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: In this week's podcast episode, I'm going to discuss something that I've never discussed in any of the more than 280 podcast episodes I've done so far. Can you believe that? More than 280 episodes of the Financial Advisor Marketing podcast available for your listening pleasure. This topic is something I can almost guarantee you have never heard from anyone else in the health financial advisor space, because they simply don't know about it. But do you know what? They'll probably start talking about it after this podcast episode. [01:02.5]
I'll be honest with you, one of my guilty pleasures is when financial advisors send me screenshots of these marketing coaches, consultants, gurus, experts and lead-gen agencies talking about the same exact things I discussed years before and acting like it's something new that they invented or they came up with. What's even better is that they will use language that I literally invented, where I purposefully invented the sentences and the words and the phrases, and they try to act like it's some generic concept. [01:30.2]
I want you to imagine that I started this new email marketing strategy, for example, and I called it the “Toot-Toot-Beep-Beep” strategy. I promise you that before long you would start seeing people use the term “Toot-Toot-Beep-Beep” and they’ll say, “Oh, we're going to implement the Toot-Toot-Beep-Beep strategy,” and act like it's been around forever when I literally purposefully sat down and said, “Do you know what? I'm going to attach this unique phrasing, simply because I can prove that it is me. I can go back. [01:57.0]
One of the beautiful things about having a printed newsletter is I can go back and I could say, “See, this is from the August 2018 issue. This is from the May 2021 issue,” or whatever. Now, to be clear, I did not come up with this concept. The concept I'm going to talk about in this podcast episode is called “psychological ventriloquism,” but it is a concept that only the world's most elite marketers know about and it's something they use all the time to boost their conversions, get more clients and make more money. I am actually not so sure that I should reveal something so powerful in a free podcast episode, but I am feeling generous today.
Let's start with the basics. What exactly is psychological ventriloquism? It’s a technique that allows you to, quote-unquote, “throw” your thoughts into other people's minds, much like a ventriloquist will throw his or her voice. Of course, we know that literally throwing your voice and making it come out of a different location is physically impossible. [02:50.1]
However, when you're watching a ventriloquist, think Jeff Dunham—oh God, I've seen Jeff Dunham I think three or four times. I saw him at the Delaware State Fair. I've seen him at the Salisbury, the Wicomico Civic Center in Maryland. He's cool. I like his show. I like Jeff Dunham. I mean, I'll try to catch his specials if they're on TV or something like that—but when Jeff Dunham is doing his thing, it seems like the dummy is talking, and the same concept is true in marketing. You want to make it seem like the other person came up with the thoughts all on his or her own.
This concept has its roots in human psychology and persuasion. The term itself, “psychological ventriloquism,” was coined to describe the subtle yet powerful way in which thoughts can be influenced without direct communication. It's not like you're specifically saying, “Hey, you, think this.” By guiding people's independent thinking process, you can lead them to conclusions that they believe they arrived at independently. This is really powerful stuff, and I want you to promise me that you will use it for good and never for evil. If you use it for evil, it will come back to haunt you. Karma is a real thing. Not karma in the way that certain religions describe it, but the idea that what goes around comes around, yes, that is absolutely true. [03:59.1]
How does this work in practice? Our minds are wired to fill in gaps. We are wired to make sense of incomplete information, so when someone plants the seeds of a thought, what we will do is we'll naturally build on those seeds, and we will form conclusions. If people give us a couple puzzle pieces, we'll fill in the blanks, okay?
This process occurs below the level of conscious awareness, which makes the induced thoughts feel genuine. It makes it feel like we came up with it ourselves. The reason this is so powerful is because when people believe they've arrived at an idea or a decision or whatever on their own, they are far more likely to commit to it. This sense of ownership makes the decision feel more authentic, because they feel like it is theirs. They feel like they are taking ownership of it, and therefore, more compelling. That's why it can boost your conversion so much, because people are more likely to move forward with things when they feel like it's the right thing to do. [04:56.6]
Let's take a look at how psychological ventriloquism shows up in everyday life. This will help you recognize the technique and it will help you understand how deep it goes. One of the most common places you'll encounter it is in advertising. Of course, this is the Financial Advisor Marketing podcast. I talk about online ads and physical ads, letters and direct mail, and seminars and webinars all the time. Psychological ventriloquism is used in advertising.
