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Build a Brand and Build Your Business
By: Erin Tamberella & Rick Wright
Updated: 1/12/15
Branding—you hear a lot of about it. Most would like to have it. However, not many advisors have
the luxury of a cute little gecko promoting their business or a green line that leads people directly
to their office or even a price gun that lets clients name their own fees. Having a strong company
brand can be helpful but it does very little in setting the individual advisor apart from others within
the company or the industry.
It’s the personal brand, not the company brand that ultimately leads to more assets, more referrals
and greater revenue. Branding accomplishes these objectives in two key ways. It clarifies in the
minds of clients, prospects and social contacts exactly what you do and how you’re different. More
importantly, it conditions everyone to say the right things when they’re talking to others.
The bad news on branding is as compliance regulation becomes ever more stringent, the individual
advisor is limited in what he/she can do to build their brand. The good news is that even under
strict compliance supervision, there are effective ways to build your personal brand.
Branding begins and ends with conditioning. Anyone can have a brand but it takes a conscious and
continual effort to build a successful one. It is not a task that you do once and you’re done. It is
something that you are consistently building all the time in everything you do—the things you say,
the things you write and the person you are every day.
Successful Branding Begins With a Powerful Elevator Speech
The first step to building a successful brand is defining what that brand will be and precisely what
you want it to say about you. For many advisors this can be a challenge. Believe it or not, crafting
a powerful elevator speech is a great place to start. The process gives you clarity because it forces
you to consider exactly what it is that you wish to convey to others. This is where successful
branding begins.
Although most advisors recognize the importance of having a strong elevator speech, most would
admit that theirs could use some work. Please note that I am making a very real distinction here
between a powerful elevator speech and all the other ones out there. By powerful, I do not mean a
long dissertation about “building wealth for high net-worth investors” or the old standby, “I’m a
financial advisor with…” Neither of these represents anything significant to anyone. For an
elevator speech to be truly powerful, it must meet five very specific criteria.
1. First and foremost, a powerful elevator speech must be very short—no more than one
sentence in length. Consider your elevator speech a hook. You have seconds to catch a
prospect’s attention and keep it, so you must make every word count. This is your only
opportunity to make a first impression.
2.
In order to be a successful hook, your elevator speech should be somewhat mysterious.
The person you’re talking to should be a little unsure of exactly what you do. Your elevator
speech should always spark questions. You’re on your way with a new prospect when
you’re able to hook them enough with your elevator speech that they begin to ask
questions.
3. Once you’ve hooked them, avoid launching into a detail by detail description of your
entire process. Have two or three strong follow-up points that clarify your process.
These should be as well-crafted as your initial elevator speech. Think in terms of bullet
points. The last thing you want is to have a great elevator speech that really hooks the
prospect, only to start rambling on your follow-up points and lose them. Always leave them
wanting more.
4. A powerful elevator speech should prompt prospects to question their own situation.
Their immediate response should be to wonder if they have or don’t have what you stated
in your elevator speech. You want them to leave thinking that they may need you.
5. Most importantly your elevator speech must be something you feel comfortable
articulating to others. Anything new is going to feel awkward at first, so practice until it
feels natural. The best elevator speech in the world does you absolutely no good if you
don’t use it. Practice your new elevator speech until it rolls off the tongue as easily as
whatever you were saying before. Remember this is the only opportunity you have to make
a first impression, so make it memorable.
6. Always end your conversation with a hot button question. This is a question that provides
you with a reason to contact the prospect in the future. Fear and greed are the two most
powerful motivators when it comes to the markets. Tap into one of those two emotions
with your hot-button question for maximum effectiveness.
Here are some examples of powerful elevator speeches that all meet the above criteria.
“I figure out people’s retirement number.”
“I deal with people who are tired of the usual piecemeal approach to retirement planning.”
“I identify where portfolios are vulnerable.”
“I help people secure and protect their paycheck in retirement.”
