You're listening to Financial Advisor Marketing, the best show on the planet for financial advisers who want to get more clients without all the stress. You're about to get the real scoop on everything from lead generation to closing the deal. James is the founder of TheAdvisorCoach.com, where you can find an entire suite of products designed to help financial advisers grow their businesses more rapidly than ever before. Now, here is your host, James Pollard. [00:31.7]
James: This show is going to be about money. Money, money, money. I mean, people get weird about this topic, man. It doesn't really matter that this show is for financial advisors and for financial planners, they still get weird about money sometimes weirder than the average person. For example, I've seen some financial advisors who are so focused on investing in the stock market. They ignore the investments right in front of their faces. I've talked about this in the inner circle newsletter. I'm not going to give away any proprietary information. If you want to be a part of that world, go to the TheAdvisorCoach.com/coaching, but I will, I'll give you a little something. I've helped advisors in the past, who could easily, easily make double or triple their money on a marketing campaign. And they would rather put those same dollars into the stock market. They don't understand that they can grow their money in their business first and then invest in the stock market. [01:24.1]
And I've got nothing against stock market. I've got a lot of money in the stock market, probably more than I'm comfortable with at this point, but it's kind of like this. Imagine an advisor has a thousand dollars and insist on investing that into the stock market. What he or she could do is put it through the business first into a proven marketing campaign. Turn that into $3,000 and invest that. And that's assuming the marketing campaign, isn't really a viable strategy after that. That's assuming that once you get to $3,000, you're going to quit. And that's not realistic at all, but just for this example, you could put it through the business, get your $3,000 and then invest in the stock market. Continue building your business. You could go your merry way. Not many people think like that. Oh, well.
Jonathan: I had that talk with a friend the other day, he's trying to get rich on the stock market. And I'm like, bro, your business is the money maker, you feed that money to the stock market after.
James: So that sounds a lot like have you finished Millionaire Fastlane?
Jonathan: I have, months ago. [02:24.2]
James: So, the most important thing in that book. So financial advisors, we're talking about a book called The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco. So you already know my favorite book of all time is, Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. My second favorite book of all time is The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco. And one of the most important lessons from that book was the idea that that investing like in the stock market or whatever it is, it's a wealth preservation tool. It is not a wealth accumulation tool. Sure, some people in what's called the slow lane, these are people who accumulate wealth slowly and steadily over 40 years. That that's a viable strategy for some people I'm not going to lie. If that's what they want to do, that's cool more power to them. But if you want to get rich quickly, you've got to do something else. You got to invest in your business. And when you get the money from your business, that is when you invest. It is a wealth preservation tool, not a wealth accumulation tool. I practice that in my own life. I am very fast lane oriented. If you read the book, you'll understand what I'm talking about, but it will rock your world. If you're a financial advisor. I mean, what did you think of the book? Just give us your honest review. [03:31.9]
Jonathan: It was eye opening. It really, I mean, it's a perspective shift and I didn't even realize that that came from there. But yeah, I, I I'm I'm with that now. And that's how, why we're looking at investing in businesses and why we're doing the media company and all that, because those things spin off cash and what we do with the cash is invested. And then with the invested return, that's how we live our lifestyle. I mean, that's the way it should be at least.
James: In the book, M J DeMarco talks about different Fastlane systems and you have a real estate system, which is what he calls, I think it's like wealth 1.0 no, he calls it Fastlane 1.0, so you've got the real estate system, which is a proven way to generate wealth and go Fastlane. You also have a human resource system. So, these are people who are working for you and doing the jobs that either you don't want to do, or you can't do it. You don't have the time you're leveraging other people's time. So, you have two fast lane systems within your life, at least two. I mean, you've got, you probably have more than I don't even know about, but real estate is one and the human resource system is another one. [04:38.1]
Jonathan: And we're building more every day. I'm learning from you, James.
