Offering financial advice can mean many things for different financial advisors, and there are many reasons that advisors choose to join the planning profession. But for many advisors, the process of articulating their philosophies about financial advice and what it is the advisor stands for can be much more challenging than learning the technical aspects of financial planning. Clarifying these ideas and developing a mission statement, or ‘manifesto’, can be a rewarding exercise that resonates with prospects and clients and can also be useful to create impactful marketing collateral – not only to express how and why advisors believe financial advice should be provided on a broader level but also to support their business growth by attracting the right types of prospects and clients.
In our 108th episode of Kitces & Carl, Michael Kitces and client communication expert Carl Richards discuss how advisors can communicate and market their own philosophies on financial planning and how the process of crafting a ‘manifesto’ can help advisors clarify and realize their most fulfilling vision of what it means to be a financial advisor.
Advisors who are looking for ways to articulate what it is they stand for can start by identifying who their ideal clients are and what they enjoy most about helping them. Having frank conversations with clients and prospects and asking them about how they have been served well (or not so well) by other financial professionals in the past, their most important successes, and the common mistakes they most often see others make can help advisors clarify their clients’ specific priorities, unique needs, and commonly experienced pain points. Furthermore, by connecting how their financial advice addresses their clients’ most common concerns, advisors can better understand the key elements that can serve as the foundation for a meaningful and relevant manifesto.
While there is no set rule on how long or short a manifesto used for marketing purposes needs to be, it is generally useful to provide it in a format that can be easily read and distributed. A small pamphlet or booklet can serve as a tangible deliverable for prospects, just as a website page can be easily accessible and can communicate the advisor’s beliefs just as clearly. Regardless of the format, a well-written, earnest manifesto can help advisors market their services to prospects while communicating their sincere beliefs about financial planning.
Ultimately, the key point is that by understanding and articulating what they stand for, advisors can more easily connect to prospective clients who will benefit the most from their services. Furthermore, doing so through a manifesto used as a marketing tool can also support the organic growth of the advisor’s business, and connecting with more of the right prospects upfront means the advisor will have more opportunities to establish and sustain more rewarding client relationships in the long run!
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