I have a neon sign in my office that says, “Everything is Connected.” I think that’s very apropos in the situation that we’re going through right now. This virus started in the middle of China with one person and has now spread worldwide. Think about that, in this day and age, just how globally connected this world is that something can start with one person in the middle of China, spread around the world, and basically throw the whole world into a global recession—all within just a few months. It’s all connected.
None of us know what will happen but as professionals it’s our job to assess the environment, to limit blind spots, to think about the scenarios that our clients don’t have the time or insight to formulate, and to create a coherent point of view and game plan that makes sense based on the available information. And that point of view and game plan should evolve over time as new information arrives.
6. What should I being doing differently going forward to ensure my business thrives no matter what the new normal looks like?
As humans, we’re adaptable creatures. We can take massive punches yet still find a way to recover and thrive. And I have no doubt we’ll do the same in this crisis. In fact, crises are often the catalyst for bringing out the resourcefulness of the human spirit.
Knowing that, how will you evolve as an advisor and as a business owner? Will you change your investment philosophy and add additional asset classes? Will you change your pricing or enhance your service offering? Will you sell to a larger firm to give you long-term stability and greater resources? The possibilities to evolve are endless.
One thing I do know is, if you continue business as usual, you’ll quickly get left in the dust by forward-thinking advisors who are aggressively adapting as the world changes.
Communicate
Advisors ask me all the time, “How do I get more clients?” One of the best ways is to have a point of view on issues important to clients and share it widely, consistently, and with memorable clarity to your targeted audience.
Now is the time to be visible and vocal to your targeted ideal client audience. Not in a tone-deaf salesy way but in a helpful, educational way. Do webinars. Send out email letters. Write and promote your blog posts. Write guest post for other websites. Get active on LinkedIn and Facebook. Publish videos and podcasts. Reach out and connect with journalists on Twitter and LinkedIn.
You can use your answers to questions 2–6 to generate all kinds of content ideas in your “visible and vocal” communication campaign. Create the content once and repurpose it for the other media channels.
The opportunity to grow and distinguish yourself right now is tremendous. People are cracked open and willing to consider something new. With your well-formulated point of view, you can fill that void and gain a disproportionate share of new business.
Steve Sanduski, CFP, is the founder of Belay Advisor; the CEO of ROL Advisor, a discovery process technology system; a New York Times bestselling author; host of the Between Now and Success podcast and a financial advisor business coach.