Marketers often use imagery and they use different messages that get you to draw your own conclusions about a product or service without explicitly stating them. For example, a car commercial might show a family happily driving through the countryside, and what that does is it subtly suggests that buying the car will bring joy and adventure to your life, and as much as I despise these sorts of commercials, Big Pharma does it, too, and Big Pharma does it really well. [05:48.7]
Have you ever wondered why commercials for prescription drugs have all of these people laughing and smiling, and doing all sorts of activities and just having a grand old time? I mean, I've seen cookouts and walking on the beach, and skiing and biking and everything in between, and just old people sitting on the grass having picnics and just enjoying life and doing cartwheels or whatever. It's because they want people to think, Wow, if I take this prescription drug, then my life can be like that, too, and as goofy as that sounds, it works.
Psychological ventriloquism has to be used here, because if Big Pharma came out and said, “If you take this, your life will improve.” I mean, first of all, that would be against the law. I mean, the FTC has laws against that, but if that were legal, let's just imagine it were legal, then people would resist. The marketing wouldn't be as effective. They would resist because they wouldn't like the feeling of Big Pharma trying to assert their beliefs onto them, so they have to do it subtly.
Another example is when a magician performs magic tricks. I've also seen many magicians live. I saw Criss Angel in Las Vegas. He was having a bad night that night because I guess he felt sick or something. He talked about how he just was having an off day, but he still put on a phenomenal show. Loved Criss Angel. Loved David Copperfield when he was doing his thing. Loved David Blaine doing his street magic. But, no, Criss Angel was awesome in person. Totally awesome. [07:09.3]
Magicians are masters at leading their audiences to make certain assumptions. Picture a magician suspending his beautiful assistant midair and running a hoop around her. He's going back and forth, just dragging the hoop over her body. What he's really doing is getting the audience to assume that there are no wires or supports, even though this is never explicitly proven. The magician never comes out and says, “Look, there are no wires. There are no supports.”
At Criss Angel’s show, Criss Angel would do this with music. There would be a beat playing, and Criss would just take the hoop and he would go over his assistant, and it would just be subtle. He wouldn't have to say it. He would show it, so the magician's performance induces that assumption, which makes the illusion even more powerful, because you are coming to your own conclusion, “Hey, there are no wires. Hey, there are no supports.” [07:57.6]
We also see psychological ventriloquism in humor. Comedians often set up their punchlines by leading audiences to make—what? Certain assumptions. And then the whole point of a successful joke or a punchline is to subvert those assumptions. That's what creates the humor. You might say, “My grandmother has been walking a mile every day for the past week,” then pause a little bit and say, “But now we don't know where she is.” The reason that's funny is because people tend to fill in the gap that walking a mile every day means deliberate exercise. It leads people to draw their own conclusions. They are assuming that Grandma is walking every day and she's doing it to get healthy or fit, or just to get her steps in, but that's never explicitly stated.
One of my favorite ways for financial advisors to use psychological ventriloquism is to change the way they ask questions. Lots of people might tell you to ask open-ended questions instead of close-ended questions, but how many have explained to you why it's important to ask open-ended questions from a marketing perspective? [09:00.8]
For example, instead of asking, “Do you have any financial concerns?” you could ask, “What are your top financial concerns?” Or instead of asking, “Have you considered what type of lifestyle you want in retirement?” you could ask, “What kind of lifestyle do you want in retirement?” By asking questions like these, their minds will immediately go where you want them to go. If you ask, “What are your top financial concerns?” then you are getting them to think about their financial concerns that you are steering their mind in that direction.
