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I really hope you’ll sign up for INVINCIBLE: The Most Direct Path to $1 Billion, the all-day advisor growth workshop we’re hosting with FourPointe Consulting and LiveOak Bank on May 9 in San Francisco and May 10 in Portland, OR.If […]

Like most people with a social media account, my feed is oversaturated with random acts of content – written pieces without any strategy or value – and so I’ve become very selective about what I allow onto my reading list. […]

For a job that inherently deals with constant change, from fluctuating markets to the unpredictable life events, the role of a financial advisor is one that is often steeped in tradition. Tradition is outdated. As in nearly all other aspects […]

The year is almost over. That means it’s time to write your annual marketing plan. (You do have a plan, right? I hope you aren’t spending money without one!) The next few posts are going to show you how to […]

In my last post, I shared a few data points from the recent Penton and WealthManagement.com surveys of advisors and their service providers. If you remember, the findings showed that the word “marketing” means very different things to advisors and […]

Everybody likes to think they’re open-minded. But what if you’re really not? As I said last time, there’s no point in paying for outside advice if you have no intention of listening to it. But all of us have trouble admitting […]

Have you ever wondered, “Do I really need a Marketing or PR agency? Can’t I just do everything myself?” If so, this posts—and the next four that follow—are for you. Last week, I was on a call with an advisor […]

As I said in an earlier post: when you sell to advisors, you have to be authentic to your own product. If you’re not, you’ll eventually be exposed as a fake. It’s inevitable. Still, people keep trying to fake it […]

How to be an outstanding PR spokesperson Public Relations is challenging.  Because it is by nature unpredictable, with no precise formula for achieving a desired result, it can be particularly stressful both for those who practice it as a profession […]

In my last post, I talked about why your story needs a good villain. About why you need tension, and conflict, and a reason for your clients and prospects to cheer for you. Now I want to share two examples […]

I have a question for you. You won’t understand at first why it’s important. But it goes right to the heart of who you are, and what your business represents. Just bear with me. Who is your favorite movie villain […]

Right this minute, we are watching the collision of two forces that are shaking advisor firms to their foundations. The first is the commoditization of advice, driven in part by technology. Face it: investment performance is no longer a credible […]

This is the story of how we lost an account. It was a painful lesson, but one that’s worth reading whether you’re an agency, vendor or advisor—really, anyone who’s invested in the growth of advisor firms. Of course, I’ve changed […]

These days, every advisor is looking to buy a marketing tool. Which explains why every vendor is trying to sell one—whether they actually have anything to sell or not. As I’ve written before, the whole industry now understands that the […]

Why did you go originally into business with your partners? And as a follow up: how long did it take you to think of an answer to that question? I’ve worked with some advisor teams that seem like a natural […]

If you want to build your business, become a Ghostbuster. I’m not referring to the movie, exactly (I didn’t even see the sequel.) I’m talking about the theme song. If there’s somethin’ strange in your neighborhood  Who ya gonna call? […]

As I said in my earlier post, some advisors are running on empty—and don’t even know it yet. They might be cruising smoothly for now. But if they aren’t adding enough prospects to the top of their sales funnels, they […]

There’s a looming marketing crisis the industry isn’t acknowledging. I encourage you to pay attention to it so that you can maintain sustainable growth for years to come. In February, I attended the 2017 T3 Advisor Conference. As you would […]

The financial industry overcomplicates things. Marketers across the industry will sympathize with me, we’ve all seen firms take more than a year to approve one 12-page brochure. It is not unusual for firms to appoint committees who meet to go […]

In my last post, I urged you to think carefully before launching a book or a podcast—not to discourage you from pursuing your dream to market this way, but to make sure your dream is grounded in reality. If you’ve […]

Developing a Podcast Marketing Strategy Have you ever pictured your name on the cover of a book—or your podcast at the top of the iTunes charts? If so, this two-part post is for you. Years ago, it felt like pulling […]

Do you know how to take a compliment? More importantly, do you know how to use a compliment? Most businesspeople love positive client testimonials. Imagine restaurants without 5-star Yelp reviews, movies without 95% fresh ratings, weight loss clinics without before-and-after pictures. […]

You’ve seen the stats. Women already control most of the wealth in America, and our share is only going up (1). Boomer women have started inheriting their husbands’ assets. Millennial women are outpacing men in academic achievement (2). So, if […]

