Your Value Proposition Has Little Value
I was reviewing some advisor websites the other day and I was confused by some of the value propositions that I read.
Here’s some of them…
“Total transparency”, “value first”, “client obsessed”, “making finances simple”
One firm had their staff photos prominently displayed with bios containing phrases like “craft beer enthusiast”, “lover of musicals”, “lifelong learner”, “experience seeker”, and get this… “Swiftie (Taylor Swift fan)”.
What on earth?
It struck me that this marketing approach is well-intentioned and might be meaningful to the firm, the assumption is that they’re equally meaningful to the prospect.
They’re not.
They fall on deaf ears.
Why?
Because people don’t care about your business, they only care about their problems.
But as I put myself in the shoes of these firms, what they’re attempting to do is portray themselves as being “not your typical advisor”.
By using feel-good high concept buzzwords (which come from the corporate world), or portraying yourself as average everyday people, the idea is to become more approachable, likeable, non-threatening, and unlike typical advisors… because these qualities are supposed to differentiate you and make you attractive to potential clients.
But that’s a flawed idea because of two major reasons:
1.) Most other advisors attempt to do the same
2.) The customer has already categorized you, because the advisory business has become commoditized
Ironically, claiming that you’re different in a space where everyone else is claiming to be different as well, makes you appear just like them.
And trying to portray yourself as “average everyday people” is what other advisors are also claiming that makes them “unique”.
It’s important to realize that before you even meet a prospect, they’ve already made assumptions about you based on the problems they need solved.
If it’s a medical problem, they’re looking for a serious medical expert.
If it’s a financial problem, they’re looking for a serious financial expert.
Differentiation is not about being different for its own sake.
Differentiation is about how much trust and authority you project in terms of the problem your client needs solved.
It’s about being able to articulate your ideal client’s problem more clearly and more directly than any other advisor.
Clarity generates trust, and being able to trust you (not necessarily like you) is the only value proposition your clients really care about.
In the highly competitive and commoditized advisory industry, it’s super critical that you learn to embody this truth in your business.
Consider these three important strategies:
1.) Fall out of love with your business
Instead, fall in love with the depth of your prospect’s issues. Your prospects don’t care about your business or your team. They only care about their problems. They care less about how you solve their problems, they care more about but whether or not they can trust you to solve it (important difference).
2.) Avoid business trends, jargon, and buzzwords
These only have currency in the corporate world but are too abstract and disconnected from normal people dealing with normal challenges of everyday life.
3.) Focus deeply on your prospect’s problems
During a sales conversation, most advisors don’t always listen well, instead, they’re waiting for their chance to offer solutions. By re-orienting yourself around your prospect’s problem and leaving out any mention of the solution entirely, it’s possible to eliminate multiple meetings and get paid clients in one singly meeting only.
If these suggestions sound like common sense, unfashionable or impossible, your prospect sees things very differently than you.
The more clearly and directly you can differentiate yourself, based on your prospect’s problems, the more you become a trusted authority — the only choice for them.
If you're an ambitious advisor, with a defiant streak (following the crowd isn't your thing), who is overly reliant on referrals, with limited time and resources, but willing to grow and challenge your own thinking -- and you'd be happy with 1 – 2 new high-net-worth clients per month...
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