A candid conversation about advisor marketing happened on Twitter last Friday.

It started off innocently enough. Michael Kitces tweeted out a blog post about Sophia and her friendly, honest ‘About Me’ page.

“Each advisor should tell his or her story instead of listing a resume or bio.” http://t.co/2sVGq3b5lf via @blueleafadvisor @SophiaBera

— MichaelKitces (@MichaelKitces) February 28, 2014

and Sophia thanked him

@MichaelKitces Thanks for the tweet! Glad you enjoyed the post: http://t.co/s6JYbhkTbQ cc @blueleafadvisor

— Sophia Bera, CFP® (@sophiabera) February 28, 2014

@sophiabera Very much so. It’s going into Weekend Reading today. 🙂 @blueleafadvisor

— MichaelKitces (@MichaelKitces) February 28, 2014

*Check out Kitces “Weekend Reading for Financial Planners”.

We agreed, Sophia killed it.

@MichaelKitces, @sophiabera just killed it in that post. Love her style. Smart & practical + Insightful & still right to the point

— Blueleaf Advisor (@blueleafadvisor) February 28, 2014

But then a 4th person chimed in
and that’s when things got really interesting…

@blueleafadvisor @sophiabera @MichaelKitces non-shady marketing from a financial planner…didn’t think it existed before meeting Sophia.

— Chris Hoffman (@cs_hoffman) February 28, 2014

“Non-shady marketing” by advisors? A shock!

@cs_hoffman Ha. It’s out there, though I agree it’s WAY harder to find than it should be. :/ @blueleafadvisor @sophiabera

— MichaelKitces (@MichaelKitces) February 28, 2014

And honestly, that’s a shame.

@MichaelKitces @cs_hoffman @sophiabera The thing is: Honesty and transparency actually wins in marketing now. Hard for some though ..

— Blueleaf Advisor (@blueleafadvisor) February 28, 2014

Is your marketing like a “used car salesman”?

@blueleafadvisor @MichaelKitces @sophiabera Truth! Used car sales tactics don’t work anymore. Love what you guys are doing. Keep it up.

— Chris Hoffman (@cs_hoffman) February 28, 2014

5th person confirmed: Honesty wins.

@blueleafadvisor @MichaelKitces @cs_hoffman @sophiabera had a new client tell me after he signed up yesterday “you were honest with me”

— Jim Beall (@jameslgb) February 28, 2014

Then a 6th person wondered, Is honesty difficult?

@jameslgb @blueleafadvisor @MichaelKitces @cs_hoffman @sophiabera is that a bar that’s hard to hurdle?

— Alistair Cunningham (@Cunningham_UK) February 28, 2014

Answer: It shouldn’t be.

@Cunningham_UK @jameslgb @blueleafadvisor @MichaelKitces @sophiabera shouldn’t be, but surprisingly uncommon in my experience.

— Chris Hoffman (@cs_hoffman) February 28, 2014

 

This isn’t the first time marketing in the financial services industry has been put in the hot seat. But it proved we still have a long way to go.

Is Your Marketing “Shady”?

Are you coming across as a used car salesman? Without even knowing it?

It’s unfortunate. Froo-froo mission statements, vague information, missing details and cryptic messages are more common than not on advisor websites.

Be honest and transparent in your marketing. Visitors will respond. Honesty and transparency wins.

I can attest to the power of this motto. Blueleaf has always stood by honest, transparent marketing and the response is overwhelming. It’s simple to achieve, too. We just show visitors what we’re all about, no need for bells, whistles, or gimmicks. Here we are, this is what we do, what we stand for, what we cost

How can you do it?

There are many ways to achieve honest, transparent marketing, but there are a few big ones we stand by.

First of all, publish your exact pricing model right on your website for everyone to see. Don’t hide this crucial detail or make it difficult to understand – that’s the fishiest of fishy marketing tactics. Also, don’t be cryptic about what you do and what your service is really like. To achieve this as a software company, we let advisors use Blueleaf.com for an entire month at no cost. That way, folks are able to figure out if we are “the right fit” for them, first-hand. Even before the free trial, we open the conversation to questions from website visitors. You need to make it incredibly easy for new-comers to get answers to their questions without committing to a “consultation” or scheduled phone call, which can feel like a big step if they’re just getting to know you.

This is just the beginning. You need to breathe honesty into everything you do and make crucial details of your service offering incredibly transparent. Trying to capture leads with vague, jargon-y sales pitches like a used car salesman simply does not work. 

It may have been uncomfortable to read, but this honest conversation on Twitter just may be the reminder we all needed.

Honesty and transparency wins.

View the whole conversation on Twitter.

Photo credit: WordOfRod