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How often have you heard the advice that in order to be successful you have to be different? You have to stand out from the crowd, right?
Gail Graham, the highly respected industry marketing expert from Fidelity and United Capital, described FA websites as the “sea of sameness.” Every advisor claims to be different because they have a better process, provide better service, and cares more. By trying to be different you all look the same.
Perhaps being different is the wrong goal…
Bruce Springsteen, the long-time Rock-and-Roll Hall-of-Famer and hit record-maker puts it this way, “More than rich. More than famous. More than even being happy. I wanted to be GREAT.”
Did Steve Jobs inspire his team and the world by saying, “At Apple we want to make products that are different?” Of course not!! Jobs, and the products his team designed, are renowned for being “insanely GREAT.”
Have you ever heard a superstar athlete talk about how they want to be different? Nope. They profess their desire to be one of the best who ever played the game.
Muhammad Ali Ali didn’t shout, “I am the most different!” No, no, no! “I am the GREATEST.”
Being “different” is not a goal. It’s a by-product of a bigger goal.
Related: Why the Financial Services Industry Is a Tailwind Business
You don’t want to be a different financial advisor. You want to be a GREAT financial advisor. Since most financial advisors have made a conscious decision to under-serve their clients and not be great, by being great you will be different.