Financial advisors, does this sound familiar? You're barraged with people and companies who promise to help you get six thousand new clients in thirty seconds or less as long as you follow their magic tip, trick, or tactic. If so, take a deep breath and relax because that is NOT what this show is about. Lol. Hi, I'm James Pollard. I'm the founder of TheAdvisorCoach.com and host of the "Financial Advisor Marketing" podcast. This podcast is rooted in timeless principles designed to help financial…
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If you want to understand what makes an email "tick" to the point that one solitary email can lead to 14 high-quality appointments on your calendar, then you've found the perfect episode. Today's show contains a real email a real advisor sent to a somewhat "cold" list… and landed 14 appointments from his 20 or 30 minutes of effort. Not only will I share this email "as is" in the episode, but I…
Most advisors foolishly think that the secret to winning high-quality clients is becoming more competent. I get why you believe this: The entire industry is built to make you believe this. But here's the problem: This is NOT true. It's been proven scientifically, by two Harvard researchers mind you, that likeability beats expertise. Worst part? In the financial advice industry in particular, the…
Have you ever lost a highly qualified and interested prospect to a competing financial advisor? (If you answered "no," then you should know that you're lying to yourself…) Almost every advisor has lost a prospect to another advisor. Problem is, your prospects who choose another advisor over you never tell you why they decided to go with that advisor. In fact, you'll likely never hear from that…
What do you say when people at parties or other social outings ask what you do for a living? Most advisors have the same, lame answer as other advisors: They say their job title. This kills more conversations, more potential appointments, and more possible clients than perhaps any other sentence you utter. Why? Because when you answer with your job title, you sabotage the other person's curiosity,…
I am constantly asked by financial advisors who tried LinkedIn but failed with it whether or not it's really a platform for getting high-quality clients. My response? Yes, financial advisors are really getting clients from LinkedIn. But only if they're not making one of the four fatal mistakes I reveal in this episode. Unless you've only tried LinkedIn for a day and gave up as quickly as you…
The multi-billion dollar self-help industry has a deep and dirty secret: They sell you junk food dressed up like health food. Not only do some of the most commonly parroted lines and "lessons" not actually help you… but many will actively hurt you and your business. In fact, there are 7 such self-improvement lies that will do more harm to your business, your wealth, and your future than good. In…
Here's something you might not like to hear, but you need to hear it: The reason you're not as successful or effective as you want isn't because of the market, the economy, or any other external factor. The reason is you. Take, for instance, the fact every listener of this show knows enough to get started. And yet, the vast majority will let that information die in the deep recesses of their mind…
I'm feeling extra generous and reflective in this episode because the July Inner Circle newsletter, my 100th straight issue, is the single best newsletter I've ever written. The process of writing this celebratory issue has left me overflowing with ideas. Which means you're in for a treat in today's show. I'm giving you 10 of my best secrets I've learned from spending more than a decade helping…
50 clients seems to be the threshold where the entire game changes: Either your first 50 clients are wealthy, high-quality ones who "get" you (which paves the way to unbelievable marketing effectiveness and growth)… Or your first 50 clients are random, low-quality ones who frustrate you, stifle your marketing effectiveness, and keep you trapped in mediocrity. That's why I recorded today's episode.…
I have personally reviewed 1000s of financial advisors' "About" pages over the years, and I am not exaggerating when I say that somewhere between 90 and 95% are just horrible. They are actively repelling their ideal prospects. The reason? Most advisors think their About page is a resume in narrative form. And so, they say the same things: You went to such and such university, you have a CFP, you…
I am tired of financial advisors telling me that they cannot grow but they just don't have the budget for paid ads. In almost every case, this is an excuse. And a rotten excuse at that. These advisors think their lack of marketing spend is the reason they can't grow. But the true problem is much deeper than that. Your lack of marketing is a symptom of the deeper problem. And I prove it in this…
