Financial & Economic Blog

As a financial advisory firm, you have an expertise in providing advice to your clients. Unless you have a former career in marketing, you most likely don’t have an expertise in this area of the business. If you don’t have a marketing professional on staff, at some point you will want to hire an outside firm to help you market your business. With so many options available, finding a firm can be a daunting task and hiring the wrong firm can prove to be an expensive mistake. It is essential that you spend time doing your due diligence to find the right company who will partner in your growth. Five steps will help you with this process: Identifying your needs; identifying requirements and qualifications; indentifying candidates; interviewing candidates; and making a decision.

Step 1: Identify Needs

Before you start shopping around for a marketing agency, begin by identifying your needs. You will find that many marketing firms specialize in just a few areas, so you want to confirm that you are hiring a firm with expertise in the areas you need. Sometimes, hiring a firm with one specialization makes sense. For example, if you only need help in creating a new website, hiring a web designing company would make sense. Conversely, hiring a specialist doesn’t make sense if you need help with multiple aspects of your marketing. The list below provides different areas of marketing you may identify as needs for your company.

• Branding (e.g. logo development, stationery)

• Marketing collateral development

• Messaging platform (e.g. elevator pitch, unique value proposition)

• Website development

• Copy writing (e.g. articles, white papers, books)

• Online/digital marketing

• Social media marketing

• Email Marketing

• Public relations

• Marketing plan development

• Events/workshops

• Coaching

• Direct marketing

• Referral marketing

• Advertising

Step 2: Identify Requirements & Qualifications

Once you have identified your needs, the next step is to list your requirements for a firm in order to narrow down the selection. While there are many excellent firms out there, not everyone is going to be appropriate for your specific business. Before interviewing firms, understand what you are looking for in a company. Below are some questions to ask yourself so that you have a strong understanding of the type of firm you want.

• Do I want a freelancer, boutique firm, or large agency?

• Should the firm specialize in the financial services industry, have some experience in the industry but not focused on it, or no experience in the industry? (Note: There are pros and cons to each. A firm outside of the industry will have fresh ideas and perspectives, but will require more guidance as far as compliance and general best practices. Conversely, a firm within the industry will be able to share best practices and understands the regulatory environment, but is at risk of lacking new and creative ideas.)

• Does the firm need to be local or can it be in another city or state?

• What is my budget for hiring a firm?

• What fee structure am I comfortable with? (Note: If you only plan on a few small, but clearly defined projects, you will want to work on a per project basis. If you need some short-term help on a variety of nebulous projects, an hourly arrangement is probably appropriate. If you want ongoing support over a longer period of time, a retainer arrangement is most appropriate.

• Does the firm need to be able to manage all of the projects, or will I allow the use of multiple firms and/or freelancers?

Step 3: Identify Candidates

Once you have your list of requirements, you can begin your search for the right firm. Ask people in your professional network for recommendations or conduct an internet search to gather names. If you are looking for a company specializing in the financial services industry, ask your Custodian or Broker Dealer who they would recommend. You can also search the trade publications to gather names of experts, who most likely own their own firm. Spend some time on the websites for each of the candidates to screen out mismatches. A quick review of the website should be able to tell you if the firm offers what you need.

Step 4: Interview Candidates

After you have identified three to five candidates, interview each one to see if there is a good fit. At a minimum, you should ask these five questions:

• Ask to see samples of work

• Ask for references

• What is the process?

• Who will be your account manager? (The person you are interviewing isn’t necessarily your main point of contact after you sign the contract)

• What is the fee structure and contract commitment?

Step 5: Make a Decision

If you are still interested in learning more about the candidate after the interview, ask for a proposal so you can review what was said in writing. At this point, you have to rely on your instincts to make your final decision. Which firm shares the same marketing philosophy you do? Which firm offers the most value for the money? Which people will you be able to work with best? All of these questions will be a factor in your decision.

Finding the right marketing partner for your business is not an easy process. You will have to trust your instincts that the firm you hire will have your best interest at heart. But once you find the right one, you will have the much needed help required to grow your business to the next level.

