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Formulas for Success: What Do you have any?
As competition for new business heats up, how perspectives can be seen?
On a recent trip to Dubai to visit customers Pershing, I took some time to explore the souks, looking for gifts to take home. Amidst the specialized bazaars for gold, spices and perfumes, vendors also sold pashminas, carpets, and silver. Three things seemed to be stopped at every little shop:
How much each store offering seemed to others;
The speed with which they were willing to negotiate the price;
How likely was that the position of its products as superior without any verification of the claim.
Many financial professionals to do the same. As a counselor I wrote: "It is clear that the global wealth management through price or fee is not only more as advisers many stripes can claim some variation of this. Even the advantage of trust can be eliminated by Congress. What can we do to differentiate our company from the rest of the market? "
Confused
The mixed messages
It is clear that financial services organizations face challenges in staking a position that sounds very different customers potential. Let's look at the public position of some examples in early March 2010. The Web site of Charles Schwab & Co. said prospective customers for tips Schwab, due to a "disciplined approach based on the facts, the principles of investing time-tested and customized for your situation and objectives, special counseling, without price. "
Merrill Lynch, the largest traditional stock brokerage, says that customers should rely on their financial advisers because "a one-to one based on trust, financial advice customized to your needs, world class research and insights and resources of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. "
One of the largest banks, JPMorgan Chase, said: "JP Morgan offers individual and family investors an asset class and a platform for global wealth management through our Private Banking, Asset Management and Private Wealth Management teams … We encourage long-term customer relationships, offering customized solutions designed to help individual investors and families to achieve their specific financial goals. "
In some web sites of the country's leading independent regional integration arrangements, the language more or less like this: "Everything we do is driven by the objectives of our clients financial. We deliver personal wealth strategies and programs as investment management to achieve individual goals of each client. "
We could continue companies looking to compare mutual funds, insurance companies offering financial planning, trust companies and virtually every independent firm financial advice.
With a Gimlet Eye
discount brokers, representatives of stores, banks and independent advisers have different ways capture economic benefits for themselves while leveraging their unique strengths. Some prices from transactions and other fee, but Beyond this, one must analyze your messages with a critical eye.
Notice subtleties like Schwab's emphasis on discount prices, range of services JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch research and introspection. Although the independent director tries to come across as more personal and focused on an individual basis others convey the same message to be sensitive to the objectives of each client, using proven and disciplined, having relevant experience, and linking all together. So what is really known? Is it the experience, credentials, ethics and a disciplined approach to distinguishing true or just a minimum threshold to be in the business of financial advice?
Some independent consultants reading this are probably starting to feel your blood pressure rise during the previous comparisons, but the point is that the message is confusing. The language used in Web sites is repeated in the substantive and in conversations with customers potential. Prospects and customers have difficulty discerning the difference. When trying to appeal to new customers, all advisory businesses must answer three key questions:
What do you do? Who is it for? What makes you unique?
Negative Gap
But differentiation is not muddy. It has become common practice in the business of advising competitors to characterize as less competent, less complete, and not operate in the best interest of the end customer. When souk traders use this tactic with me, I began to wonder if anyone in the whole bazaar was a credible source for items he was seeking. Despite its efforts to position itself as superior, which decreased the perception that giving me a discount to induce a transaction before they even showed a strong interest in their product
That does not mean that comparisons with others in your industry are not adequate. If you can show qualities such as stability in retaining clients and staff, the company's history, performance, customer satisfaction and other indicators of superiority then by all means do so. However, comparisons should lead to a desired result or benefit to the customer, not only used as a means of pulling his opponent.
When the consultants say their credentials, approach and ethics are superior to all others without any validation or verification ask customers who they can trust. An extremely common response to the consultants when asked about his competition is, "I have none." In addition to stretch credulity, this position also shows a lack of knowledge of the broader market for investment management, financial planning, or risk management solutions. If there was only one credible, ethical and talented consultant for the entire market, so why not a counselor who has all customers?
Companies that focus on criticizing their competitors are doing nothing to force the prospects of doing business with them. His position should not be on they are not, but what you are and why it will benefit the customer.
The challenge is how to raise their own brand without tearing down another person? When "being negative, "how are reflected in their ethics and professionalism? How to prove that you are actually superior?
A strategic differentiator
Its strategic differentiator is not in the market alone. So what makes you unique? Their business decisions in the delivery of an experience consistent client from the moment you identify a prospect for the delivery of its recommendations and implementation of individual plans. The different types of customers with special needs different and diverse backgrounds value very differently.
For example, the board of a 401 (k) have different expectations of high net worth retirees in terms of how to report, relate, and respond to them. Lottery winners view their planning and investment needs of different business owners. Widows and divorcees have a totally different perspective of a young high-tech worker. It is obvious that our communities are full of diverse opportunities, but the successful placement of your company is not always easy. Unable to connect directly with each segment, where their language sounds generic.
To be effective create a strategic differentiator, the market finally has to admit something. That something can be low cost to your company, or an adviser with experience in a niche, or superiority a technical matter as the long-term care, concentrated stock positions, or retirement planning. You could be considered as an innovative or for having the best trained team of professionals and educated in its market. Ask your customers: When you describe your firm and one of his friends or in a center of influence, how position to make it beyond the fact that they are trustworthy?
Think about how you define your best customer, not in terms of net assets by value or to invest, but in terms of characteristics such as life cycle stage, location, personal interests, occupation, critical needs, psychology and behavior. Then create a distinctive message that makes it is believed that he built his business advice just for them.
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