To provide this, one way to start is to develop a value proposition or statement of the value and fair process. An example of such a statement might be as follows:
"XYZ Company provides financial security through a unique use of expertise in non-traditional investments diversified in a multi-asset-class portfolio to provide stability in the value and growth of a client's investments consistent with their current financial needs and future goals."
The purpose of such a statement is to be able to articulate the unique value innovation that can be delivered to the client and to do so clearly and succinctly.
The final step is to retool your Web site, marketing and promotional materials to align with this message and to then deliver that message using Tipping Point Leadership.
Based on the book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (first published by Little Brown in 2000), the tipping point is an examination of how change happens all at once, as the result of a consistent reinforcing element, such as a consistent and continuous message.
By that, the message is delivered to clients and prospects through a variety of venues and is consistently pushed out there over time. In other words, this is not a "try it for a little while to see what happens" approach. We are talking about a long-term consistent approach to deliver that unique value innovation that is far more likely to yield substantial results than any other method.
Examples of this can be found everywhere, but one in particular involved a financial planner that placed a 2 inch advertisement in a local newspaper's once-a-week business section. The ad showed her photo and the simple phrase "thorough and resourceful financial planning" along with the phone number. This ad was run for probably 20 years. And it fueled the substantial growth of this very successful firm over those years. In preparation for retirement, the ad was pulled and then changed later with the new firm's principal, her son. Yet people would still see her on the street and remark that they just saw the ad in the paper. It was so consistent; it was embedded in the memory of any and all who read that publication.
And while newspapers may or may not be the most popular advertising medium with financial advisors, the same approach can be taken with Web sites, social media, e-mail campaigns, radio and television spots and a variety of other venues.
In short, using the value innovation approach will not only help you identify your niche, but also provide a highly efficient and easy-to-maintain system to dramatically increase the influx of new clients to your practice.
David L. Lawrence, Ph.D., is founder and president of Efficient Practice, a consulting firm that provides financial practices, broker-dealers and independent firms with comprehensive, profit-driven efficiency consulting and resources. For details, visit www.efficientpractice.com.