To Connect With Prospects And Attract Referrals, Communicate Solutions – Not Methods Hot

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People won't refer you because you have a customized financial planning process and evaluate individual goals and generate recommendations tailored to client specific needs, and they won't refer you because you carefully monitor relationships between markets and rebalance portfolios based on proprietary protocols. People care less about what you do and more about what they get.
I believe the most powerful descriptions of the value advisors offer encapsulate the benefit a target prospect realizes by working with them. This requires, first, that you have a practical and well defined target market, but that's another post. Consider describing what you do worded as a solution from the client’s point of view. Complete this sentence “People like [describe target prospect] come to me for [solution that target market requires]. Consider these possibilities:
Corporate executives facing retirement in the next three years come to me because I show them the right choice on their retirement plan distributions.
Single professional mothers come to me to learn how to balance the demands of raising kids with the ability to afford college.
People who have saved enough to take care of themselves and want to use their savings to leave a mark on the world come to us to plan their legacy.
Don’t worry about answering the question “What do you do” with a sentence that starts out by describing your target client. You may think the person who asked you the question wants you to be the subject of the sentence, but you can much more effectively get their attention by describing the person you specialize in – especially if it is them.
When I ask advisors what they do, most often I hear versions of “I help people reach their financial goals” or “I manage people's portfolios to help reduce risk.”  Or “I give people peace of mind”. These are usually too general to be useful. And the bigger problem is that I don't think of my problems in those terms. I have just started a new business with one child in college, and am newly married, working on consolidating two households and have a three-year-old in the house for the first time in 14 years. You are NOT going to give me peace of mind.
People will come to get a solution, not to get a process. And people will remember to refer you because a friend mentions a problem that your client can plug your solution into, not because they like your process or because you have provided them returns to keep up with the market (even if it's with lower volatility).
If you stand for process you are a technician. If you represent a solution, you will attract clients and referrals who need a problem solved.

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A Strategically Focused CE Curriculum

With classes approved for over a decade by the CFP Board, IWI, and NASBA, Advisors4Advisors CE classes are an optimal knowledge stream for CFP®, CIMA®, CPA, CPA/PFS®, CFA®, and other practitioners. It's not a grab bag of speakers willing to sponsor CE content. Nor is it a one-man CE course. It's a group of subject matter experts with amazing communication skills and a history of thought leadership that, together, give advisors a well-rounded knowledge system for running a professional practice ethically and intelligently.

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A4A CE classes for financial professionals began in October 2008, the week Lehman Bros. collapsed. Initially billed as “The Financial Crisis Webinar Series,” A4A connects advisors with authoritative sources on investing, tax, and financial planning, chosen by A4A Editor Andrew Gluck, a veteran financial reporter. A4A members get a stream of CE classes for an advisor who: 

  • holds a CFP®, CIMA®, CPA, CPA/PFS, CFA or other designation requiring CE annually 
  • values monthly CE classes by Fritz Meyer, Craig Israelsen, Frank Murtha, or Andrew Gluck
  • diversifies a core of client portfolios in low-expense funds
  • invests based on MPT and economic fundamentals
  • advises on tax and financial planning as well as investing
  • needs financial counseling skills
  • wants the Certified Financial Counselor™ designation 
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MEMBER REVIEWS 
William Desormeau, Jr.  
It is not possible for me to overstate the cumulative value that Craig and Fritz have added for over 10 years to my investment advisory practice, as well as for personal and family financial planning. A4A gets my highest recommendation
Lynn Najman, CFP®
I’ve subscribed to A4A since its inception, and always find it intellectually stimulating and on point. It’s one of the few CE solutions out there that doesn’t waste my time by pushing product or talking down to me.

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Pete Deacon, CPA, CFP®
A4A has had a profound effect on my business. Since 2009, I’ve relied on the consistent messaging and updates to run my business successfully. Being able to present the information from Fritz, and Craig's ongoing CE webinars has been a significant benefit.

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Fredric Mayerson, MBA, PhD, CFP®
I've been a financial professional and professor of finance for 35 years and find Fritz Meyer to be among the most engaging, incredibly knowledgeable, and experienced presenters I’ve encountered. They deliver an extraordinary amount of information in an extremely interesting way — sequentially and developmentally, utilizing pedagogical tools and techniques that few possess.  A4A to is the most consistently excellent CE program available.  
Ron Roge, MS, CFP®
I’ve been attending A4A many years because the CE classes are outstanding, and my time is valuable. Though I have over 35 years of experience, I’m always learning something new on A4A. I attend fewer conferences now because the CE is generally not advanced. If you want to learn from the best, in a faster, easier, and less expensive way, I highly recommend A4A.

John R. Day, CPA/PFS®

I’ve been a member since 2011 and never miss the monthly webinars with Fritz Meyer. I appreciate Fritz’s independent views on the economy keeps me updated on excellent  planning ideas. A4A is a great value!
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Norman Politziner, CFP

I wouldn't miss a Fritz Meyer webinar unless my pants were on fire. I've relied on Andrew Gluck's knowledge systems --client communications and CE -- for two decades. It's simply the best solution for tax, financial, investment, and risk-management professionals.®   

Dan Hawley, CFP® 

A4A, for over a decade, has been a great resource for useful and accurate information and CE. A4A and Advisor Products are bargains for an advisory practice. 

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Kevin Brosious, MBA, CFP®, CPA/PFS®

I get CPA CE credit and CFP credit for the webinars.  But not only that, the A4A content is terrific