brush-off, the response is more likely curiosity. A response like, “what kind of Significant Financial Issues do you mean?” Now there’s a conversation rather than a dismissal.
If you’re then someone who’s actually currently dealing with a financial problem, you might then ask, “do you help people with (my current financial problem)?” Again, a conversation is the goal, rather than a “change of subject.”
What if the Financial Advisor added, “We’re the only firm in town that specialized in helping people through Significant Financial Issues, after which you return to working with your regular financial team.” Wow. That sounds different. That doesn’t sound like any Financial Advisors I know (…and if their current Financial Advisor actually knew how to resolve their current problem, wouldn’t they have already done it? The door is now open!).
The point is not to simply define yourself by the same stale rules everyone else in your industry uses. Change the rules. Define yourself differently. Be different and better. Work to be known as The Only Game in Town.
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