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There is no question that having a good reputation, whether personally or as a business, is an important key to success. In fact, a quick search of any number of business sites reinforces the same thing, “a good reputation is important because it can help distinguish you from competitors, and it is often the deciding factor in whether someone chooses you over them.”
It could also explain why the Wealth Professional virtual awards program included a panel of successful female financial advisors talking about how they achieved success and why a good reputation was pivotal to building their practices.
However, establishing a good reputation as a financial advisor in your community, whether early on or later, is not always intuitive. Some simply assume that a reputation just happens when, in reality, it is entirely in your control and something you develop and nurture over time.
When dealing with your clients from day one on:
- Be trustworthy
- Offer value
- Provide a good customer experience
- Communicate clearly and often
- Advise with their best interest in mind
There is no wiggle room or room for error in any of these areas. When you deliver in all these areas each and every time, chances are you are a good, if not great, advisor – but building a reputation means you have to let people outside your immediate clients know who you are and what you offer. That requires work, promotion and being available.
Do the hard work
Be prepared to put in the work to establish your reputation. Skimping on this part only means you project a person unwilling to take the time to do a good job.
- Do research and take the in-depth training to become the expert on matters that interests your target market – if you are aiming at female investors, for instance, talk about life rather than investments and show your ability to understand a woman’s situation using personal anecdotes to show how well you listen.
- Never miss an opportunity to be in front of the public – and let it be known you are available for interviews, or as a guest for podcasts and offer to do presentations relevant to audiences – but be careful to educate rather than sell.
- Write regular, short pieces and create blog posts and articles for local publications – but make sure anything you write is interesting – especially to the people you target. Real life examples help make your stories that much more interesting.
- Consider writing a book (you can self-publish at very low cost) – it doesn’t have to be an award-winning novel – but rather a piece that speaks clearly and honestly to people important to you.
Promote your know-how to the right people
Remember, if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it – how do you know it really fell? The same applies to you – no matter how great you are, no one will know unless you get your message out there – so be seen and heard!
- Make a list of media folks in your town (or nationally/internationally) and reach out to editors, broadcasters, influencers and let them know about your expertise – or send them an article, or a white paper you wrote on the subject and offer yourself for an interview.
- Build a distribution list (mailing list) of people you want to reach. Include media as well as clients, prospects and those in charge of finding speakers
- Post your thoughts, opinions and research on your website and social media (LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook) to show the breadth and depth of your knowledge and be sure to include any exposure, such as interviews, articles etc. that you’ve been getting.
Build a reputation for the long term and be accessible
Building a reputation takes time but it starts with raising awareness among the media and making yourself available when they contact you.
- Make it easy to get a hold of you – email, cell number, other
- And when the media asks you for an interview, or to be a speaker or to write something – do your best to make yourself available – it’s a golden opportunity to build your reputation.
For more information on working with clients who invest, visit our website www.strategymarketing.ca, sign up to our mailing list and order our book INVEST(in)HER – The Smart Financial Advisor’s Guide to Winning Female Clients in 6 Easy Steps