Another word for a brand is a reputation. Even if you don’t want one, you will have a reputation. Just look around at where you are now – work, school, home – you already have a reputation with a great many people in your lives. They know what to expect from you. Hopefully that’s all good, but maybe some of it isn’t. That’s both okay and typical, but now is the time to take that seriously and try to build a reputation, a brand, that will benefit you with clients.
Branding
Branding is a term marketers use to explain the relationship a customer has with a product or service. A good brand captures a customer’s imagination and becomes a solution for what they need. We want to Xerox a piece of paper or when we are about to sneeze we ask for a Kleenex. Branding is not limited to consumer products. Individuals and services can be branded as well. Look at Emeril Lagasse and Martha Stewart. Both are great examples of branding in action.
Setting life goals
Setting life goals are a big part of working with clients. Often times, it takes more than just a simple question to examine the real goals of clients. They tend to say what they think you want to hear, or what sounds good. My anecdotal evidence suggests that most advisers accept that as they are just trying to land the business, and pushing further isn’t beneficial to the sale. In sales, your selling the vision, not reality, which is why beer commercials with great looking girls work really well with male beer drinkers. 🙂 However, in this business, I would argue that going beyond the superficial is crucial to trust building and a long term relationship. But I would also acknowledge this will cost the adviser some business and makes things harder. So you have to decide how much you’re going to push them for their real thoughts.
Dr. Douglas Rice 