Marketing: There is no Substitute

The following is a true story. Identities have been changed for confidentiality.

Recently a colleague of mine shared a story about a quality broker-dealer, ABC Financial. ABC had approached my colleague to help them recruit more financial advisors to their business. In my colleague’s due diligence process, he concluded that even though this was a smaller broker-dealer, they had a significant and compelling offer that set them apart from many other BDs – small and large. They had a quality offer and an efficient back office team. He thought this would be a good home, as would a few others BDs he knew of, for a particular advisor he had in mind.
The advisor was a seasoned professional who last year generated over $1.6 million in revenue. The advisor was fed up with BDs who, in his opinion, only looked out for themselves, who were increasingly focused on compliance and were keeping him from continuing to grow his business as an independent professional. He was looking for a new home, one he could continue to grow with, one he saw as a stable but flexible business partner.

My colleague was quite certain that ABC had a shot at landing what would be their largest fish in their BD. The potential spin-off of hiring a successful professional like this would also produce a good story to share with other advisors. My colleague referred the advisor to 3 BDs; the advisor then contacted each of these BDs.

After preliminary meetings with each of these BDs, the prospective advisor liked ABC’s story best and subsequently asked to take the next step with them. He was expecting to receive a portfolio of information that would represent the vision and mission of ABC Financial and their complete offering including their systems, approved vendors and compensation grid. What he received was a sample contract and a few unconnected info sheets. The advisor contacted my colleague and said, “How and why would I want to put my future with a company that can’t even invest in something this essential?” My colleague replied that he couldn’t agree more. He then took the time to explain why he had sent the advisor to ABC in the first place. “I’m certain that ABC’s offering is what you are looking for but there is a reason they’re not a much larger BD. I wanted to give you the opportunity to say no, to recognize this one significant difference between unsuccessful and successful BDs. I hope it helps you more clearly see the characteristics you want in finding the next home for your book of business.”

A company that can’t articulate their vision and their uniqueness, a company that doesn’t invest in their message (their marketing), doesn’t stand much of a chance of attracting quality clients or talent, in this case a successful financial professional. Marketing isn’t just about looking good or big, it says something about how you run your business. Are you professional? Are you interested in the long term success of your business? Do you have a compelling story? Will an advisor’s clients see this move to another BD as meaningful and beneficial?



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