His story may be familiar to you. Randy Pausch, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, was given only three to six months of good health ahead.
Before receiving the horrifying medical news, Randy Pausch had been scheduled to give what’s called a “last lecture” at the university where he taught — Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. These lectures offered professors time to reflect on and share their personal and professional journeys.
Sadly, his would become just that: a last and final lecture for a dynamic, creative 47-year-old professor. Two million copies of his book “The Last Lecture” are in print, and it reached #1 on the “New York Times”list of bestsellers.
When I read, I look out for tools, tactics, and lessons for financial advisors. I wasn’t sure, though, that I would find anything in his book for you, but on page 9 there it was . . . the big idea.
Two Colossal Questions
To Put Life Into Your Practice
The ultimate purpose of the videotaped lecture was to become a part of his legacy for his three young children. So Randy Pausch chose to talk about living. He asked himself two questions:
“What makes me unique?”
“What do I alone truly have to offer?”
Let’s linger awhile with these two big questions. Few financial advisors grapple with them; fewer ever answer them. Consider this: You have a “life sentence,” which is a call to put your story and your life into your financial advisory practice and your marketing.
We’re all familiar with the look-alike “professional” biographies and brochures. Sometimes, it seems that the only difference is in the names and, perhaps, various initials after each name. It could be CIMA, or CPA, or CFP, or something else.
And the direct opposite of the answer to Randy Pausch’s question, “What makes me unique?” is in cookie-cutter websites where it seems financial advisors try really hard just to turn out a message like everyone else’s.
Now I invite you to turn your back on cookie-cutter, tired and drab, lifeless marketing messages once and for all and go deeper into the truth of who you are. Pause for a minute or two and think about what you care most deeply about.
For Financial Advisors,
Three Paths To Your Uniqueness
Answers to three questions can start you on your path to your uniqueness.
1 - What are you most passionate about?
An early, rewarding experience and relationship led to a long, happy career.
“No one was surprised when Mark became a financial advisor. In high school he bought his first mutual fund. When he was a high school senior, he started an investment club (his father joined the club) with his stockbroker as his mentor.”
2 - What are your strengths? Where do you shine?
Here’s an example of how two financial advisors combined their strengths for a “partnership made in heaven.” Our client’s strengths are marketing, closing, and educating. His partner is exceptional at financial management and providing 5 Star Service.
You might take your strengths for granted. Ask others (clients, friends, family) for some enlightening and heartwarming answers. Then, build your practice around your strengths. Let go of as much of everything else as you can.
Why Did You Become A Financial Advisor?
A client’s brochure tells his story:
“When I was 15 years old, I needed financial advice. I built my ‘lawn-mowing business’ from the bottom up, saving $36,000 in the process. It came from the sweat of mowing each $12 lawn, and, like you, I did not want to lose any of my hard-earned money.
“At that time, I tried to talk to a stockbroker about what to do with my money, but he would not offer any solid advice, just stock tips. It was, then, that I decided I would learn everything I could to safely manage my own money. Now, I share what I have learned and my experience with my clients.”
Your answers to these three questions will reveal, “What do I alone truly have to offer?”
And your answers will be unique to you.
Randy Pausch’s answer was “really achieving your childhood dreams.” And he showed that through his passion he also encouraged his students to fulfill their own dreams.
Free access to our “7 Client-Attraction Secrets of Highly Successful Financial Advisors” is at http://www.marketingplanfinancialadvisor.com
May 19th, 2008
You told us, in our just completed survey of financial advisors (Thanks to everyone who participated), that building trust was vital to growing your practice.
You may be aware of how easily trust can be destroyed. And it may not be anything you did. There is a fact of life today that is wiping out trust. I’m talking about the reports of greed and misdeeds raging through the media.
According to a survey by sociologist David Halpern, only 34% of Americans now believe that other people can be trusted.
But did you know that you can create trust?
Here’s Stephen M. R. Covey in his book “The Speed of Trust:”
“We can increase trust – much faster than we might think – and doing so will have a huge impact, both in the quality of our lives and in the results we’re able to achieve.”
The 322 page book plus footnotes and an index isn’t a light brush stroke. Yet Covey has a lot to say that’s valuable for financial advisors. Here we’ve added Covey’s thoughts to ours for . . .
5 FACES Of TRUST
I. Keep Commitments To Yourself And To Your Clients
Our client (we’ll call him Matt) was described in his survey of his own clients with the heartwarming phrase, “Trust with a Capital T.”
Covey may have explained why Matt won such a powerful feeling of trust when he wrote, “One of the fastest ways to restore trust is to make and keep commitments – even very small commitments – to ourselves and others.”
Here’s an example of a common situation that you can change. Don’t lie about small things such as having your assistant tell a caller that you are in a meeting when you are not.
Matt earned his “Trust with a Capital T” by small daily courtesies and concerns for his clients and, also, caring enough to keep his commitments.
II. Demonstrate Competence
This is something we insist on in bios, brochures, and websites. If you have credentials, please don’t take them for granted. And please don’t assume that your prospects understand what they mean. The initials CIMA are meaningless unless you explain that you took a nine-month course and passed an exam given by professors at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. And CIMA requires living by a Code of Ethics (another trust building tool).
III. Take the Mystery Out Of Your Fees
The third Face of Trust is not from Covey’s book but from a report called “A Matter or Trust” by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and State Street Global Advisors.
The report makes the strongest connection between coming across as trustworthy with being upfront about your fees. And here are three steps to take:
Talk about fees early in the relationship. You’ll allay their fears right away and begin to build trust.
Present a simple, single fee structure.
Put fees in writing so that prospects don’t have to rely on memory. That way, there won’t be doubt or confusion later.
IV. Become An “Eternal Student”
Stephen M. R. Covey said this: “…to remain credible in today’s world, we need to constantly improve our capabilities.”
Luciano Pavarotti, one of the greatest tenors ever, called himself an “eternal student.” Personally, I love that role. Last year, I invested about $15,000 in web marketing courses and conferences. Being an “eternal student” shows that you are not stuck in the old ways or left behind in a high-speed world.
It’s only on the game shows where there is a “final answer.”
A client has a passion for research with 7 screens in his office all providing up-to-the-minute information from the top-level services he subscribes to – the same ones that large institutions pay big bucks for. When he recommends something to a client, it’s not last-year’s “final answer,” but up-to-the-minute results from an exhaustive search through his sources and resources.
V. Contribute
Is your work about you or do you give back? Check out Covey’s “The Speed of Trust” for much more about trust.
You can inspire and uplift others, and counter mistrust, by revealing your altruistic side. James, a client, (the names have been changed) tells this story:
“When she was a year old, my daughter was diagnosed with an unknown heart condition. On my trip to Children’s Hospital to meet the pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Donna Connors, I was filled with fear. Dr. Connor’s words were simple and straightforward, and as she talked, my anxiety and fear literally melted away.
“As I look back, I see the similarity between Dr. Connors’ role then and my role now as a financial advisor. Women often meet with me feeling very confused and fearful. Time and again I have thought that I would be providing an invaluable service if I could give our clients even a portion, however small, of the relief that Dr. Connors was able to give me on that morning.”
Free access to our “7 Client-Attraction Secrets of Highly Successful Financial Advisors” is at http://www.marketingplanfinancialadvisor.com
Yours for more income,
Shirley Hanson
shirley@marketingplanfinancialadvisor.com
www.marketingplanfinancialadvisor.com
215-753-2620
May 2nd, 2008
