When I coach five ClientWise clients in one week who are all improving their business success using the same strategy, it merits a mention. These clients are all in different markets and have different strategies, but each one has an avocational passion. Advisors work very hard and spare time is at a premium, so why not combine business and non-business passions? In our discussions we strategized how to combine their outside-of-work love with their business development goals.
- One client was recently elected to a national organization of wine connoisseurs. He is now undertaking a strategy to reach out to members of the organization in other regions so he can expand the reach of his relationships. His approach is not one of soliciting business just because someone belongs to the same club, but rather getting to know people with a similar interest in other markets, for the joy of it as well as for the business benefit.
- Another client is a baseball fanatic and memorabilia collector. He's redecorating his office to bring in aspects of his personal life -- when prospective clients visit he wants them to experience not just what he does, but who he is. His assistant gave him a gift of a baseball signed by Tony Conigliaro, the Boston Red Sox legend, which now sits on his desk. The gift brought up a creative spurt as he thought about sharing the story of Conigliaro and how it relates to his clients' need to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.
- The third client I spoke with is a Crossfit enthusiast. Rather than targeting new client prospects by income demographics, he's getting more involved in his Crossfit gym and is reaching out to members who he believes will be as interested in protecting their financial health as their physical well-being.
- The fourth client loves classical music and enjoys taking clients to the symphony. Turns out he knows a board member at a music conservatory in his market. His goal is to get involved, get to know the other powers that be, and ultimately become a board member himself.
- The fifth client is a tennis enthusiast. He hasn't put his business together goals with his passion yet -- but he’s going to. We came up with a couple of ideas to get started. Among the things he could do:
- Organize a tennis match for charity
- Organize a group coaching session(s) for small groups or individuals
- Conduct wealth seminars at tennis clubs and draw analogies between tennis and investing
As a coach, I would ask the following....are you using your passion to develop business?
Leave a comment. I'd love to hear how you are doing it.
by Mitch York
Posts
This is terrific, Mitch.
ReplyDeleteI'm often asked about how to construct "outstanding" (stand out) language for advisors web sites and brochures. Too many advisors try to find "just the right words" to express how they listen to clients needs and serve them with excellent. Boring! Rarely does anything new or different arise.
The potential personal connection between advisors and clients - via passions - is a perfect complement to descriptions of unique approach and highlights from the advisors career history. What sets someone apart are unique credentials, commitment to community or a cause in humanity and passions or interests.
You can even say in your bio and web site (subject to compliance approval of course), something like, "I'm an avid yacht racer and collector of rare historic documents, and I love getting to know my clients' avocational passions as well."
Enjoy!