The trajectory of the financial advisory profession hit an inflection point during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the industry was already challenging for advisors prior to the pandemic, largely as a result of a changing regulatory environment and evolving products, services and technologies, COVID-19 compounded these challenges and made face-to-face business development, an advisor's bread and butter, even more difficult.
So, what are financial advisors supposed to do about this? Curl up and hide? Coast for the next decade or so before simply retiring? Not going to happen. Advisors are among the largest cohort of entrepreneurs, most of whom built their business from the ground up. They will fight to survive and thrive in their new reality.
The financial advisor's path forward requires a shift in mindset and a little bit of creativity. Now more than ever, financial advisors need strategies to position themselves as subject matter experts by leveraging all the technological and social media platforms available to them. And they need strategies grounded in content creation to better position themselves against the competition and to help them build stronger businesses for today, and for the future.
Written by two of the financial services industry's leading marketing professionals, The Ascendant Advisor is likely the most important book a financial advisor will read when building and maintaining the value of their business. It provides page after page of easy-to-learn and easy-to-use strategies for financial advisors to create engaging content, as well as offering strategies for distributing that content to the right audiences. The outcome of reading and implementing the strategies offered within The Ascendant Advisor is stronger relationships and a business that is valuable enough to pass on to the next generation, or to sell for a life-changing profit.
Broadhead, Andrew: - Andrew plans, creates and manages financial content that is easy for advisors to find, understand and share with their clients. Andrew unites forward-thinking strategy and engaging creative to deliver assets that satisfy clients' goals and their audiences' needs. Andrew has successfully launched content and social media efforts, with an emphasis on blogging, newsletters, LinkedIn and Twitter. He is also deeply familiar with the ins and outs of producing regulatory deliverables and other investment communications. Andrew's previous experience included a range of in-house positions, from the darkest and most demanding corners of the back office to the creative suite at one of the world's largest investment managers.
Heft, Richard: - In 2010, Richard Heft co-founded Ext. Marketing Inc. (www.ext-marketing.com), a full-service marketing firm that acts as an extension of your team to successfully complete your projects on time and at the right price. Ext. Marketing Inc. helps financial services firms achieve their marketing strategy, communications and regulatory objectives. Our clients include many of the world's largest tier-one banks and insurers, dealerships and independent advisor channels, mutual fund companies, private equity firms, hedge funds and credit unions. We help our clients with strategic planning and project management; copy, design, and digital execution; as well as with their regulatory deliverables. Prior to founding Ext. Marketing Inc., Richard ran Integrated Corporate Communications (ICC), which was launched in 2006 to provide top-quality writing, editing, branding, project management, graphic design, web design and print services to all levels of the financial services and insurance sectors. ICC's client list included some of the world's largest financial services firms.
