by Tony Vidler       

The elite performance achieved by some financial advisers seems to come down to them being better at positioning themselves professionally than average advisers are.

That positioning really pays off too: various surveys suggest that they get up to 2.5 X MORE business from new clients than average advisers.  And to really highlight the performance difference they are getting vastly higher business levels from one-third less new clients than the average adviser.

That is a pretty massive difference in effectiveness: getting WAY more business from far fewer people.

This difference is attributable to “marketing”.  Elite advisers focus upon targeting the right prospective clients, and then spending the majority of their marketing resources on networking and connecting with those right people. But there are a few other things they are doing better than the average adviser too.

Here are the BIG differences in what the elite advisers do according to some of the research:

• They have clear goals and objectives.
• Their value proposition is clear, and they promote it effectively across all client communications and meetings.
• Their marketing efforts are focused on their ideal clients.
• They avoid taking on clients who are not an ideal fit – or who they themselves are not ideal for.
• They disengage from unprofitable, or poor, client engagements.

This can all be summarised by saying that the elite advisers have great clarity about where they are going, how they are going to get there, and where they need to apply their efforts.  Putting that clarity into action is where some real differences emerge though between the elite and the average.

The best performers spend significant effort on their strategic networking, obtaining introductions and referral alliances.  They also appear to use more “intimate” marketing tactics – small client appreciation events and personal entertainment rather than running large seminars and campaigns.  Cold calling on strangers is non-existent in their marketing plan.

High net worth and successful people are far more likely to work with other professionals, and are far more likely to be influenced by trusted word-of-mouth influencers.  Elite advisers therefore spend the majority of their marketing efforts on building those professional networks, strategically positioning for the right introductions with the right people for their target market, and strengthening their referral alliances.

This is focus upon professional positioning.  This focus is what powers elite performance that helps the elite rise well above the average.

You might also be interested in this related article:

The Professional’s Branding Challenge: How to look different while blending in (& why it matters)