You're listening to “Financial Advisor Marketing”—the best show on the planet for financial advisors 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 advisors grow their businesses more rapidly than ever before. Now, here is your host, James Pollard.
James: Financial advisors, people don't trust you, and I'll back it up with research in case you don't believe me.
The CFA Institute has this report called Earning Investors’ Trust, which found that financial advisors were trusted about as much as mechanics, and just so you know, that's not much because people are usually skeptical that mechanics will take advantage of them and tell them something's wrong when their car really has nothing wrong with it at all. They'll tell them that they need nitrogen in their tires and charge extra for that, or that they need to replace their blinker fluid. It’s just ridiculous. [01:01.6]
Another is the Edelman Trust Barometer study, which found that only about half the population trust the financial-advice industry. Do you know how dire that is? If you have 100 people in a room, 50 of them will not trust you. This is one reason why so many regular sales and marketing books do not work for financial advisors, because in other industries, trust is already established.
We inherently trust that a restaurant will serve good food. We already trust that a barber won't mess up our hair, and we trust other professionals, like doctors, electricians and plumbers. I could just go on and on. When you hire a plumber to snake your toilet, do you put a camera down the drain to double-check his or her work? Probably not. Why? Because trust already exists. Not only do you trust plumbers enough to hire them without much effort at all, but you trust them enough that you probably don't even double-check their work. [01:56.7]
If you have a leak in your house right now, okay, and I'm going to talk about this because I had a leak in my house, actually, not that long ago, but if you have a leak in your house, okay, are you going to go check references and go to different websites and see all these little trust signals? No, you're just going to call a plumber and you're going to trust that the plumber knows what he or she is doing. That certainly doesn't happen in the financial advice industry, though, although I guess I have discovered that there are some financial advisors who are better at getting trust than others.
Let me tell you a little story to illustrate what I mean. I'm recording this episode in the middle of May. Last week, I was checking some of the flood sensors around my house. You know the little ones that you put under your sinks and your bathrooms to detect leaks. They go off whenever they detect water. I never put one in my laundry room. I thought I did, but I didn't, and it turns out, I had been unprotected for years, so I bought some. [02:53.0]
Those sensors arrived on May 14. I set all of them up. I slid one under my washing machine and I went on about my day. And guess what? This is crazy. The washing machine leaked the very next day. The sensor caught it and it saved my butt, not even 24 hours after I put it in there. Thankfully, I caught it, turned everything off, turned the water off, had no major damage. By the way, these, quote-unquote, “lucky breaks” happen all the time when you're in tune with a higher power, but that's a story for another day. I've got a bunch of examples just like this one.
But here's what I want to point out to you. I got the alert that there was a washing-machine leak at 12:44 p.m. and I had a brand new washing machine ordered at 12:58 p.m. That's right, 14 minutes later. I not only detected the leak and turned everything off, but I selected a new washing machine and dryer, because I ordered a set, and I paid for it in 14 minutes. Do you know why? The biggest reason is because I want to be the type of customer I want in my business, because you attract who you are. [04:02.2]
I want financial advisors who make fast decisions, who commit to things, and who don't try to nickel and dime every single transaction. I didn't spend weeks doing research. There are some people out there who spend more time shopping for a washing machine than they spend planning their financial futures. It's sad. It really is. Your life has to be sad, sad, sad if you spend more time doing that sort of thing than you do planning for your future.
Let me make myself clear. If you spend more time buying a car or planning a vacation, or buying a washing machine, for goodness’ sakes, than you spend working on your financial future, your personal fortune, your business, then you have your priorities all out of whack.
I also didn't spend hours searching the web for coupon codes or promo codes. I literally cannot remember for the life of me the last time I looked for a coupon code because I don't want to give my unconscious mind the impression that I need to save money. That might sound weird to you, but I'm just telling you, this is my experience. This is what I have seen in the world. This is what I have heard from other people. They have had similar experiences to me when they shift their mind to think this way. [05:14.7]
I chose to pay what Home Depot asked. I bought my washing machine and dryer, and pedestals. I got pedestals, actually. If you don't have pedestals for your washer and dryer, oh my goodness, get them. They are awesome. You can get them with the storage. It's just easier if you have a front-loading washer. They are incredible. So, I chose to pay what Home Depot asked. Home Depot has a number on the website. They say, “This is how much we want.” I figured the company is providing a valuable service to me by making a great product available and they deserve to get the number that they are asking me to give them. Such is the attitude I want my financial advisors to have with me.
I mean, do you really think that when you're looking for a little promo code or a coupon code, that the $200 or so that you save on a washing machine is going to have that big of an impact on your life? Is your life truly going to be changed? What if? What if? Just hear me out here, think about this. What if you save the $200, but you telegraph a signal out into the world that prevents someone from hiring you for a multi-thousand-dollar financial-planning engagement? [06:17.0]
You might scoff at what I'm telling you. You may not think this is real or you may not take this seriously, but I caution against it, because you truly get what you give. If you are someone who takes forever to make decisions, then you shouldn't be surprised when prospective clients take forever to work with you. If you are someone who can't pay for other people to help you, then you shouldn't be surprised when people outright reject you when you ask them to pay you for your help. If you are someone who tries to get over on people by freebie-seeking or cost-cutting, then you shouldn't be surprised when it happens to you.
