Now What? Take Stock, Plan and Communicate!
By Martin R. Baird

The economy has tanked, the government is throwing cash at the country’s financial problems like there’s no end to the supply of money and your clients and prospects are struggling with decimated portfolios and homes that could very well be under water.
 
When I write a column, I like to start with positive information. Sadly, this is the best I could come up with at the moment. Things are bad in most places and horrible in some. For example, I recently talked with a good friend who is the vice president of business development for a large, well-known financial services company and his firm is cutting people loose on a regular basis.
 
So, now what? Well, I think now is a great time for financial professionals to do some thinking, soul searching and planning. Specifically, do some business planning. When you were busy in the old days, you were hard pressed to find time to do strategic planning. It was difficult to get past the work you had to do on a daily basis to keep your clients happy. The good side of a downturn is that you have time to “sharpen the saw,” as author Stephen Covey says. You have time to prepare for the future and what is coming next.
 
Ask yourself some serious questions. What are your long-term goals professionally and personally? Have your goals changed because of the recession? Has your view of your life changed?
 
The sour economy has spurred many people to change their minds about a lot of things. People chased after money for a long time. They had a burning desire for fat wallets, bigger homes and flashier cars. Now, some folks are returning to what really matters to them, to what is important at a more basic level. Don’t get me wrong, a nice home is wonderful, but do you really need three houses and want to work so many hours that you rarely sleep in any one of them?
 
The first thing you need to do is get away for awhile and disconnect. Turn away from your “crackberry,” your e-mail and 24/7 business news. Leave the world behind and just be yourself. Write in a journal about what inspires you and drives you to be better. Make a list of what you are passionate about, what excites you and what makes you feel like a child again. This takes time and, at first, may feel silly or wasteful, but please stick with it. Getting back to what is important to you takes effort. Most people don’t just naturally know what drives them.
 
After you have what you think is a great list, let it rest. I’m a huge fan of walking away from things and coming back fresh in a day or two. Oftentimes, over the days of not thinking about something, I have great ideas that just come to me or I see some areas that I have missed or forgotten about. This is not the time to microwave things so they are done as quickly as possible.
 
Now that you have your vision of what drives you, how does that fit with your business? How do you personally fit with your business? Do you need to tweak your business to better meet your needs? If you are more comfortable within your business, it will be more successful. Feeling good about what you do for a living and enjoying it attracts opportunities and possibilities.
 
Next is the fun part and that is marketing. The communications aspect of marketing allows you to tell clients and prospects who you are and where you are going. Don’t like the idea of bragging or tooting your own horn? Then have someone else to do it for you. Almost 10 years ago, I started working with a person who helped me get the message out about my company. It’s amazing how much better he is at promoting my business than I am. This is not at all uncommon. The point is, use marketing to get your message out.
 
Make sure your message is well organized. This is the “new” you, so make sure people understand who you are. Most importantly, be sure they understand why they should care. The age-old W.I.I.F.M. is critical here! What is in it for them? Clients and prospects don’t really care about you. They care about themselves and how you can affect them in a positive way.
 
Finally promote, promote and promote some more. You need to get your message out to your target market. This means strong media relations so you are seen on TV and in print and heard on the radio. Also step up your Internet marketing and have a search engine optimization strategy that will get you noticed. (If you’re not familiar with SEO, visit www.pageviews.com. They are real experts at it.)
My answer to “now what?” is get moving! Yes, times are challenging, but the way to make them better is to take stock of who you are, where you want to go and get working on it.


Martin R. Baird is chief executive officer of Robinson & Associates, Inc., a consulting company that helps financial professionals measure and manage the quality of client service and improvements to their internal operations to enhance business performance and increase revenues. He is a highly regarded speaker in the areas of marketing and client retention and development. Baird is author of “The 7 Deadly Sins of Advisor Marketing,” a book that offers easy-to-implement marketing ideas for financial professionals. He may be reached at 206-774-8856 or mbaird@raresults.com.