James: So, mine is, if you remember from the book, the way that I'm Fastlane is I have the content system. So, the podcast is an example of a content system that continues to work for me. It continues to build relationships with financial advisors, whether I'm lurking, eating, sleeping on vacation, it doesn't matter. It's still working. And that is Fastlane. So, speaking of podcasts and the episodes that I have, we're going to talk about, how financial advisors can get clients to happily pay more. And this is another thing people overcomplicate getting people to pay you more is simple. It’s simple, but not easy, because it's anything but easy. At least not for most people is it's, it's difficult for some people. Getting to pay you more is, it's a matter of two things. First, putting something together that will benefit the client or the person who purchases your services more than whatever they're giving up and second demonstrating the value to them. So, they clearly understand it. [05:45.3]
So, allow me to use myself as a guinea pig here. The newsletter, I have the, TheAdvisorCoach.com/coaching, it's $99 per month. I talk about it a lot on this show yet. I know there are some listeners out there who still haven't signed up. It is my fault. They haven't signed up yet because I've failed to demonstrate the value. I failed point number two; I haven't demonstrated the value to them in a way where they clearly understand it. Because to me, it's obvious that it's worth more than $99 per month. It's such an easy win. I mean, if you're a financial advisor who makes a $100,000 per year, all the newsletter needs to do is help you make an additional 1.2% per year and it pays for itself. That's literally it 1.2%. I gotta be honest with you. If I couldn't increase your income 1.2% in the course of a year with 12 newsletter issues and bonuses and the ability to ask me questions like directly email me and get responses. I wouldn't be a business. [06:39.3]
So, everything after that 1.2% is pure profit, it's a blip on the radar. Plus, the first month goes to First Book. That's a charity that helps children get access to the educational resources they need. I'm a firm believer that knowledge is one of the most important ingredients in success. So, my thinking is that since I'm giving financial buyers the knowledge, to be more successful, I want to keep that going by giving children the knowledge they need to become successful. So that's a win-win in my book. Again, if you're interested in signing up for the newsletter, go TheAdvisorCoach.com/coaching, but enough about that, let's talk about getting people to pay more. [07:13.6]
I'm going to illustrate this concept by using American express. I have the American Express platinum card. I am not baller enough for the black card yet, but one day we'll get there. And that card cost me $550 per year in fees. So, the annual credit card fee for the American Express platinum at the time of this recording is $550 per year. So, if you're a financial advisor out there or a financial planner, you're listening and you're thinking in terms of just outflow, you're probably thinking, Holy crap, that's a lot of money, James. You're an idiot for paying that credit card fee. I mean, they, they really, they are, they're like, Holy crap fit $550 for a credit card. Well, am I an idiot? Maybe. I mean, a lot of areas of my life I am, but not this one. So, let's take a look. So, they give me $200 in airline credits each year, which I use. They give me $200 in Uber credits each year, which I use. They give me a hundred dollars in Saks credit per year, which I use and note, all of this is stuff I would have used anyway. I'm not using it because they give it to me. I'm not using it because I get the credits. I would have spent the money anyway. I would have used Uber eats. I would have traveled. I travel a lot. I would have gotten something, a shirt or pants or a cologne or whatever from Saks. I would have used it anyway. [08:36.3]
Hey, financial advisors – if you’d like even more help building your business, I invite you to subscribe to James’ monthly paper-and-ink newsletter, The James Pollard Inner Circle.
When you join today, you’ll get more than one thousand dollars’ worth of bonuses, including exclusive interviews that aren’t available anywhere else.
Head on over to TheAdvisorCoach.com/coaching to learn more. [08:58.9]
James: They also had a few months in 2020, where they reimbursed me up to $20 per month for streaming credits. So, I got reimbursed for Netflix and Hulu, so they just reimbursed me for it.
Jonathan: Wow.
James: I got another $100 in streaming credits total. Okay, so let's add this up. We got $200 plus $200 plus $100. Plus $100 is $600. So, at this point we are past breakeven. I've gotten more value from the card than I paid in fees, and that doesn't even include the sign-up bonus I got, that doesn't even include the points I'm earning on the card, which is basically five times points for any travel expenses I incur. So, for those of you who don't know, and I'm not sponsored by American Expresses. This episode is going to sound like I'm sponsored by American Express. I'm not, I legitimately had the platinum I'm explaining the value versus payment thing to you using them as an example. [09:54.2]
So, if you don't know, American Express platinum is essentially a travel card. If you stay at certain hotels, you take certain airlines, they give you five times points. I travel a lot, that's what I use. So, they also had an offer with Best Buy, where you could spend 50 bucks and then get a $50 credit back. And you could do that twice. So that's another $100. So, I got like a Kindle cover from Best Buy. And I can't remember, I got something else. I think it was like headphones or something from Best Buy, and that was another 50 bucks so I got a $100 back. They had the same offer with Home Depot. I got something for the pressure washer, like four different pressure washer fluids, the cleaners. And I can't remember what else I got, but they did that. That's another $100. They had an offer with Instacart and I used Instacart to deliver groceries. I was going to spend that money anyway, that's another $100. They had an offer with the container store, they got me another $100. They had an offer with GoldBelly, it's a food delivery service where you can get food from all over the country. You can get Hattie B's chicken from Nashville. You can get, what is it? Carlos’s bakery or Carlita’s bakery from New Orleans the King cake. You can get lobster from Maine. I got that. And I got another $150 in credit. So, let's recap. That's a lot I know. [11:10.0]
Jonathan: Yeah.