The single most effective, fulfilling, and fun way to market your financial services is by leveraging the incredible powers of niche marketing. But if you're like most advisors, you go about picking a niche in a completely backwards way, burning out before getting any real traction, and giving up way too soon. That's why I recorded this episode. If you listen to it, then implement what's…
Ethical persuasion is your professional obligation to your prospective clients. But most advisors don't believe this because they fall into one of two extremes: They either ditch the "ethical" part and dive into unethical manipulation tactics to trick their prospects into forking over their hard-earned money… Or they think the complete opposite: That persuasion is beneath them. And thus, don't try…
Most of what you do in marketing will not produce the results you desire. That's the harsh reality behind the mathematical structure of marketing. But it's your mind that turns mathematical realities into a problem. Here's what I mean: After racking up a couple of embarrassing marketing failures, most advisors think they're a failure and give up. They don't realize that every marketing failure…
If you are a financial advisor who wants to get more clients with Facebook Ads, then, well, this might be the most important piece of content you ever come across. I'm sharing my top 20 Facebook Ads tips for financial advisors in today's show. The only other way to even get the secrets I share in this free episode is by forking over thousands of dollars a month to an advertising agency - for…
I'm not the "guru" type who will boldly proclaim that a certain marketing strategy is dead. But I have a sneaking suspicion that advisors are keeping cold prospecting on life support by themselves because they don't know there's a better way. But there is a better way that's far less time consuming, far more effective and profitable, and far less soul-sucking too. In fact, there are 3 specific…
There is no shortage of tricks and tips created specifically for financial advisors who want to get more referrals. And yet… The entire industry struggles hard to actually land referrals. You might ask your clients to refer others to you in hundreds of different ways, but you can't trace back a single client to a referral. The reason is actually quite simple: Your clients physically cannot give…
Your discovery meeting is costing you time, clients, and wealth. And most advisors never realize that their discovery meetings are slowly crushing their business. The reason? You're using the completely wrong approach in your discovery meetings! Look, I get it - when a prospective client has a problem and you have a solution, it's natural to want to rush in with the solution. But your prospect…
Metrics are wonderful. I love them. I use them. And I suggest you track your metrics, so you can make better decisions especially over the long-term. But metrics are terrible masters and wonderful servants. Here's what I mean: Obsessing over your metrics without understanding the underlying context of them is a recipe for wrecking your business in a hurry. Not only are most marketing metrics…
This episode might be the most important one I've ever recorded… And it has nothing to do with marketing. Instead, it's a guide for hitting real financial independence, where you have the freedom to do whatever you want instead of bending over backwards to appease clients and pay your mortgage, faster than almost any other human on earth. In fact, it's totally possible to take $10,000 and turn it…
There are certain people, who are not in your market and would never become your client, who try to offer you advice about your marketing and your overall business. It's important you ignore these people and don't take their feedback seriously. The reason? It's like a steakhouse owner taking advice from a broke vegetarian. The trouble is, their feedback might feel like a good idea. It might make…
This episode may make you uncomfortable, but it's too important to avoid. There is a silly and self-sabotaging belief that runs rampant amongst financial advisors. It is actively destructive and extraordinarily expensive. And the only reason it exists is because it protects you from discomfort and responsibility. The belief? "I'm not ready for marketing." This one poisonous belief has destroyed…
I remember my uncle once telling me that most people are dumb, weak, and broke. While I thought it was harsh at the time, it has been consistently proven to be true over the years. Why does this matter to you? Two reasons: First, to help you break through whatever limiting belief you've subconsciously placed on yourself that's keeping you out of the top 0.0001%. It's really not nearly as hard to…
Most of the so-called marketing advice that advisors get sold by other marketing gurus isn't just flat-out wrong… But it also makes you focus on the wrong things! This warped perception not only stunts your marketing efforts, but it derails your confidence, dupes you into believing certain tactics (or marketing as a whole) doesn't work, and causes you to toss and turn for hours each night as you…