Psychological ventriloquism is also one of the reasons why case studies and stories work so well. In my case, instead of saying something like, “I can help you get more clients,” I could tell a story about an advisor just like you who worked with me and got amazing results. You would be more likely to fill in the blanks and think to yourself, If he could help that person, then he could probably help me as well, and that is psychological ventriloquism in action. [09:56.7]
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.
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I also love using this tactic in places like email and places like social media, because you can put out content that allows prospective clients to conclude that you are the right fit for them. Here are some ways to do it. [11:08.5]
Back to stories. You could tell more stories about the things you want them to conclude. That is critical. For example, you could say, “I go above and beyond for my clients. Or—or—just maybe, you could tell a story about how one of your clients got a flat tire or something on the way to your office and you dropped everything to go pick that client up. That is something that will allow the other person, the person reading the story, to conclude something about you, namely, that you care enough about your clients to drop everything and go out of your way for them.
You could provide valuable insights. Now, this does not mean teaching necessarily. I am not a fan of when financial advisors act like teachers. I really don't like it. I know it's a horrible strategy in everything from social media to email to presentations. Sometimes financial advisors will act like teachers in their presentations and webinars and conferences, and it just wrecks their conversions. [12:00.1]
But back to social media. Let's say that you share a social media post about the benefits of tax-efficient investing. If you do it correctly, then your audience can see your expertise in action without having you state it explicitly. You’re not saying, “I know a lot about tax-efficient investing.” What you're doing is you're sharing the post in such a way where they say, “Wow, this person knows a lot about tax-efficient investing,” so it's a little bit of a difference. That's the psychological ventriloquism part, but it makes a huge difference in the end.
I personally use this technique all the time and I use it specifically when financial advisors are skeptical about, if I can help them. I just tell them as politely as possible stuff like this. “You are the one listening to this podcast right now. I am not listening to yours, if you have one.” Or if you're on my email list, then “You are the one reading my emails. I am not reading yours.” In fact, my personal email address, the one I use every day and for personal stuff and for a lot of other things, that email address is not subscribed to any email list. Zero, not a single one. [13:07.1]
Sometimes financial advisors will ask me about my email marketing program and I'll just tell them straight up, “You are on my email list. I am not on yours. I can look at my email marketing software and I can tell that you have been opening every single one of my emails for the past nine months, and you usually open them within five minutes of receiving them, so maybe I know something you don't. Maybe it's possible that I can show you how to do the exact same thing with your email list.” Again, I say that a lot more politely than that, but that's the gist of it.
Also, this is powerful and this is really high-level, but the way you market your services is also a form of psychological ventriloquism. I've said it many times that this podcast is a way for me to subtly communicate that I am not just some fly-by-night marketer that's here today and gone tomorrow. I have seen so many people come and go over the years who claim that they love financial advisors. They claim that they love marketing. They claim that they love this industry and that they're committed, and then they disappear. [14:09.0]
I have been doing this for almost 10 years. I have really been ’bout it, ’bout it, for a long time. This podcast alone, the Financial Advisor Marketing podcast that you are listening to right now, has been going for more than five years. And guess what? I had a podcast before this one, so when people see 280-plus episodes of the Financial Advisor Marketing podcast, it is a subtle clue that I am really committed and I have been doing this.
It also helps me field a lot of those silly objections that financial advisors sometimes have. I used to get questions like this. “I'm in Canada. Will this work for me?” and I think to myself, Sigh, basic marketing fundamentals do not change because you cross a border. Human psychology does not change simply because you walk a few steps from Buffalo, New York, to Niagara Falls. [14:57.7]
But now I don't get that as much. I don't get that objection, because, I mentioned, 20% of my newsletter subscribers are from countries outside of the United States, and the overwhelming majority of that 20% is made up of people from Canada. It kind of is a form of psychological ventriloquism, because it gets people to conclude that, Huh, maybe this stuff works for people in Canada, for example, and same thing with like the UK and Australia. It’s just, human psychology doesn't change, okay?
