The Unexpected Benefits Of Writing A Book

The typical career progression of financial advisors follows this path: chasing clients and prospects, staying in the business long enough to start generating referrals and finally attracting more business than we are able to manage effectively.

I have uncovered a successful marketing strategy that overcomes some of the challenges of the typical financial advisor who is happy to constantly chase clients and prospects with the same message as every other financial advisor.

Marketing Options Of The Past

We can invest lots of time and money into marketing options, most of which rarely work.

Seminars identified clients well in the past, but then the seminars became expensive and the people they brought us became less attractive. There is zero appeal for an advisor who isn’t interested in or good at public speaking. Advisors can pay for vendors to arrange meetings with qualified leads, but these programs are often ineffective, and the vendors sometimes stretch the definition of “qualified lead.”

Several more options share the same flaw. You get positioned in the worst possible way: as a salesperson. Your prospect knows it, and whether you are in the front of a room full of retirees with a PowerPoint or in a conference room holding a preset meeting from a paid lead source, your potential client is awaiting — and expecting — your pitch.

Writing A Book Of Your Own

A yearslong desire to author a financial planning book provided me with the unintended benefit of elevating me to the status of thought leader and authority among my prospects. And the results have been amazing. Prospects are no longer waiting for the pitch; they are asking for my insights. They are no longer sitting through a meeting; they are eager to learn from an author.

Writing a book is something that many people dream of accomplishing but few will achieve. I have met scores of people who have been “working on” their book for more than 10 years. Going through the process, I can understand why.

Writing a book is a daily grind that requires you to devote time that is easier spent with family, friends, paperwork, golf — anything but looking at a blank screen, knowing you have to somehow find 200-plus pages of anecdotes, insights and engagement to make a credible book.

It’s daunting in a way that few understand or are willing to attempt. I’d liken it to training for running a marathon, but I didn’t have time to train and run one because, well, I spent every free moment I could find writing a book.

My book has been out for about a year and it has, without a doubt, taken my practice to a different level. My book opened doors for me that I never anticipated.

The Results Are Worth The Work

My book has been out for about a year and it has, without a doubt, taken my practice to a different level. My book opened doors for me that I never anticipated.

Shortly after my book was released, I was invited to appear on a local news station for an interview. I have been asked by various reporters across the country and several media outlets for my opinion on various personal finance and investing topics. I had a podcast interview with an audience mostly made up of entrepreneurs.

From a business growth perspective, I wasn’t quite sure how this would lead to more assets under management and more revenue. Then I learned something: I became infinitely more referable as a result of writing my book.

Before I wrote my book, my business was built completely on word of mouth and referrals. And no matter how good we are, only a certain percentage of our clients will open their mouths to refer us. My referral rate didn’t change as a result of the book, but the rate at which I was seeing and closing new referrals increased dramatically.

Most prospects seek reasons to work with one advisor over another. Centers of influence such as CPAs and attorneys want a safe option to refer their clients to. I now have a published book for sale on Amazon, I write monthly for Kiplinger and I have a long list of media placements. These give CPAs, attorneys and my clients great reasons to encourage people to meet with me.

The fact is that my book and resulting media exposure make my resume stand out among the crowded field of recommendations from prospects’ friends, family members and other experts. I stand out by an extremely large margin, or so I am told at nearly every first referral meeting.

Not only did the book bring in many more referrals than ever, but it helped initiate referrals in which the people asked me to take their accounts. These referrals came to the meeting not to get a pitch, but to make a move forward. Gone for me are the days of prospects kicking the tires and my having to chase people around to try to get them to open accounts — all because of the book.

When I meet people at various networking events, I lead by telling them I’m an author.

Published authors are rare, and everyone has a book in their heads that they want to write. It is a great icebreaker and topic of conversation.

Instead of giving business cards, I hand out a signed copy of my book, with a business card as the bookmark. I have discovered that a signed book is often placed prominently in someone’s office or home, eliciting inquiries from others who see it. Can you say that about your business card?

New Clients Look For Me

The funny thing is that I am still the same advisor giving the same advice I was before I wrote the book. The only thing that changed is that the book brought more people to me and allowed me the opportunity to share my thoughts and experiences with more people.

Simply put, becoming known as an expert and thought leader has turned me from trying to look for new clients to having new clients looking for me. Now that I can spend less time looking for new clients, I can spend more time with my current clients.

The book also has had a great effect on strengthening existing client relationships. The weight of my advice in review meetings is much more powerful now. I get less pushback on recommendations, which is leading to better decision-making by clients.

The competition for financial advisors is stiff. We are facing attacks on many fronts. There is an attack on fees. Robo advisors are gaining market share. We are typically competing against other advisors who all look the same to the casual observer.

Publishing a book, and the opportunities that come along with it, can set you apart from other advisors, strengthen existing relationships, provide many more referrals and provide the reasons prospects are looking for to select you as their advisor. Simply put, it’s a game changer.

Joseph Conroy, CFP, is a financial advisor at Synergy Financial Group in Towson, Md., and the author of Decades & Decisions: Financial Planning At Any Age. He may be contacted at [email protected].