This is one of the biggest lessons I try to hammer home to my Inner Circle members and it's one reason why I've structured my newsletter in such a unique way. It is a commitment because I want advisors to attract people who are committed, so by committing to me, that's who they attract. [07:06.5]
It's a monthly subscription because I want advisors to attract people who pay regularly and routinely. By doing that with me, or doing that for themselves, I should say, they attract those sorts of people. It allows subscribers direct-email access to me for their questions, because I want advisors to attract people who want to ask them for their help. Do you get it? Are you starting to get it now? It's about cultivating the right mindset. Even though I'm not really a mindset guy—I really think that 99.9% of mindset books and trainings and courses are just complete bull manure—I understand that this stuff really can have an impact on your business.
Maybe the reason people don't trust you is because you don't trust other people. If you approach everything with suspicion or a scarcity mindset, it's no wonder that you struggle to build genuine trusting relationships with people. But let's dig a little deeper into some of the specific reasons why people may not trust you or just not trust financial advisors in general, and what to do about it. [08:06.2]
One major issue that I see frequently is the lack of transparency in the industry. Too often, advisors hide behind complex jargon, they bury important information in fine print, or fail to clearly communicate their fees and other potential conflicts of interest. This sort of thing breeds mistrust, because people will feel like they're not getting the full picture, or that their advisor may not have their best interest at heart, and even if they do, perception is reality to people. If they feel like you don't have their best interest at heart, then that is just the truth. And, yes, even so-called fiduciaries sometimes aren't as transparent as they should be.
If you want to buck this trend, then you need to prioritize clarity and openness in all of your marketing. I'm talking everything, your emails, your social media pages, your direct mailers, everything. [08:54.3]
Listen up, financial advisors. This is something special I'm doing exclusively for people who listen to this podcast. If you subscribe to the Inner Circle Newsletter over at TheAdvisorCoach.com/coaching, I will send you a collection of seven copyright-free emails, personally written by me, that you can use right away to begin getting more clients.
I call these my “objection-busting” emails, because they are designed to overcome the biggest objections financial advisors face. All you have to do is send me an email letting me know you’ve subscribed and I will reply with a link where you can download them for free.
I originally offered these in the May 2024 Inner Circle Newsletter issue, and it was one of the most popular bonuses I've ever given away. Today, these seven objection-busting, copyright-free emails are only available to listeners of this podcast, because I'm not mentioning them anywhere else. Go to TheAdvisorCoach.com/coaching to subscribe today. Now, back to the show.
One of the things I think is weird is that some advisors will sort of hide the fact that they're running a business. They will treat their payments and fees almost as an afterthought, like, Oh, by the way, oh, yeah, yeah, by the way, you do pay me this way, or, Oh, yeah, I do accept money for that. [10:08.8]
No, that should be upfront. You're running a business, not a charity. Of course, you're going to get paid, and it's only right that you tell people exactly what they're going to pay you in exchange for what they're getting. Assuming you're working with big boys and girls who understand that businesses exist to make a profit by serving their clients, they will understand.
Another trust barrier is the perception that financial advisors are more interested in selling products than providing valuable advice. Now, what did I just say? I said people should understand what they're going to pay in exchange for what they're going to get. The reason this is important is because we rarely buy products for the sake of buying products. We buy in order to get something, and sometimes the value is in explaining what the product will do for someone. [10:55.8]
For example, with that washing machine I just bought, I don't really care about the washing machine. I care about clean clothes. So, if someone were to try to sell me that washing machine, that person would need to explain to me how this specific washing machine can get my clothes cleaner, faster by using less energy so my energy bill is actually lower by using this washing machine over a competitor's machine. That would be valuable to me. That explanation, that information on how I can accomplish my goals would be valuable.
So, there is a right and wrong way to, quote-unquote, “sell” products, and to do it in a way that demonstrates kindness and compassion for your target market. If someone came up to me and said, “James, I really care about you. I know that having clean clothes is important to you. I want to make sure that you have clean clothes, so I'm going to sell this to you,” then, yeah, that's awesome, I love that. I fully embrace that. The wrong way is to push, push, push, and push some more, with little regard to what your market wants or what your market cares about. That's like saying everyone should buy your washing machine, no matter what. That's goofy and it's incredibly damaging to the industry. If you're doing that sort of thing, stop it. Stop it. You should be ashamed of yourself. [12:02.4]
Most of the time. The big trick for building client trust is to act in their best interest. Gasp, I know, shocker. It means deeply understanding each person's unique goals, risk tolerance and financial situation. It means being willing to challenge clients when they're making emotionally-driven or short-sighted decisions, even if it means passing up on an opportunity in the short term, even if it means making less money in the short term, because, again, you attract what you are—and if you are the type of person who tries to shortchange others or take advantage of other people, then other people will try to shortchange you and take advantage of you.