Most advisors create their marketing strategy by stitching together "quick tips," following the latest tactics, or otherwise getting some form of Shiny Object Syndrome. This can work (and does work) for a while. But there's a massive hidden debt that comes with this patchwork marketing strategy: It undermines your certainty, confidence, and even your ability to best serve your clients! In fact,…
There is something infecting your mind and your marketing right now. It's not a lack of tactics or using the wrong ones. It's not a lack of strategy or using the wrong one. And it's not even a lack of expertise (in financial advice, business growth, or marketing) even though most advisors use it as an excuse. The truth? Somewhere along the way, you've created an identity for yourself that…
I recently analyzed a few hundred of my best performing emails that I sent to financial advisors last year for my Inner Circle members. I went through them with a fine-tooth comb to analyze the patterns, similarities, and anything I could find to explain their success. And, at the end of the day, I came up with 7 things that my most successful emails do. If you want to get more clients from your…
Most financial advisors approach their website in the completely wrong way. They build it to look professional and appeal to everyone. And this can only result in filling your calendar with a bunch of tire kickers and headache clients that will pay shekels and demand everything from you. There is a far smarter approach that doesn't keep you busy for busy's sake. It actually makes you more…
If you closely study the best financial advisors' marketing strategies, you might find something so counterintuitive that it makes you question reality: The top advisors grow faster with less marketing, not more! Most advisors get this completely wrong. They think they have to have daily marketing breakthroughs to break through the noise and land one client. This leads to frustration, burnout,…
There is a certain type of lead magnet that converts like crazy. And yet, nobody uses it, especially financial advisors! Some advisors are simply too lazy (or pretend they're too busy) to do it. Others have been led astray by marketing gurus who foolishly advise against it. Some are just unconvinced it will work before they try. And there's a smaller fraction of advisors who simply don't know that…
Let me tell you a secret that might cause you so much frustration that you close out this episode… or that will give you the "ah-ha" moment your subconscious has been desperately searching for. It has to do with your approach to marketing and it answers the question of why growing a financial advice business is so freaking difficult. The secret? Your marketing sucks because you believe marketing…
Every time I mention productivity secrets for busy financial advisors, a few like to jab back at me that productivity secrets can't help when you have young children. Not only is this dead wrong, but it's a completely backwards excuse too. You need productivity secrets when you have children or else one of two things will happen (and sometimes both happen): Either your business will start to…
Most financial advisors believe that their experience is the best trust signal to attract and land new clients. This might've been the case years ago, but it's not necessarily true. Not to mention… there are three specific trust signals that consistently crush years of experience (even 30+ years). And when they're combined, then, well, something magical happens in prospective clients' brains.…
Most financial advisors think they have a niche, but what they really have is a big demographic. In other words, their niche is too broad… and when your niche is too broad, it sabotages your marketing. That's the bad news. The good news? If your niche is too broad, I can help you fix it in 20 minutes. But only if you listen to this episode. Show highlights include: 3 reasons why having a broad…
Most financial advisors are so generic, boring, and flat in their marketing that they come across as completely forgettable. You could be the best advisor in the world with the best track record of wealth creation - but it won't matter if you're so bland nobody remembers your name. If you actually want to get more clients, then you need to be willing to be a little unusual. And that's what you'll…
The bar to stand out as a financial advisor is incredibly low. Why? Because most advisors think, for some reason, that their profession is immune from market forces. This explains the results from a recent study that reported that 1 in 5 clients plan to fire their financial advisor. And it gets way worse… The study also found that people value their financial advisors less than they value the…
Most financial advisors have been sold a lie from so-called marketing experts that causes you to waste your time for no results, fills you with frustration, and makes the already tough job of growing your business infinitely more difficult… The lie? Educating, teaching, and "giving value" in your marketing. While this might seem like a strategy that works, it collapses immediately when you think…
