Right now, the world needs financial consultants and advisors more than ever. With the economy fluctuating dramatically in the wake of the pandemic, many business owners are looking for advice on how to manage their money and grow their enterprise in an uncertain climate. As a financial consultant, you need to reach out and start marketing your services effectively so that you can show up as a superhero for as many clients as possible. Let’s take a look at the four building blocks of marketing your financial consulting practice.
Be Visible
In order to sell your consulting services you first need to show up and be seen by your ideal clients. No-one can buy from you if they don’t know that you exist.
If you were setting up a lemonade stand for the day, you would generate far more sales by positioning yourself in the middle of a busy street with lots of foot traffic rather than down a quiet alley. The same principle applies to your practice; you won’t sell anything unless people can actually see you.
Some key first steps to help you be seen include:
- Creating a business website
- Showing up on social media
- Using social media profiles, blogs and YouTube videos to show up in Google
- Finding out where your target audience hangs out online and join those communities
- Partnering with other businesses to create content
- Making sure all of your social media accounts have links back to each other and include an introduction about who you are and what you offer
It’s important to create social media profiles for your practice across as many different channels as possible, even if you don’t use them every day. Consistency is key when it comes to marketing consulting services effectively. You need to show up day in, day out in order to build your audience and stay front of mind.
Be Heard
It’s not enough to be seen by your ideal clients; you need to be heard by them, too. If you were running a lemonade stall, you might use a megaphone to make sure that the whole street knew you were there. You would start conversations with potential customers as they passed you by.
For your consulting practice, this means creating content that’s educational, engaging and shareable. In order to cut through the noise you need to speak with authority on your specialism.
Create a blog for your financial consulting business. Don’t directly promote your products and services, but rather use this platform to share your expertise on topics such as tax preparation and estate planning. This type of content is usually aimed at individuals who are looking for consumer information rather than commercial content.
You can then repurpose your blog content into shorter social media updates which will allow you to show up in front of your ideal audience every day on channels like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Live videos are another great way to show up in front of your ideal audience every day by sharing information and engaging with viewers. This could mean a live webinar or Q+A session, or simply jumping on to answer a key question or deliver a specific piece of advice.
Remember that every piece of content you create should be designed to get an ideal client into a conversation with you. You should end every video, social update and blog with a call-to-action to get your ideal clients talking to you about how you can help them.
Deliver an Amazing Experience
The final secret to marketing success for your consulting practice is delivering a great experience for your clients. This will not only keep them coming back for more, but also help you build a reputation for excellence which will attract many more prospects to your door.
Customers don’t just buy from a lemonade stand because they want a good quality beverage, it’s because buying a glass of homemade lemonade from a hot day is a charming and enjoyable experience that makes them feel good.
In a similar vein, you need to make sure that every touchpoint is designed to impress your leads and prospects so that they have a great experience with you from start to finish. This means creating helpful and engaging content and delivering value during sales calls and proposal run throughs. This will help you build a strong reputation and become a niche celebrity, making it easier to build relationships and convert your ideal clients.
Summary
In conclusion, the three key steps to marketing and selling financial consulting services are:
- Being visible to your ideal clients
- Being heard with content that resonates
- Delivering an amazing experience from start to finish
The lemonade stand and the financial consulting firm operate in different industries, but they share a common tenet: providing an amazing customer experience. It’s not just about selling your services or product; it’s about doing so with integrity and care for your customers.
