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The market for financial advisors is becoming increasingly competitive. More advisors compete for every opportunity.
In this new environment, rapid adaptation to new ways of doing business is critical. This means adjusting to commonly used technology.
Maximizing Zoom
The shift to videoconferencing is the most glaring example. For a relatively small investment, you can have a very professional set-up for your home office. Just having access to Zoom isn’t enough. If your audio sounds tinny and you have a low-quality video camera, your credibility will suffer.
Recently, an advisor had a Zoom conference with me. His background was his bedroom. It was difficult to take him seriously. Apparently, he wasn’t aware that Zoom gives you the option to create a virtual background.
I’ve had three other experiences with vendors seeking to assist with my new book, Ask. They all wanted my business.
Check out the stories below. They illustrate the need to adapt and be flexible.
Be open
Negotiations with potential clients require more flexibility. I recently had an experience where this flexibility was lacking. It cost the company my business.
I was all set to retain a company to help me market Ask. It had an impressive presentation and was cost-effective. I asked them to send me their agreement. When I reviewed it, I found an arbitration provision permitting them to designate any location in a given state where the arbitration would take place. Theoretically, they could require hearings in the basement of the home of its president. There were a couple of other one-sided clauses.
I marked up the agreement and asked them to amend it. In response, I received an e-mail that read, in part, “To my naked eye, they [my proposed changes] seem sound and reasonable, but unfortunately we don't have the in-house legal capacity to change our standard agreement.”
The balance of the e-mail was a pitch for my business.
Really?
You can’t pay a lawyer for an hour or so to amend your agreement in order to make it commercially reasonable? My changes didn’t impact any of the financial terms.
If you are that tone deaf, why should I deal with you?
I didn’t.
Lack of confidence
I had a different experience with another marketing firm.
It spent hours debriefing me on my marketing plans. It sent me an elaborate spreadsheet and proposal, which called for a hefty monthly retainer. The spreadsheet projected huge revenues from ancillary activities. When I probed for the assumptions underlying those numbers, they told me they were “very confident” the projections were not only realistic, but “extremely conservative.”
I sent them a counterproposal with a reduced retainer, but a greater percentage of the projected revenues. If those numbers were achieved, they would earn many times the fees in their original proposal.
They rejected my proposal.
If they didn’t have confidence in their numbers, why should I?
I didn’t hire them.
The third time was the charm.
Marketing Services For Evidence-Based Advisors...and a New Book!
We offer consulting services on how to convert more prospects into clients through Solin Consulting, a division of Solin Strategic, LLC.
We offer a full range of digital marketing services exclusively to evidence-based advisors through Evidence Based Advisor Marketing, LLC . You can see examples of our work here.
I'm working on a new self-help book for the general public. It's called:
Ask
How to Relate to Anyone
Ask will be published in mid-2020. For more information, click here.
Schedule a call with Dan here
A different attitude
A boutique firm also took the time to learn about my book and my goals. When we had a Zoom conference, they indicated they wanted my business and were “up for the challenge.”
I was positively influenced by these sentiments.
Their proposal suggested a flat fee for two phases, but indicated it was negotiable because they, “really wanted to reach an agreement with me.” For the third phase, they suggested they receive a small percentage of my profit on each retail sale of the book. They indicated they wanted to “have skin in the game.”
I hired them. I didn’t negotiate their fee because it was reasonable.
They showed me it wasn’t “all about them.” They were sensitive to my budget and my other concerns.
The next time you’re competing for business, remember those experiences.
For more information about marketing and branding opportunities with Dan’s upcoming book, Ask: How to Relate to Anyone, click here.
Read more articles by Dan Solin
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
