Rant And Scream

By searchbusiness

 Formulas for Success: What Are You Known For?

As competition for new business heats up, how will prospects notice you?

On a recent trip to Dubai to visit with Pershing clients, I took time to explore the souks in search of gifts to bring home. Amid the specialized bazaars for gold, spices, and perfumes, vendors also peddled pashminas, rugs, and silver. Three things struck me as I stopped at each little shop:

How much each stores offering looked like the others;

How quickly they were willing to negotiate price;

How likely they were to position their products as superior without any verification of the claim.

Many financial professionals do the same thing. As one advisor wrote to me, “Its clear that using comprehensive wealth management or fee pricing is not unique any more as advisors of many stripes can claim some variation of this. Even the advantage of fiduciary may be eliminated by Congress. What can we do to differentiate our firm from the rest of the market?”

Muddled

Muddled Messages

Clearly financial services organizations face challenges in staking out a position that sounds substantially different to prospective clients. Lets take a look at the public positioning of a few examples as of early March 2010. The Web site of Charles Schwab & Co. tells prospective clients to get advice from Schwab because of a “fact-based disciplined approach, time-tested investing principles, personalized to your situation and goals, premium advice without premium price.”

Merrill Lynch, the largest traditional stock brokerage firm, says clients should rely on their financial advisors because of “a one-to-one relationship based on trust, financial advice tailored to your needs, world class research and insights and the resources of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch.”

One of the countrys largest banks, JPMorgan Chase, says: “J.P. Morgan offers individual and family investors a world-class asset and wealth management platform through our Private Bank, Asset Management and Private Wealth Management teams…We foster long-term client relationships by offering tailored solutions designed to help individual investors and families achieve their unique financial goals.”

On the Web sites of some of the countrys leading independent RIAs, the language goes something like this: “Everything we do is driven by our clients financial objectives. We deliver personal wealth strategies and investment management programs tailored to achieve each clients individual goals.”

We could continue the comparison by looking at mutual fund companies, insurance companies that offer financial planning, trust companies and virtually every independent financial advisory firm.

Using a Gimlet Eye

Discount brokers, warehouse reps, banks, and independent advisors have different ways of capturing an economic benefit for themselves while leveraging their unique strengths. Some price by transaction and others by fees, but beyond this, one must parse their messaging with a critical eye.

Notice subtleties like Schwabs emphasis on discounted prices, JP Morgans breadth of service, and Merrill Lynchs research and insight. Even as the independent advisor tries to come across as more customized and individually focused, the others convey the same message of being sensitive to the individual clients objectives, using disciplined and proven approaches, having relevant experience, and linking everything together. So what are you really known for? Are experience, credentials, ethics, and a disciplined approach true differentiators, or merely a minimum threshold for being in the business of financial advice?

Some independent advisors reading this are probably beginning to feel their blood pressure rise over the comparisons above, but the point is that the message is muddled. The language used on Web sites is repeated in collateral material and in conversations with prospects. Prospects and clients find it difficult to discern a difference. When attempting to appeal to new clients, every advisory firm must answer three key questions:

What do you do? Whom do you serve? What makes you unique?

The Flaw of the Negative

But differentiating does not mean denigrating. It has become common practice in the advisory business to characterize ones competitors as less competent, less thorough, and not operating in the best interest of the end client. When the souk merchants used this tactic with me, I began to wonder if anyone in the entire souk was a credible source for the items I was seeking. In spite of their efforts to position themselves as superior, they diminished that perception by giving me a discount to induce a transactionbefore I even showed a solid interest in their product!

That is not to say that comparisons with others in your industry are not appropriate. If you can demonstrate qualities like stability in retaining clients and staff, history of the firm, performance, client satisfactions, and other indicators of superiority, then by all means do so. But the comparisons should be translated into a desired outcome or benefit to the client, not just used as a means of trashing your opponent.

When advisors claim that their credentials, approach, and ethics are superior to all others without any validation or verification, clients wonder who they can trust. An extraordinarily common response for advisors when asked about their competition is, “I dont have any.” Aside from stretching credulity, this positioning also demonstrates a lack of awareness of the broader marketplace for investment management, financial planning, or risk management solutions. If there was only one credible, ethical, and talented advisor for the entire market, then why doesnt that one advisor have all the clients?

Businesses that focus on criticizing their competitors are not doing anything to compel prospects to do business with them. Your positioning should not be about what you are not, but who you are and why that will be of benefit to the client.

The challenge is how to elevate your own brand without tearing down somebody elses? When you “go negative,” how does it reflect on your ethics and professionalism? How does it demonstrate that you are, in fact, superior?

A Strategic Differentiator

Your strategic differentiator is not found in marketing alone. So what does make you unique? Your business decisions in delivering a consistent client experience from the moment a prospect is identified to the delivery of your recommendations and the execution of individual plans. Different types of clients with separate needs and diverse backgrounds will value you in very different ways.

For example, the trustees of a 401(k) plan have different expectations than a high-net-worth retiree in terms of how you report, relate, and respond to them. Lottery winners view their planning and investment needs differently than business owners. Widows and divorcees have a wholly different perspective than that of a young high-tech worker. Its obvious that our communities are filled with diverse opportunities, but the successful positioning of your firm is not always easy. You cannot connect directly with each segment when your language sounds generic.

To be effective at creating a strategic differentiator, the market must eventually recognize you for something. That something could be your firm’s low cost, or an advisor with expertise in a niche, or technical superiority in some area such as long-term care, concentrated stock positions, or retirement planning. You could be regarded as an innovator or for having the best trained and educated professional team in your market. Ask your current clients: When they describe you and your firm to one of their friends or a center of influence, how do they position you beyond the fact that you are trustworthy?

Think about how to define your optimal client, not in terms of net worth or investable assets but in terms of characteristics like life cycle stage, location, personal interests, occupation, critical needs, psychology, and behavior. Then create a differentiating message that causes them to believe you built your advice business just for them.

I have found an online Search Businesses forum discussion which is really useful. Search Businesses to learn something new.

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Great gifts for a wealthy dreamer

By Tom Jui

 Despite what many people say or believe, money does make the world go round. In a world where anything can happen, many of us now live for money and we would all like to have a really good go at being rich, even if just for a day. Buying birthday presents for somebody who really wants to have lots of money can be difficult, as more often than not they would rather have a gift which could help them make more money, or even just money itself.

At UR In the Paper we have the perfect solution for birthday presents, and general gifts, for somebody of this nature, and that gift is to simply make all their dreams come true. Whether you are buying birthday presents for somebody who wants to make their own money or just win lots of money, a bespoke newspaper article is a perfect present aimed at this type of person.

With so many business titles you can choose from, one great idea is to make somebody the most successful within their chosen field. A personalised newspaper article enables you to write pretty much anything, so you can make their own dream business boom and make them millions, even putting them in the top ten rich list.

For someone who is perhaps a little more of a dreamer, bespoke newspaper articles still make great birthday presents. Whether it is becoming an acting sensation or winning the lottery, there is plenty of choice aimed at making money and becoming rich beyond your wildest dreams. When buying birthday presents of any description, it is a good idea to choose light hearted themes, particularly if you are subtly mocking somebody. Newspaper articles can be as serious or as hilarious as desired, turning a wealthy dreamers dreams into reality.

The Article is written by inthepaper.co.uk/ providing birthday gifts and birthday presents Services. Visit http://www.inthepaper.co.uk/ for more information on inthepaper.co.uk/Products & Services____________Copyright information This article is free for reproduction but must be reproduced in its entirety, including live links & this copyright statement must be included. Visit inthepaper.co.uk/ for more services!

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