Finding Gold

Sex and Marketing: How they are similar in the financial industry! (Part One)

By Michael Lovas
November 1, 2005

[Disclaimer: this article includes references to actual marketing activities created by my firm. I cite them to illustrate effective use of psychological communication in the financial industry.]

After twenty years of writing and analyzing marketing in the financial industry, and after studying communication psychology for nearly as long, I've seen some things that probably impede your success! So, let me draw a few analogies:

1. If we approached football like we do our marketing, Barry Switzer would still be coaching the Dallas Cowboys.

2. If we approached eating like we do our marketing, we'd be relying on jerky and hardtack.

3. If we approached sex like we do marketing, we'd all be frustrated and the birth rate would disappear!

The point is — the financial industry seems to be really good at either holding onto the wrong tool or using it in the wrong way. While, I applaud the financial professionals brave enough to actually conduct marketing, they've been given some really bad direction, and for a really long time. I don't like seeing good people get set up to fail.

Isn't it about time we had a serious talk about the birds and bees of marketing communication? Isn't it time to take a hard look at what doesn't work, why, and what to do about it?

Observation 1. In the financial industry, two approaches dominate. The vast majority of marketing is product-based; the rest is ego-based. Both are ineffective because of three reasons: it is inward-looking, self-aggrandizing, and very little of it addresses the consumer's perspective.

All marketing in our industry starts out with good intention; then most of it is destroyed. This has gone on for so many years that we've actually trained consumers to expect financial marketing to carry little to no relevance to them. When our marketing is irrelevant in the eyes of our target markets, how can we expect a warm reception from them? Obviously, we can't. Could it be that it's the off-target marketing that creates the skepticism and dubiosity which greets most advisors?

I say it's the lion's share, and you should do something about it! But, first, let's look at how financial marketing fails so you'll know what actions to take. If you're planning a marketing campaign, stop. Take no action until you read the rest of this article.

How to build a skepticism machine

The first cog in that machine is the writer.

Advertising and marketing people who write marketing for the financial industry tend to fall into two categories:

Company employees. They've seen a zillion letters and brochures, all with the same message. So, they just rehash the same things over and over. They use old letters and brochures as examples of what to do in new programs. Company employees represent a plethora of problems waiting to happen to you. For example:
1. Their main concern is making sure the compliance officer is happy.
2. Often, they're bored, over-worked and under-paid.
3. They're looking to complete programs with no errors, rather than create effective marketing for you.
4. They typically do not understand communication psychology; so, they create good-looking material that carries conflicting messages — over and over.
Recent college grads, or writers new in the business. Large firms hire neophytes to create their marketing. Why? Because neophytes don't mind working cheap. Freelance writers and designers represent a triple-edged pain potential:
1. They don't understand the dynamics of the industry or the personalities of the products; so, they don't understand how to attract the target market.
2. They are not looking to create effective marketing for you; they are looking to build a flashy portfolio. They need to create something clever and exciting, because that's how they get better jobs in ad agencies.
3. They typically do not understand communication psychology; so, they create good-looking projects that carry conflicting messages.

Quick story. The marketing director for a very well known drip marketing firm said to me one time, "Gee, we really need you to write our letters. I write all of them now and I'm no writer. I'm just a recent college grad with a marketing degree." Many of the producers who call my office say, "I like their software, but their letters are terrible!"

I know about both of those categories because I was both earlier in my career. In fact, my first introduction to the financial industry was as a freelance writer on direct mail programs for JCPenney Financial Services (in the mid 80s). They must have liked my work because they hired me to be the head writer.

Do the research. My guess is, very few people have ever actually analyzed the marketing pieces in this business. Fortunately for me, in the early 90s, I was asked to write a collection of marketing letters. To help me understand what not to do, my client sent me all the approved letters from two of the largest insurance/financial firms in the US. Thus, I had the opportunity to study hundreds of the worst letters in the business. They all read as though they had been written by a junior high football coach. Clumsy wording, bad syntax, terrible verb choice, and a total lack of logic — but they were approved. Which leads me to the second cog in the skepticism machine.

The second cog in the skepticism machine comes from compliance departments.

To their credit, many compliance people are actually doing their best to save their employer from getting sued for making claims that can't be substantiated. I've worked with several excellent compliance people.

However, there is another category of compliance person and it takes two forms:

1) The one who is seeking to put her own personal stamp on all the marketing. It makes her look good to her boss, and that means a better performance review, and that means a better year-end raise. In addition, many compliance people are lawyers, and the psychology of most lawyers includes a need to be in control.

2) The one who doesn't want to work. The unwritten rule with the second kind is this — "If you have to ask, the answer is 'No.'" And, working under that logic, you learn pretty quickly to rely exclusively on the programs that have gone before. Of course, the older the company, the older the marketing programs are that serve as the guides.

I know about both of those types of compliance people because I've worked with them, and I get to hear the horror stories from my clients.

