Substance Over Style

Posted October 31, 2006 11:03 by Hoard Client Systems CEO.

About Hoard Client Systems CEO

Hoard Client Systems CEO's affinity for investing and financial matters began more than 20 years ago when he began investing in the stock market through a class in high school. Now, in 2006, he is being looked to for his innovation in altering the efficiency in which financial professionals communicate with clients.

Too many client newsletters are beautiful trash. They are beautiful to look at but boring to read. Spending a pretty penny on a newsletter because it looks beautiful and professional is probably the biggest scam going in our industry today.

Tens of thousands of financial advisers send out fancy, schmancy newsletters every month only to have 80% plus thrown away without being read. What cracks me up about most newsletters today is that they have all sorts of financial information and techniques in them. It’s hilarious!

The very people that you would never want as a client are the 20% of prospects reading these financial newsletters. Think about it. If you were a doctor, how would you like your patient to read the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) every month? Guess what kind of patient they are going to be? A pain in the rear.

It’s no different for advisers and their financial newsletters. The prospects and clients that read them will come in with all sorts of ideas and questions that have no pertinence in their particular situation.

The prospects and clients that you want are the ones that aren’t reading the financial newsletters because they are reading magazines about golfing, sailing, gardening, travel, knitting and any other sort of fun thing. Great prospects and clients don’t read financial newsletters because they feel that is what they hired you to do as their advisor…so they don’t need to read that boring stuff.

Guys and gals don’t be lured by a pretty, professional newsletter. You are better off sending a newspaper clipping, recipe or handwritten note.

Discuss

Comments

611 days ago John Cito wrote:

That has to be the most intelligent piece I ever read regarding newsletters. I used to subcribe to NF Communications newsletter and mailed out 1000 a month. The only benefit was that I paid the mortgage on the USPS building. Thanks

605 days ago Ron Borg wrote:

Michael... Nail on the head! The financial advisor, the mortgage broker, real estate agent... all of them are being sold on using these "beautiful, full color" newsletters - great idea... for the companies that produce them! It's very similar on the net.. if it looks real pretty, it's usually information I can live without. I do differ however, with your view about whether you even want the people who read newsletters as your clients. It has been my experience that to gain a client's trust, you need to firmly establish your level of expertise in the client's mind. And a newsletter happens to be an excellent way to do this. But what the newsletter companies don't recognize is that when a client receives that flashy newsletter, they immediately realize that a third party created it, thereby rendering it useless as far as helping to establish your expertise with your clients. Newspaper clippings? Yea, ok.. they may show someone that you are thinking of them. But nothing beats writing an article about something from your industry that can be considered valuable information. It shows you care, and it also shows that you know what you are talking about, adding to your credibility. Getting that article published helps even more. Recipes? If I receive one it just shows me that you have signed onto a service that handles that for you and that all your clients are receiving it. A personal note cannot be beat. But an FYI article is also a valuable communicative tool. Ron Borg www.RonBorg.Wordpress.com

603 days ago Mike Kaselnak wrote:

I agree Ron, you should always personalize your newsletters to the highest degree possible. I recommend, at the very least, jotting a quick note on the corner of the newsletter such as, "Bob, Saw this and thought you would find it interesting, Mike." If your client thinks you sent it just to them, the impact goes up ten-fold.

591 days ago David Chisnek wrote:

I don’t know if I totally agree with you. I send out very beautiful and very professional newsletters and I always get a case or two from them.

590 days ago Hoard Client Systems CEO wrote:

Absolutely David, you always do get a case or two from the "beautiful" newsletters. Just like you always win at the slot machine if you put enough quarters in. Slot machines are programmed to allow you to win just enough to keep you coming back. Fancy newsletters work by getting in front of that one person who is going to make a decision that one day. "Homey" newsletters work to build a long term relationship where the receiver starts to feel like they know the person writing it. Over time that will build a huge referral based program when done with 100 or more people monthly. So I agree David, fancy newsletters work to sell a product here and there but they will not build relationships which in the long run is the ticket to a multi-million dollar business.