In each of these examples, the prospect is not quite sure what you do. Notice that neither your
occupation nor your firm is mentioned. This alone, is unusual and adds that element of mystery
that you’re trying to achieve. Although some advisors may be tempted to cover this in their followup points, it’s best to reserve follow-up points for a bulleted explanation of your process. Your
occupation and your firm will emerge soon enough. The prospect will either ask or it will be
disclosed when you hand them your business card. Remember, you want them to ask questions.
It’s human nature to process most everything through the lens of,” how does that affect me?” You
want to take advantage of this universal human trait with your elevator speech. In each of our
elevator speech examples, the prospect is led to question their current situation.
“I wonder what my retirement number is.”
“I wonder if I have a piecemeal approach to retirement.”
“I wonder if my portfolio is vulnerable.”
“I wonder what my paycheck will be in retirement.”
When your elevator speech causes prospects to question their current situation, it has accomplished
a very important objective. Your follow-up points should reinforce in their mind that they may
need you. As mentioned earlier, follow-up points should be bulleted to avoid rambling and
possibly losing the prospect. Each bullet point should be no longer than a couple of sentences long.
Be clear and phrase every bullet point as succinctly as possible. You want the prospect to be
engaged and asking questions. When a prospect is asking questions, they’re interested and when
they’re interested, you are on the road to moving a prospect to a client.
Conditioning Phrases: The Building Blocks of Branding
Fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. Say that phrase to anyone and
immediately, you’ll have visions of Geico dancing in their heads. As unlikely as it may seem, this
is an example of one of the most successful conditioning phrases in recent history. Successful
branding is a function of conditioning and conditioning is a function of repetition.
Conditioning phrases are the building blocks of successful branding. These are key phrases to
repeat in everything you do—every conversation, every meeting and in every piece of
correspondence. They are the points that you want clients to remember and be able to
communicate to others. Those “others” are your potential referrals. It’s important to condition
clients to give referrals but it’s just as important to condition them to say the right things. If you
consistently use the same phrases, these are the phrases they will remember and repeat.
Developing conditioning phrases involves carefully considering exactly what you want people to
remember. Your primary conditioning phrase should be borrowed from your elevator speech.
Keep in mind that a conditioning phrase is just that--a phrase. It is not a complete sentence like
your elevator speech, but rather a few key words that you can use in various ways as a part of your
daily communication.
For instance, the conditioning phrase in our first elevator speech example is “retirement number.”
You can use that phrase in many different ways.
“I believe everyone should know their retirement number so they can plan for it.”
“Most people don’t know their retirement number.”
“Knowing your retirement number is a critical first step in successful retirement planning.”
“Do your children know their retirement numbers?”
A tagline to add to your e-mail: “Working to identify and plan for your retirement number.”
The primary conditioning phrase is comprised of only a few words because that’s all people will
remember on a consistent basis. It should be repeated in everything you say and do. Use it in
virtually every conversation you have and in every piece of correspondence that leaves your office,
including your brochure. Repetition is a key component in all marketing and is the basis of
successful branding.
In addition to your primary conditioning phrase, plan on having one or two secondary conditioning
phrases that you use whenever possible. In our example above, the secondary conditioning phrase
is “plan for.” This won’t be used as frequently as the primary but should be integrated on a regular
basis.
Once you’ve developed your primary and secondary conditioning phrases, include them in your
brochure. In addition to your brochure, develop a tagline to add to your e-mail. It should be a
single sentence or phrase bolded and in italics. Add it above the auto-signature in your e-mail. A
tagline is like the personal section in a bio. It always gets read and usually gets read first.
Successful branding is not rocket science but it can make a stellar difference in your business. Just
as the key to real estate is location, location, location. The key to branding is repetition, repetition,
repetition. It doesn’t require a lot of extra work or money. It does require conscious consideration
of the words you want to brand in the minds of clients and prospects, as well as the discipline to
use those words consistently. Use every opportunity as a conditioning opportunity to build your
brand and your business will grow.