Do you plan to spend more on marketing this year? Apparently, your peers do. According to the latest TD Ameritrade Institutional RIA Sentiment Survey, RIAs expect to increase their 2017 marketing budgets by 27%. I wonder where all that money […]

Right now, you should be running. At top speed. With a flag in your hand, ready to plant it in the ground. Get the reference? It’s from Far and Away, that ‘90s movie where Tom Cruise plays an Irish immigrant […]

Identifying Your Target Market If you’ve ever been to an industry conference or read an advisor trade pub, you’ve heard an expert telling you the “best” way to define a target market is by profession. But is that notion true? […]

What’s your plan for the next stock market crash? I bet that question took you by surprise. Judging by some of the conversations I’ve had recently, it’s probably not something you’ve been thinking about very much. As of this writing, […]

I know, I know. Your integrations are real. Not like those other guys. You integrate with more vendors, or you have more APIs, or you’re the one who’s really seamless. Tough love moment: Integration isn’t a differentiator anymore. It’s just a […]

Some advisors say they want to stand out from the crowd—but they’re fibbing. They really want to look and sound like everybody else. We can help them define their target market, identify clear points of differentiation, and craft a targeted […]

As I’ve already explained, an exceptional service model can take your business quite far. Add a handful of strong Center of Influence (COI) relationships, and you may have everything you need to drive your growth. Here are some center of influence […]

PR Interview Tips from FiComm PR and sports have a lot in common.  In sports, you get out what you put in.  But despite countless hours of practice, studying your opponent, working out, doing everything right – there are no […]

How would you like to get so many referrals that they’re your number one source of inbound leads? You potentially could—if you’re willing to to take an honest assessment of your approach to service models. If you’re like many other […]

If you sell to advisors, you’ve probably experienced at least one deal that seemed like a sure thing—but you just couldn’t make it happen. You hit it off with the advisor. He or she seemed to really get your message. […]

(Note: In this post, I’m speaking directly to all the marketing coordinators, marketing directors and marketing managers ensconced at their lonely posts inside advisor firms. This one’s for you—but it might do some good if your boss reads it, too.) […]

Sometimes, participating in an RFP process is like eavesdropping on an awkward first date. You can tell everybody is trying to say the right thing, but nobody really understands what the other person is talking about. Here are a few […]

You and your vendors come from different worlds. Vendors love to work with large companies that have deep pockets and teams of experts to guide the project along. When they look at financial services, they see a vast opportunity representing […]

I admit it. I didn’t get it for a long time. There I was, working in-house at advisor firms, putting out RFPs to marketing agencies and consultants as part of my daily job responsibilities. The proposals would come back. I’d […]

At FiComm, we attend conferences with a certain passion that can only be explained by our fangirl/fanboy like view of the independent wealth management community. We love the energy, the people, the networking, the content, and the access that we […]

In the Navy, I fixed combat aircraft.  F/A-18’s and F-14’s primarily, with some EA-6B Prowlers and S3 Viking sub-hunters sprinkled in occasionally to keep it interesting.  I spent 9 months at Naval Avionics school and finished 2nd in my class, so […]

I’m just going to get right to it, drones are everywhere. Every agency I know has or rents them, everyone has one on their Christmas list, and let’s face it: they’re pretty damn cool. But are they a valuable marketing […]

This is the second half of a two-part post. In the first, I gave you homework—a few questions to identify what you really need before you hire marketing staff. Now, I’m going to offer a few specific staffing suggestions.

That is the question. You may not need a marketing department at all if your business is cruising along at a good pace and you’re happy with your success. Even if you are trying to grow, you can still choose […]

I take a strong personal interest in the role of interns. That’s because my first job in business was a paid internship at a John Hancock Financial Network career agency. I’ve been a huge advocate ever since. That’s why it […]

I know you love your product. I probably do too. But advisors just don’t. I understand how you feel. It’s frustrating to work day and night to stay on the cutting edge of technology to realize advisors aren’t interested. When […]

Are you an advisor? A vendor? Either way, I think you’ll be interested in the new weekly FiComm blog we’re launching today. We will be covering all things communications including messaging, public relations, content marketing, and creative. My posts will […]