Why It’s Time to Prioritize Your Marketing Budget as Financial Advisor

It is common knowledge that to make money one needs to spend money. It is equally important to properly allocate budget funds and maximize the ROI as a financial advisor. A recent article in Advisor Perspectives focuses on just that while breaking down what goes into the budget and estimating the cost for each portion of it.

Every advisor has to consider what has to go into the budget. This includes creating a personal brand, targeting the right audience and finally turning the prospects into clients and closing the sale. This process sounds simpler than it actually is. This is because each factor requires careful planning which will cut into every advisor’s personal time as well as substantial financial resources. Branding is vital for multiple reasons and most definitely worth every penny:

• Branding  clarifies your position in relation to your competitors.
• It enables you to connect more powerfully with those potential clients who most likely want what you uniquely offer.
• Allows to establish deeper bonds with current clients, making you irreplaceable.
• Make it easier for your referral sources to explain why you are better than you competitors.

Keep in mind that it is important to delegate proper branding and the right message to an expert and while the initial cost may be high it will set you up perfectly for the next step.

A significant amount of the budget is bound to go into targeting your ideal audience and will require a variety of marketing strategies. Social media, email marketing or even a good old fashioned mail campaign all need to be included or at least considered. The initial step requires building an audience through various online platforms and therefore will require an opening “spending spree”. However, when done properly then overtime you will be able to accumulate the right target audience on you social networks and email lists where posting and sending out email campaigns will become your primary strategy to acquire new business.

Once branding and client acquisition are working to their optimum levels, it is important to allocate the rest of the funds into closing the sale and maximizing the ROI. Never underestimate a well-trained sales team to follow through with every prospect. Be sure to appropriate enough time to follow up (and do so more than once) because while prospects may be interested in your service the first time you approach them, others are not quite there yet.

Begin building a relationship with these leads when you initiate the sales cycle. Be sure to include prospects in your marketing efforts and they won’t forget about you. They will let you know when they’re ready to commit. Follow ups and continuous contact will also have a cost that will cut into your total budget but this is also the part where you are re-marketing to a group that has shown significant interest in your business and has a higher chance of conversions.

In the end of the day, be sure to review your budget spending and draw conclusions on what works for you. Remember, that while certain expenses are a one-time fee, others will require a more consistent approach. Whichever strategy you chose and perfect be sure that your return exceeds your investment and that your budget is properly distributed.