I have a confession: I was wrong about using AI for marketing. Especially for financial advisors. I thought that prompting AI better would generate better results. While this is true for a few very specific, data-based AI projects, it categorically fails for financial advisor marketing for one glaring reason: The source material AI pulls its answers from is based on Reddit, Wikipedia, and…
Through the years, I've earned a reputation as a fixer. Financial advisors bring me problems, and I help them figure it out. But there are some problems I can't fix. Problems an advisor has to overcome on their own before I (or anybody else) can possibly help them. And in this episod,e I'm sharing 15 of them. I'll explain what they are, why I can't fix them, and why they're destructive to…
Success isn't complicated. But achieving success gets complicated if you lean too much on your own smarts and abilities, and not enough on what others can teach you. Thankfully, you can overcome the temptation to be self-absorbed by learning one word: The word I share and explain in this episode. This one thing, taught in the Bible and proven by experience, has enabled all my success. And if…
AI is coming for advisors' jobs. It just passed the CFA exam in mere minutes. It doesn't matter what you personally think about AI or whether or not you think it gives good financial advice: Your market believes it does! That's the bad news. The good news? You can change the perception of your market… but you must first realize this threat for what it is. Your potential clients believe AI can do a…
It shocks me how many financial advisors struggle with their own finances. If you struggle with your own money, how do you expect any clients to trust you with their money? But that's the unfortunate reality for far too many advisors. That's why I recorded this episode. I'm going to show you how to force yourself to make more money. Listen now. Show highlights include: Why being psychologically…
Every prospective client you'll ever meet will have some objections to working with you. The problem most advisors make is that they take these objections personally. The reality is, most of the time, they're rooted in your prospective client's insecurities, and have absolutely nothing to do with you. But there's another problem: Your prospective clients also aren't about to open themselves up…
Most advisors try a bunch of random LinkedIn marketing strategies, then get discouraged and quit when they get subpar results. The problem? You're vastly overcomplicating LinkedIn. In fact, I can sum up the single most effective LinkedIn strategy in only 5 words. That's it. If your plan isn't that simple, you're wasting a bunch of your time for nada. Here's the good news: By simplifying your…
There are an endless stream of marketing resources for advisors. But most advisors get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information available. And you know what? Most of the information can actually harm your business. That ends today. In today's show, I reveal the 3 best marketing resources ever created for advisors. After listening to this episode, you will have all the ingredients you need to…
In the past 10 years, I've seen financial advisors finally start adopting CRMs to help automate and simplify their businesses. This was not the case when I first started. But as you'll discover from today's guest, Jeff Rusin, co-founder of Advisor Tech Partners and advisor-specific CRM whiz, most advisors still aren't tapping into the full productivity powers of their CRM. That's why Jeff and I…
Most advisors need a marketing reality check: They might run ads for a few weeks, get no results, then shut them off before they have a chance to return your investment. Or they post on LinkedIn a few times a month, then get discouraged when new clients don't line up in their DMs. Or they send a monthly newsletter for a couple months, then decide it's too hard. If you're not showing up…
Here's a harsh truth that most financial advisors don't realize until it's far too late: It's an investment in your business to repel the wrong prospects away. It makes you more productive. Improves your emotional resilience. And, most importantly, it frees up room for better clients who will listen and act on your advice without causing headaches. But most advisors never think about "repellant…
What if you have a simple, proven, and reliable formula for creating content that generates high-quality leads? Do you think you'd be able to make more money, create more freedom (to spend however you see fit), and grow less overwhelmed by the difficulty of growing your business? Well, there's only one way to find out: I get tactical in today's show, and reveal a proven three-step formula for…
Most people treat making money as if it's magical fairy dust that falls from the sky. It sounds silly, but it's painfully true. They think degrees, certifications, and other external factors are responsible for their wealth… and this leaves them terribly disconnected from this fact: Making money is a skill, which, like other skills, can be honed and improved over time. It's really no different…
