In the world of today’s investments, advisers have their choice of offerings. Avoid the hard sell and stand out with a meaningful conversation.
By Jill Swartz, co-founder and partner, Spotlight Marketing Communications
With alternative investments becoming more popular, the number of offerings has also increased, and for alternative investment firms, grabbing the attention of financial advisers – those gatekeepers to a vast clientele – requires a strategic marketing approach. With a client-focused marketing strategy, you may have the opportunity to start a productive conversation with a receptive financial adviser and turn that conversation into a sale that’s beneficial for you, the adviser, and the adviser’s clients.
Educate and Establish Trust
Financial advisers are knowledge-driven professionals who are regularly bombarded with sales pitches from countless firms. Instead of a sales pitch, stand out from the crowd and focus on how you might provide value to advisers and/or their clients. What problems do they have, and how might your offering help to solve them? While this initially may sound time-consuming, it may actually save you time, as you can avoid pitching to unreceptive audiences.
Once you learn more about the adviser, educate them about the nuances of your alternative investment programs through webinars or workshops. This allows you to address a large audience of advisers at one time while also shedding light on the potential benefits of your offering.
Additionally, at Spotlight Marketing Communications, we often recommend crafting white papers or thought leadership pieces that address common adviser concerns, such as liquidity constraints or potential tax benefits. These can be emailed to advisers, posted to your website or LinkedIn page, or even printed and included with your marketing collateral. By positioning yourself as a trusted source of information from the start, you lay the groundwork for enhanced adviser engagement.
Tailor Your Message
Financial advisers cater to diverse clients with varying risk tolerances and investment goals. Once you discover these needs, you may craft targeted marketing content that resonates with specific adviser segments. For instance, a private equity firm specializing in healthcare technology could create a marketing campaign displaying how their investments have generated returns while contributing to medical innovation. This type of campaign might appeal to advisers with clients interested in both financial gains and social impact. By speaking their language and addressing their clients’ unique needs, the relevance of your offerings can be greatly improved.
Prove Your Value
Financial advisers often rely on data to make informed decisions. An important part of starting a conversation can be to provide them with easy-to-read, comprehensive performance reports or market analyses that substantiate the goals of your offering. Clearly articulate the risk mitigation strategies you employ, the track record of your investment team or past offerings, and the competitive advantages of your current programs.
Just be sure to highlight your pertinent data in a way that’s easy for busy advisers to quickly understand. As part of our standard marketing package at Spotlight, we often include a simple, one-page handout that clearly features the offering’s most important data points. By displaying your ability to deliver consistent returns and manage risk, you instill confidence in advisers who will want to learn more about your offering.
Amplify Your Reach
In today’s world, digital marketing is not an option; it’s vital to your success. It helps to amplify your reach while also driving enhanced engagement, and while you must always be sure to remain compliant, an established web presence is another way that you can start an adviser conversation.
Create a professional website that outlines your investment strategies and showcases your team’s expertise, enabling advisers to efficiently learn more about you. Add in educational resources for advisers to create more value. Utilize social media platforms like LinkedIn to share industry insights, promote your events, and engage in discussions with advisers. Similarly, consider email newsletters and drip campaigns that deliver curated content straight to an adviser’s inbox, keeping your firm and offering top of mind.
Add a Human Touch
Marketing isn’t solely about digital campaigns. While the industry may be evolving or seemingly preferring virtual meetings and text-based communication, personal relationships still go a long way and initiate conversations which may lead to sales. These personal relationships may be cultivated through one-on-one meetings, industry conferences, networking events, or by simply picking up the phone and making a call. These interactions allow you to explain your investment strategies in detail, answer questions, and build rapport.
In a world that is becoming more and more digital, almost everyone will appreciate the ability to associate a real person with the name on the screen. Remember, people invest in people they trust, and building personal relationships can be significant in building that trust.
Effectively starting a conversation and then marketing to financial advisers requires a multifaceted approach. By prioritizing education, tailoring your message, leveraging data-driven insights, embracing digital engagement and building real relationships, you can initiate meaningful conversations that position your alternative investments as compelling additions to their clients’ portfolios.
Jill Swartz is a marketing and PR professional with 25 years of experience in media relations, marketing and advertising. She is also the partner and co-founder of Spotlight Marketing Communications, a full-service marketing and communications agency specializing in alternative investments. Swartz can be reached at [email protected].
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