As a former financial advisor I was considered a bit of a rogue, I was determined to build my business using my purpose as the foundation, and it worked.
I was trained by Smith Barney in one of the best, most extensive training programs on Wall Street, but I had my own vision of what worked for me and I would not relinquish my passion and purpose .
I wanted to serve the wealthy women in Newport Beach who wanted to take charge of their financial life; this was before it became vogue to focus on women.
Most of my peers felt my niche was too narrow, that I would exclude so many men from my practice (and weren’t they really the ones with the money?). But I was committed.
I knew my focus, was passionate about my commitment and shared my story, “Why Women”, with everyone I met.
It didn’t matter who I was speaking to and it didn’t matter the venue, I was quick to share my focus and passion for engaging women. As a result, men became my primary source of referrals and became my client as well.
Advisors I coach on marketing to women are generating the same results, so here is the secret: don’t waver!
My best example was when I cold called a Mr. Solomon. After quickly dispensing the required protocol, I quickly changed gears;
“You know Mr. Solomon to be perfectly honest my real passion is working with women.”
This most definitely got his attention, and that’s when I shared my story.
“When I was young my Dad was a very good investor, he managed our money well and made good investment decisions. To his credit, he constantly urged my mother to become more involved. The problem was when my mother did get involved and started attending their review meetings, he made her feel stupid and incapable of learning because she couldn’t understand the concepts of yield and PE ratio (concepts that were important to my father). The worst part was Mr. Solomon, she believed him. This experience had a powerful impact on me as a young woman, I hated to see my mom feeling that way.
As a young woman starting a career as a financial advisor, women like my mother became my mission. I wanted to create an environment where women felt comfortable asking questions. I wanted women to learn and become more confident in their ability to make important financial decisions. I wanted to create an environment where women felt supported in their efforts to become more engaged with their money. That’s why I do what I do."
After sharing my personal story, Mr. Solomon immediately referred three women to my practice, which amounted to $3,000,000 in new assets.
One of those women referred her fiancé with another $1.5 million, and within the year even Mr. Solomon became my client transferring another $1.7 million to my charge.
I raised $6.2 million in new assets, all because I shared my story about why my focus was helping women become more engaged in their financial affairs.
This is just one of many examples and most of my clients tell me their story, “Why Women”, has had the most significant impact on getting noticed and new business.
When you share your story about why you care about women, you inspire trust from more than just women.
Sharing why you care about women can become your most powerful and effective business-building tool. Most every advisor has a story, the question is… what’s yours?
Is it time for you to create your personal story? This one simple tool will help you immediately make a more powerful and productive connection with every woman you meet.