The two superpowers you need to turbocharge your marketing

This is an adapted version of my article which first appeared in Money Marketing on 26th November 2020.

Too often marketing is seen as a dark art, only practised by ‘gurus’ who charge exorbitant fees for something they suggest their clients don’t understand and can’t do for themselves.

I’m here to tell you, that’s rubbish.

To successfully market yourself or your business you only really need two things. The importance of both is often underestimated and they’re rarely achieved together, but both are within your grasp right now.

What are they?

Consistency. And patience.

If you’ve ever wondered:

• What sets the great marketers apart from the also-rans?
• Why some advisers and planners have a higher profile than others?
• Why you’re not getting more enquiries?

The answer is simple: Consistency. And patience.

The simple power of consistency

The financial advisers and planners who market themselves and their businesses most effectively consistently:

• Focus on a few simple things they know work, rather than becoming distracted by shiny new things
• Produce great content which adds value to their audience
• Show up on the social media channels where their target audience hangs out and then add value
• Send relevant, informative and interesting newsletters (monthly is the perfect frequency)
• Collect online reviews and other social proof
• Have great conversations with their clients about referrals
• Monitor data and refine their strategy

None of this is hard, but it does need to be done consistently. That means you need to develop consistency as a superpower or outsource the work to someone who already has it.

Patience is a virtue

If consistency is Batman, patience is Robin.

• If you’re expecting someone who has downloaded one of your guides on Facebook to immediately book a meeting, you’re probably going to be disappointed. But, by nurturing them and adding value over time you will become the ‘go-to’ person when the time is right for them to seek advice.
• If a client doesn’t immediately refer you on to other people after you’ve discussed referrals with them, it doesn’t mean it won’t happen. It’ll take time, regular reminders about whom you work with and the value you add for it to happen.
• If your open rate on your first newsletter is lower than you’d have hoped it doesn’t mean it won’t increase. Consistently sending high-quality articles, while getting clients and prospects used to receiving it will push up open rates.

The combined power of consistency and patience

We’ve got a huge amount of data to demonstrate the benefits of consistency and patience. Advisers and planners who have both superpowers get:  

• More people visiting their website
• Higher engagement levels for their content and newsletters
• More useful engagements on social media
• A higher number of referrals from existing clients (always the best type of new enquiry, although not infinitely scalable)
• More enquiries from the right type of people

In turn, that leads to growth irrespective of how you measure it; client numbers, fees, assets under management.

A winning formula

Consistency, combined with patience, is the winning formula that many marketing gurus don’t talk about.

They’re both superpowers you can develop over time. If you’re successful, your marketing will never look back. 

Phil Bray is the founder and director of The Yardstick Agency