Quick story. A few years ago, I was hired by an advisor with the firm often considered the largest wire house in the US. I created a marketing piece designed to bring her more referrals and show her as a better choice to her target market. Her compliance officer rejected the piece saying, "This is nothing but a character piece, and what does character have to do with selling financial services?"

In hindsight, character had a lot to do with it because a couple of months later the press was filled with headlines announcing that the SEC had begun investigating the firm. See the bigger picture? That compliance person was controlling all the marketing messages and making sure they were devoid of character. Those messages were received by consumers. Is a lack of character really what you want to promote to your target market?

What is the real problem? Having said all that, none of those writers and compliance people are the problem. The focus of the marketing is the problem, and that falls on your shoulders. So, when your marketing doesn't work, don't blame the writer or the compliance person. Blame yourself for giving poor direction and settling for crap.

What is the focus of your message?

Here's a thought that might serve as a shocking wake-up call to you. If you approach your marketing message, basing it on what your "A-level" target market wants from you, you'll probably create a marketing program that works better and breezes through compliance.

When the focus of the marketing is on products, the real message is, "Look! I'm just like everyone else!" When the focus is on the advisor (ego) and his personal life, the real message is, "As you can see, I'm actually no different from anyone else, but ain't I a really nice guy?"

There is a well known ad agency specializing in branding brochures for producers. I don't mean to criticize them; their work is very attractive. However, the messages are way off mark. Our own clients send us samples of them and ask, "Can you do something like this?" I always ask, "Why in the hell would you even want something like that?" Let me explain the significance.

In those brochures, the content focuses on the producer's life. They all say, "Here's who I am. Here's my family and what I do with my personal time. Here's what I believe. And, here's what I do for a living." I have to ask, "Who cares?"

What none of those brochures can address is what the producer's target market wants to know about that producer (or any producer). What none of those branding brochures can contain is what makes anyone attractive to anyone else — the psychology shared by the producer and the target market. Why pay $5,000 - $10,000 for marketing that makes you look generic?

So, the question is, "How can you create marketing that gains the attention of people you want to work with, and then sparks their interest in pursuing a more meaningful conversation with you?"

Again, it goes back to focus. Consider focusing on what your current clients love about you. Focus on the psychology they have in common with each other and you. That will attract more people like them. Unfortunately, only a very few people in this entire industry have any idea of how to discover such information.

Let me rephrase this. The things that make you attractive to your "A-level" target market are not your products or your personal life. It's not even your credentials. To focus your marketing on those is to shoot yourself in your transcendental ego. What makes you attractive to your "A-level" target market is your psychology, and that includes your values. When your prospects recognize that you share those, they will feel a deeper sense of comfort with you. "Look, he's just like me...I can relate to her."

What does that kind of marketing look like? What kind of message does it say? And how can you get it? Those points will be covered in detail in Part Two of this series.

In Conclusion. You're probably asking, "Mike, all of that is very interesting, but get to the sex part. How is financial marketing like sex?"

In both sex and marketing, who wants to spend time with someone they don't like? Who wants to "give it up" to someone who is just out for what she can get? Stated another way, marketing in our industry is like casual sex — quick and meaningless.

Want to be seen as a higher quality professional? Start all your business conversations with the idea that this is how we begin a meaningful relationship. As if the prospect were the soul mate you just found — focus on that person, rather than what you're going to sell to that person. Focus on the long term. Would you hand your soul mate a copy of Hustler and point out the features and benefits of certain positions? In essence, many producers are saying, "I want sex, so let me complete a needs analysis on you." Is that you? Yipes, I hope not! But, if that's not you, why would you use marketing that shows you in that same light?

MICHAEL LOVAS is the author of ten books, three columns, and a thousand articles on Professional Credibility and the Psychology of Communication in the financial industry. He's the co-founder of AboutPeople and the founder of Credibility Marketing.

Michael speaks at conferences and seminars in Canada and the US. He is an inspiring trainer and coach who helps advisors improve their businesses. He holds three prestigious certifications: Licensed Master Practitioner of Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), Licensed Trainer of NLP; and Clinical Hypnotherapist. They make Michael an expert at helping financial professionals succeed at a higher level by building more meaningful business relationships.

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(NEW) Questions Are the Answer! - A guide for using questions effectively in sales conversations
(NEW) Axis of Influence! - How credibility & likeability intersect to drive success!
(NEW) Words that Sell - The language of psychological marketing & selling
Face Values - How to read people and connect with them in less than 3 minutes!
The Boomer Report - The financial advisor's guide to understanding the boomer mind
Presentation Magic - How to gain a psychological advantage in your seminars and sales presentations
The 5 Levels of Rapport - How to create a meaningful connection with people who are important to you
Magnetic Connections - Consultative selling for financial professionals
IDENTITY - How to create and deliver the most important statement of your business life
Inside the Mind of the Senior Market
Beyond Wave Marketing - How to add credibility to your relationship marketing

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