Why You Should Be the ? NY Yankees of Financial Advising

Yeah, I know, the New York Yankees ??. As a Boston Red Sox fan it makes me cringe to write it. But I have to give them credit as according to ESPN, the NY Yankees are the franchise that earns the most royalties (as per Reference.com).

So what's the lesson that financial advisors can take from this?

#1 Consistency

Financial advisors have alot to learn from the Yankees as a brand. First of all, the brand is very consistent. You see those pinstripes? It's been a mainstay for decades. You see their nice clean haircuts? The grooming code is extremely strict.

I am constantly hearing from financial advisors who are bellyaching about how their social media doesn't work. When Mickey Mantle showed up to batting practice, do you think he hit the ball three times and then went home? It takes time and dedication, discipline, focus. Do you know how hard it is to get you financial advisors to write a blog without having 12 people sign off on it? And I'm not talking about just the compliance officer. What do you think committee writing does to a blog? It doesn't work. How can you have a consistent brand when the voice is 12 people's voices? One voice.

Listen to this podcast for lessons on blogging from one of the industry's best, Michael Kitces.

#2 Conveyed by people not inanimate objects

Second of all, the brand is conveyed by people, not by concepts. People who know nothing about baseball know about Babe Ruth, Derek Jeter, Yogi Berra, Jorge Posada. They do this by appointing a person, not a logo or a tagline, as the conveyor of the brand equity. I constantly see financial advisors who don't want to put their picture on their website. Or you have a crappy picture as your LinkedIn headshot and it's from 20 years ago when you looked way younger.

People connect to other people not to inanimate objects!

So let me get this straight. You ask someone to trust you with their life savings and super secret info like the fact they are cheating on their husband of 35 years with the newspaper man, but you can't even put a freaking picture of yourself on your website? Then you wonder why nobody calls. They need to see your eyes to trust you.

Or you have your newsletter written in this awful third person omniscient narrator tone instead of the first person. But at the same time you all claim to be the most client focused, warm and friendly, caring people - isn't that what it says on your website? Then why aren't you living up to it? Look at your marketing materials. Are you alive or are you hiding between the logos, marketingisms, and the stuffy representations that are supposed to convey credibility?

Show some personality and heart, financial advisors, if you want people to respond to your marketing! Show you're a human being for goodness sake!

Check out this blog which discusses the idea of acting like a human being while acting as a financial advisor at the same time.

#3 They seek attention from just about anybody

Third of all, they don't impose boundaries on the brand. Yankee brand is popular internationally. Why would the Yankees care if people in Tokyo know about them if they won't be buying tickets and trekking off to the Bronx anytime soon? Because the Yankees understand very well that the point of branding isn't to sell thing as much as to be known.

And this is something I hear financial advisors all the time having a hard time grasping. Why do I need to be on social media? My retired clients aren't on LinkedIn! Did you ever consider this?

• By the way, their kids are!
• By the way, their accountants are!
• By the way, their estate attorneys are!
• By the way, their son and daughter in laws are!

You know how it goes when the S&P has a good year and so don't the mid and small caps as well? A rising tide lifts all ships as they say. This is market beta in effect. You yourselves have touted these concepts! Maybe its not your target niche per se right from the jump but there are nine innings in the game. You have to start somewhere and if you do a good job word gets around.

Check out this podcast on how to get rich people to go to your website with my buddy Kirk Deis.

How to get a major league financial advisor brand

Creating a successful financial advisor brand online takes time and dedication. But you need someone who can coach you and who knows the rules of the game. Check out my membership which was designed for the financial advisors who want to get out on the field and play the game instead of sitting around on the bench.