About Kristen Luke

Kristen Luke is the Principal of Wealth Management Marketing, a firm dedicated to providing marketing strategies and support for Registered Investment Advisory firms. Kristen works with individual advisors and firms to develop effective marketing plans and provides the back office support required to implement the strategies. For more information, visit www.wealthmanagementmarketing.net.

“In March Buffet claimed that money put into his flagship company, Berkshire Hathaway [BRK.A  118100.0   3667.00  (+3.2%) ] had returned an average of 20% in annualized gains over a 45-year period. He is the third richest man in the world with a net worth of $47 billion, according to Forbes. In 2006 he said he would give most of his fortune to charity.”

More from CNBC: As Warren Buffett Turns 80, A Look Back at His Life.

[Quote via MarketWatch]

By Renee Porsia, Real Estate Girl

Are we supposed to actually care that mortgage brokers are vanishing?  I for one could care less. After all, isn’t the mortgage crisis their fault? They caused their own demise.  Because of the plethora of greed amongst mortgage brokers who were selling risking mortgages and getting rich by charging outrageous fees, we all now have to suffer.

People have lost their homes and according to USA Today, 1 in 10 home owners are facing foreclosure. Many are under water with their mortgages, can’t afford to pay their mortgage, doing short sales, turning their deeds back over to the bank and walking away all because mortgage brokers were money hungry pigs.

Independent mortgage brokers who are still able to keep their heads above water for now, are worried that with the rapid decline of more and more mortgage brokers that it will give way for big banks to take command of the mortgage industry which could happen but you can’t cry over spilt milk now.

I don’t feel sorry for any of these vultures because they sure weren’t feeling sorry for any of us with their incessant greed.

I say good riddance, hit the bricks and now reap what you sow.

Renee Porsia is an Associate Broker with RE/MAX Action Realty and Author.

Related Articles

• Federal Reserve cracks down on mortgage fees (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Mortgage brokers miserable (theRatandMouse.co.uk)
• Self-employed borrowers face tough times (independent.co.uk)

In recollecting my younger days in the challenging field of life insurance business, there used to be a favourite story of mine which I liked to relate & dmonstrate to my agency force & clients alike as “How much life insurance is enough?”

This story is “The Bank of Time” which unlike our conventional money bank does not permit any deposit of your very own except withdrawals – a fixed endowment amount is credited to you each day upon your awakening.

This is an interesting concept & certainly a worthy food for thought.

“Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course? Each of us has such a bank. It’s name is TIME.

Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to a good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no over draft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is no drawing against “tomorrow.” You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success. The clock is running! Make the most of today.

• To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.

• To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

• To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.

• To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

• To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who just missed a train.

• To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask someone who just avoided an accident.

• To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal at the Olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with. And remember time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why its called the present.”

Story – Author Unknown

“The Bank of Time” that TIME forgets!

It’s the Bank that all or most people generally forget.

“The Bank of Time” is really YOU!

Your life is immeasurable & you’d like to insure yourself to the optimum limit in the event of accidents & untimely demise.

Image via Wikipedia

Dear AAA,

When I wrote this, I knew there was something else I was missing, but I didn’t ‘have it’ in my fingers at the time. Does that ever happen to you, too?

Well, I have it now.

I’m sure you understand this even better than I do, since you live with it every day… AAA has a classic sort of branding problem, doesn’t it? No one thinks about you until they need you, and they rarely need you. You’re about about as exciting as term life insurance. That’s why programs like using the membership to get discounts are so important. And why you always manage to get mentioned on the radio around holiday weekends, predicting how many people will be on the road, and saying  how much gas costs*.

So, back to the note I wrote the other day. Can you add in gas prices? Or even better, just show me the 3 lowest priced gas stations in a 3 mile radius. Don’t make me download a second app for my Android/iPhone, just add this into the current app.

Thanks in advance.

* Why does it always cost more than whatever state I live in, regardless of how often I move? Is that a coincidence, or does Alaska/California always skew the number higher?