Also, keep in mind that even the most transparent and client-centric financial advisors will still face some skepticism from prospects who have been burned by bad advisors in the past. I think that's unavoidable, although the level of skepticism will probably be in direct proportion to the skepticism you give other people. So, I think that the skepticism itself, it's really hard to avoid. It can be unavoidable, but the level you get is based on how you treat other people, what you put out into the world. [13:14.7]
I know this might sound strange to you if you've never thought of marketing and business building this way, but I'm telling you again, I have seen it myself, I've heard stories from other advisors, and there is something to what I am telling you now. You can ignore this if you want, but I think it'd be detrimental if you do.
Another powerful way to build trust with people is to walk the walk in your own financial life. When you can demonstrate that you're practicing what you preach, it sends a powerful message that you truly believe in the value of your own advice and what you do for people, and that you can help others. Someone recently asked me if I had any resources or products, or podcast episodes, about Google Ads, and I might. I might have something out there. I just don't remember, so I said no. Why did I say no? Why am I not creating courses or trainings about Google Ads? Because I haven't done Google Ads in a long time and I'm not going to give advice about stuff that I personally don't do or don't directly help other people do. [14:11.3]
I tell financial advisors to leverage email marketing in their businesses. Guess what? I email every single day. I tell financial advisors to build systems and marketing assets. Guess what? I do the same thing, and I've been doing those things in every business I have ever built, so I may know a thing or two about doing that.
That's why I get so frustrated when I encounter broke financial advisors or financial advisors who get their credit cards declined for $20. Have you considered, gee, I don't know, this sounds crazy, but have you considered following your own advice? Gasp. I mean, really, it's crazy to me to think that there are grown men and women out there basically cosplaying as people who know what to do with money, knowing darn well in their hearts that when they try to swipe that card, they're going to get declined. How do you do that? It's crazy to me. [15:00.5]
Look, I'm going to give you some free game. This is seriously some valuable content right here. This is something I want you to take from this podcast. There's this book called The Trick to Money Is Having Some! by Stuart Wilde, and that's Wilde, W-I-L-D-E. So, Stuart Wilde, The Trick to Money Is Having Some! It is such a good book. I love it so much.
When I read that book, my life changed forever, because I finally understood that when you don't have money, you tend to focus on what you don't have or what you can't get, which inevitably leads you to not having stuff and not being able to get stuff. It perpetuates the cycle. But if you can easily let money flow out of your life, then it tends to flow a little bit more easily into your life.
That's one reason why I paid for the washing machine so quickly. In 14 minutes, I had it ordered. I whipped out my phone, went to Home Depot, the app, the Home Depot app, and I ordered a new one. I didn't whine. I didn't complain. I was grateful that I could make the purchase and give money to someone providing a valuable service to me. I wanted them to have that money, and having that feeling and that gratitude pretty much guarantees that the money will come back to me with some friends. [16:10.5]
If you're listening to this podcast hoping for some sexy tip, trick or tactic for building trust, then I apologize to you, I am sorry. But this is the thing that I believe makes the biggest difference in how financial advisors achieve trust and cooperation from other people, so if you're struggling to build trust with prospects and clients, take a hard look in the mirror. Are you being fully transparent in your communications? Are you consistently putting your clients’ interests ahead of your own? Are you walking the walk in your own financial life? By shoring up your own trustworthiness and your trust in other people, you'll be in a much stronger position.
Now, I know that some of you might be thinking, But, James, I'm already doing all of those things and I still struggle with trust, and I hear you. The reality is that trust takes time to build and there's no magic bullet that will make everyone automatically see you as trustworthy. Truthfully, there are some situations where people struggle to trust others because they're dealing with their own psychological barriers. Sometimes people won't be able to trust you because they can't even trust themselves. [17:12.0]
But hear me out. Every positive interaction, every kept promise and every act of integrity will add up over time. I promise you that. As you consistently show up as a transparent, knowledgeable, client-focused advisor, you will see a shift in how people perceive and respond to you. Even if you don't win over every single skeptic, because, remember, people have their own issues they work through, then that's okay, because the people who do come to trust you are the clients who will likely stick with you for the long haul. Those are the clients who will sing your praises, show up for your meetings on time. They won't ghost you. They won't show up late, and possibly refer other people to you as well.
So, don't get discouraged if trust feels hard to come by in the financial advice industry, because it, truthfully, is. It's very difficult, and, again, that's why sales and marketing books, or most of the sales and marketing books, don't work as well for financial advisors, because other sales and marketing books and courses and trainings, and gurus and consultants, they believe that the trust is already established. [18:15.5]
If you keep showing up, you keep doing the right thing, and you keep focusing on the clients who are ready and willing to put their faith in you, then things will get better. Over time, you'll build a reputation in a business that's grounded in authentic, unshakable trust, and that is worth more than any slick marketing campaign or sales gimmick or tactic that I can give you. I hope this helps you, and I want you to take this message to heart, really think about what I told you in this episode and let it impact you in a positive way.
Thank you for listening, and I will catch you next week. [18:45.5]
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