Customer Reviews

Marketing for Financial Advisors: Build Your Business by Establishing Your Brand, Knowing Your Clients and Creating a Marketing Plan

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I've been a financial advisor for 10 years and have always found information about marketing for individual advisors to be almost non-existant. So, after finding this book and reading the reviews, I was excited that experts (marketing professors from Wharton, no less) had finally written a book focused for my profession.

I was very disappointed. It is true that the book is a very thorough walkthrough of the theoretical concepts of marketing and how they apply to the financial industry. However, it is EXTREMELY short on practical, actionable advice for individual advisors. Much of the first 1/4 of the book seems much more applicable if you are management in a regional broker dealer, not an advisor trying to build your own practice. If you are an advisor and have bothered to read anything about building your practice, you will have already heard of the few specific ideas that are presented(advisory boards, niche marketing). And if you have read a few articles on [...], you will have seen much more in-depth discussions on how to execute action steps than found in this book. There are much better marketing ideas in "Building Your Multi-Million Dollar Practice" by Vessenes/Vessenes, and that book only has one chapter on marketing.

I don't disagree with what is said in the book. I do vehemently disagree this book is extremely helpful to individual advisors. Subscribe to [...], buy Vessenses book and you will be much better armed to go out and build your practice.

This book is a great guide to help build your financial services business. I especially like the sections on investor psychology and niche marketing. These are topics that are lacking in many similar books that seem to be filled with mostly anecdotes. One of the best things about it is that it takes established marketing models and best practices and clearly applies them to being a financial advisor. This would also be a good book for anyone in financial services like estate planners, insurance advisors, and mortgage brokers.

After being in the business for 14 years, I was looking forward to getting some good advice from the experts at Wharton. Unfortunately, it was a total waste of money. Remember the old saying "those who can't do, teach?" Well, this is the true embodiment of that common saying. This would be a great textbook for marketing majors in college who wish to study the field, but there is little useful hands-on practical advice to be gained. Everything worth value in this book could be skimmed by reading the latest issue of Investment Advisor magazine. What advisors in the wirehouses like Merrill and Morgan, as well as the independents with LPL and Raymond James need is a step-by-step guide to new client acquisition strategies. This isn't it. If you are a financial advisor in the beginning of your career, try "The Million Dollar Financial Services Practice" by David Mullen. If you are a senior advisor, try "the Million Dollar Financial Services Advisor", also by David Mullen. If you are starting an independent financial planning practice,try "Getting Started In Financial Planning" by Jeffrey Rattiner. If you are only interested in client acquisition, no matter where you are in your career, you need "Effort-less Marketing for Financial Advisors" by Steve Moeller. Trust me, I advise advisors for a living. I advise you to avoid this book.

Marketing for Financial Advisors is definitely a must for financial advisors at every stage of their career. It addresses our concerns that we all have about our marketing strategy, but often feel too busy to put on paper. It provides us and our personal brand the tools in order to grow our assets under management in a focused, strategic, economic and efficient manner. For those of us that spend thousands of dollars on private club memberships and client lunches, this is the best $40 you can spend this year. Personally speaking, marketing is often a second thought when running my business, as I rely on word of mouth from clients; however, I am now holding myself to a defined market niche with clear benchmarks set for 2009, along with the analytical tools in place in order to track my marketing performance plan. Recently I addressed with a colleague the tactics for firing an unprofitable client of his, which as we all know if not handled correctly, can be a political nightmare. My friend was in a particularly difficult situation; I advised him to pick up a copy of this book. Marketing for Financial Advisors clearly addresses the possible solutions for this hairy situation, which any experienced financial manager has had to face. I HIGHLY recommend this book; you owe it to yourself to read it before your serious competition does.

As someone with 25 years of experience as an advisor, I must admit this is the most informative book I'v ever read as far a providing detailed practical advice on how to make your practice more profitable.