James: But so total, you don't have to do the math. I've already done it for you. We have $1,150 in value from this card, just from the offers alone, just on stuff I was going to spend or buy anyway. And I didn't include TSA pre-check which they pay for. I didn't include the Marriott gold that they give me or the Hilton gold that they give me or the concierge that they have or any of that stuff. Just the things I could list and the quantity for you here, where I could go into my account and I could see exactly what I redeemed and I've gotten more than double my money from the card. It's pretty darn cool. So, let ask you again, if you're listening to this podcast episode and you're trying to wrap your head around, this. Is that $550 credit card fee expensive, or is it a good deal? I would say it's a darn good deal, especially when it's compared to other cards out there. So, which one are you Financial advisors? Are you the standard 1% back, everywhere credit card that everybody uses, or are you the elite platinum card that while it may cost more upfront, is really a winner in the long run? I hope you're the platinum and feel free to use this analogy with your clients. [12:32.2]
Seriously use this exact analogy. If they ask you about your fees and they say that they can go somewhere else and get whatever it is cheaper, they can get a financial plan cheaper. They can get it for free on betterment or something. You can outline those things you can say, well, how much is it worth to know that a real human will pick up the phone when you call. How much is it worth to know you'll get an email response within one business day. How much is it worth to run major purchases by me and I can see if that impacts your retirement plan. You can quantify those things, just like I've quantified my credits here, my home Depot credit, best buy credit. Gold belly credit, subscription credit. I've quantified this and you quantify it too. You can show your clients that you don't cost them anything. Instead, it's like you're giving them money. If you can understand this, like American express understands it and you can integrate this into your business, you will be far more successful. [13:25.3]
Another analogy I like to, I'm going to give you another analogy. I want to pile on the “value” on this. I love the one about having a leaky roof. Imagine that you were your house, your roof on your house is leaking water right now. If you think getting a new roof is expensive, go ahead and put off getting one. See how expensive the damage gets. The same is true with financial planning. When you're dealing with tax free and tax deferred accounts and all that stuff waiting can literally be very costly, putting a certain type of asset into tax deferred, another type of asset in a tax-free growth in a Roth, and then putting something in a SEP and this in a Roth like it can be very costly. You have to illustrate the cost of waiting to prospective clients. Then putting off their planning is like having a leaky roof and putting off getting a new one. It can be very dangerous. It's like, Oh, you don't want to pay for the new roof. That's cool. See how much the damage is. [14:21.8]
Now with all that being said, there will always be people out there who can't get out of their own way and see the value. I don't know what it is, but I've seen it in, I've seen it in multiple industries. And several people have told me they've seen the same thing in their industry and their job and their career. You could literally hold $1,000 cash in front of someone and tell them to give you $1 in exchange for it. They still wouldn't do it. There's something in their belief system that holds them back. Maybe they're insecure. Maybe think it's too good to be true. Maybe deep down they don't even believe that they deserve the good things in life. I don't know what it is. But I've seen people like this and if they are your prospective clients just wish them well and send them on their way. So, to recap, I hope this episode has inspired you to get clear on the value you provide to your clients. I hope that you take steps to actually quantify it in some way. I'm using Amex platinum, as an example, in this episode to get you thinking about this. [15:17.1]
But if I came out and I said, the Amex platinum provides $1,150 worth of value for $550. It wouldn't be as believable as me breaking down each component part and showing you how it's possible. I didn't just come out and say, yeah, get this much value for this much money. You'd be like, Oh, okay, what's the catch. I don't really get it. I don't understand it. So, I'm just going to ignore it. I, my belief system holds me back from accepting this is true. I broke it down. If you can do this with your business, where you say you offer A, B, C, and D, then people will be more likely to pay attention and believe you, you might even feel like you want to increase your fees. That's one way to immediately add value to your business. If there's a ton of margin between the value you provide and what you charge there's room to increase your fees. I mean, if Amex raised their fee to $650 tomorrow, I wouldn't leave. Why would I leave? Because the value was more than what I pay. And what's funny about this episode is that some listeners are probably going to go sign up for the Amex platinum and take advantage of all these rewards and things to make money as a result of this episode.So if you sign up and you pay that $550 fee, that “ expensive,” $550 fee, and you get more as a result, that means listening to old James for free. This podcast is delivered to you for free means you will have literally put money in your pocket. I want you to remember that the next time you're out there swiping that sweet metal card. I want you to think of me and I want you to take some of that money that you've earned and send it my way. So that is it for this week, Jonathan. [16:55.8]
Jonathan: Love it man! Love it. Yes, yes, I'm looking at the card. All right, well that is a wrap for another Financial Advisor Marketing. Do you want to give us a hint of what's coming next week or shall that be a surprise for us?
James: I will give you a hint. I do want to hear from you by financial advisors. So, sending an email to james@theadvisorcoach.com with your podcast ideas. If this helps you, if you like the show, make sure you leave a rating, a review, something like that. If you leave a, a great review, send me a screenshot of it. Cause I don't really go out of my way to look at the reviews, but we're going to talk about, I really want to talk about using the law of attraction to get more clients, but I'm not sure it may be something I use as a bonus. We'll see. It may be the episode that I give away for free. And maybe the episode I use as a bonus, so.
Jonathan: Hmm, Hmm, Hmm. See this. Guy's playing with our emotions. That is a wrap for another Financial Advisor Marketing. Thank you, James, and thank you everyone for tuning in, we will be back in your earbuds next time. [17:53.7]
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