Client Attraction Action

Financial Advisor Marketing: Got Trust?

May 2nd, 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:

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

Entry Filed under: Financial Lead Generation, Direct Marketing, Financial Advisor Marketing Plan