In the business of financial services, differentiation is one of the biggest challenges that financial advisors face.  In the age of social media, this challenge is going to become even more difficult.

The Classic P’s: Product, Price, and Performance

1)PRICE

It’s common knowledge, at least I hope it is, that financial advisors cannot differentiate their businesses based upon price. Those who use it as a means to set themselves apart usually end up regretting the consequences (that client whom you gave a break to just won’t stop asking for more of your time…at low or no cost).  Typically, it doesn’t pay to offer discounts and specials as a professional financial advisor.

2)PRODUCT

Products such as mutual funds, ETF’s, managed money, annuities, or even individual equities can have a nice ring to them, but at the end of the day, do clients really care how you get them there just as long as you get them there?  I see thousands of financial advisors attempting to differentiate by investment products, strategies, styles, etc.  I think it’s imperative to have a solid and consistent investment strategy, but I don’t know that it truly differentiates you in the eyes of most clients and prospects. They’ve come to expect that as a professional financial advisor, you will implement a prudent investment strategy that is going to help them achieve their goals and manage their risk.  Certainly some advisors are better than others in this category, or have more powerful tools in place, but your clients and prospects probably don’t care as much about “how” you get them to their goals as much as you might think they do.

3)PERFORMANCE

Investment performance is another all-time classic differentiator.  If you’re attempting to manage to specific client goals and objectives, performance is subjective isn’t it? If you are benchmarking your clients’ performance to their goals, that is what matters most. Certainly there are years when absolute performance is important, and other years when significant under-performance can hurt you, but if you have great relationships with your clients, they aren’t going to leave you over one year of subpar performance.

Assuming you have pricing that is on par with your competitors, high quality products, and are smart enough to achieve consistent performance, what’s left?

The NEW 3 P’s

The Classic 3 P’s all have one thing in common; they really don’t “connect” you with people. They have nothing to do with developing, growing, and strengthening relationships. The NEW 3 P’s have everything to do with relationships, and even though they are quite obvious, we don’t consciously utilize them to differentiate as much as we should.  In the age of social media, the lines are blurring between business and personal. To win hearts and minds and build your trusted network, you should begin thinking about how to differentiate yourself from the competition using the NEW 3 P’s.

1)PEOPLE

It’s all about the client/customer now. Clients are in charge and they more power than ever before due to the new media social networks, blogs, and forums that now exist as platforms for them to voice their thoughts and opinions. The “People P” centers on the relationship, and how you can best take care of and serve clients, prospects, and advocates above and beyond anything you’ve ever done before. With millions of people connecting, sharing, conversing, commenting, recommending and reviewing online, your clients and connections have the power to expand your influence in a positive OR negative way, like never before.

If a client really likes you and believes in you, the signals they share about you on social platforms have the potential to reach hundreds if not thousands. If you upset a client, or don’t take care of them with good service, that signal can also be sent and have a ripple effect. If you want to stand out in the age of social media, you must communicate frequently, engage, empower, promote, and provide outstanding service to the most important people in your trusted network. How can you best serve them? How can you be a resource to them? What can you do to make their lives better? How can you become valuable and irreplaceable? How can you go above and beyond the average financial advisor?

2)PERSONAL

We all have a personal side but do we truly show it in business settings? Again, social networking is blurring the lines between business and personal. If you want for people to come to know, like, and trust you before they ever meet you, you must find a way to show your personal side. Social networking and blogging can provide you with a tremendous platform for showcasing both the personal AND business side of YOU! If you use these platforms to solely distribute dry and mundane financial data, market updates, and money manager commentary, you will not be providing any way for existing and potential clients to really connect with you.

Oprah Winfrey has been incredibly successful, whether you are a fan or not, at connecting with people without ever meeting them. Her magic in persuading people to know, like, and trust her has everything to do with her ability to show who she is inside and out. You could even say that she makes herself vulnerable, to a certain extent. There are other people in the public eye who do this well. Learn from them.

We love stories and we love to learn about who people are and what drives them. If you build your digital identity through sharing your personal story, and let your business connections in on your personal life while allowing your personality to shine through, you will build trust and differentiate yourself from other financial advisors. It can endear people to you in ways that you’ve never imagined.

3)PASSION

What do you care about? What are you passionate about? What has happened in your life that has had a profound impact on you as a human being? What magazines and books do you love to read? How do you spend your leisure time?

Online communities and connections are built around common interests and passions. With the transparency that social media offers, you have a tremendous opportunity to learn about what you might have in common with both clients and prospects while they can also learn what you are passionate about. Do you love dogs? Are you triathlete? Do you love photography? Are you an avid cyclist? Do you enjoy gardening? Do you love to travel the world? Are you fluent in a foreign language? Do you enjoy cooking? Do you volunteer or raise money for charity? (read a story about this financial advisor who combines his passion with charity) All of these are examples of hobbies, interests, and passions.

Sharing what you are passionate about and making these things known throughout the social communities you are involved with can help separate you from the pack. Don’t be afraid to be passionate. People with passion are like magnets!

To succeed in building relationships in a wired and connected world, you have to be willing to put the focus on the NEW P’s, and forget the old ones. The classic P’s are a given. Clients have come to expect that you’ve got a solid product, your price is fair, and the performance will be there. You’ve got to take a risk now, and be willing to be vulnerable in the age of social media if you want to differentiate yourself from the competition. You’ve got to focus on what clients and prospects care about, and find ways to connect with them on a personal level around common interests. If you only use social media as a platform to pump out investment related content, you will not have success. Share your story, and show your personal side!