I don't know why people think that. I guess they think that I'm getting technical with the laws and stuff, and I'm absolutely not because I'm not an attorney. I'm talking about the basic fundamentals of marketing that work, that have worked 10 years ago, that work today, that will work 10 years from now. I'm working on a legacy. This is an evergreen product, okay? My legacy is helping you build yours.
I also used to get the “What about compliance?” objection a lot. Compliance is nothing new to me. I wonder if these advisors think that my response is going to be “Gasp, com . . . compliance? What's that? I've never heard of that. What is, com . . . com . . . What is this word you're using? Compliance?” It's just silly. [16:01.8]
Another example is about the way you market being a form of psychological ventriloquism. It’s when you email every day. I'm a big advocate of using an email-autoresponder sequence to automatically send emails every single day. This doesn't mean you're writing an email every day. Absolutely not. It means you write the sequence. Then you put the sequence to work. That's all it is. In fact, it's one of the easiest marketing strategies you can ever implement, because you only have to do the work one time, and if you want to go back and do more work, you could always make it better.
Psychological ventriloquism is a huge reason for this, because daily emails plant the seed that you are consistent, that you show up, that you use systems, that you are efficient. Besides, let's say that you're a prospective client and you are in the market to hire a financial advisor. Who would be more appealing to you, someone who only has something interesting to say once per week, or perhaps every two weeks, or the financial advisor who has something interesting to say every single day and shows up and is there for you? Probably that one, right? It seems so obvious when you take a step back and you consider what is really happening. The way you market your services should communicate what you want people to understand. [17:17.5]
As we wrap up this little episode about psychological ventriloquism, it is critical to understand the do's and don'ts of using this powerful technique, so I want to give you some best practices. I want to give you some common pitfalls to avoid. So, let’s recap the key principles and techniques that I've shared with you thus far.
The gist is that it is all about inducing unconscious assumptions. The idea is to guide people to their own conclusions by suddenly influencing their thoughts and beliefs. A great way to do this is to share stories to demonstrate what you want to say without explicitly saying it. Think magician. Think ventriloquist, literally. Think comedian. The way you market also matters a lot and it can do a lot of good for getting people off the fence when it comes to working with you. [18:00.0]
I also want to emphasize the importance of ethical use and maintaining trust. Psychological ventriloquism should never be used to deceive or manipulate people in a negative way. Instead, it should be a tool to help people see the value you offer and to make informed decisions. Always prioritize your clients’ best interest and maintain transparency in your marketing and in your communications.
Now let's discuss some common pitfalls to avoid. There are two big ones. One of the biggest mistakes is being too overt in your attempts to influence to get people to do things. That kind of defeats the purpose of psychological ventriloquism, because you're not throwing the thoughts like a ventriloquist throws his or her voice.
If people feel manipulated, even if you're not trying to manipulate them, if they just feel manipulated, it can erode trust and damage your reputation. You want to make sure that your influence appears like a natural part of the conversation or marketing, or whatever you're trying to do. [18:57.3]
Another mistake, the second big one, is trying to do it when there's no genuine engagement. If your interactions feel forced or insincere, people will pick up on it. It has to be a natural extension of what you're doing, because even though it's a tactic, it must be intertwined into your business strategy to make it work. That's actually how all successful tactics work, by the way, because strategies inform tactics.
All right, that's all I have for this week. I hope you found this podcast episode actionable and insightful. If you enjoyed it, please subscribe to this podcast. Please, I beg of you. Leave a review. Share it with a friend. Sharing it with someone is the number one thing you can do to help this podcast grow. Stay tuned for the next episode, because I'm going to share some additional information about how to make your marketing stronger, more effective and more efficient. I'm going to talk about five of my least favorite marketing strategies for financial advisors. You don't want to miss this one. And I will catch you next week. [19:51.7]
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