There are many kinds of planners in the world, all looking for clients. Your professional designations, however, can be your way of differentiating yourself from others -- and differentiation is the key to prospecting. You know that, or you would not have chosen to earn the designations in the first place. Everyone you approach or who chooses to work with you should know that, as well, and it is your job to tell them or make the information available on your Web site.
Marketing your designations
It can be as easy as looking in your files or looking online to find the language that your granting organization uses to describe the designation you have earned. You have struggled to take the classes and studied hard, sacrificed time with family and friends, and bitten your nails until the results were returned to you. But after all that work, your clients know virtually nothing about what the designations mean. This is valuable prospecting information, so step up to the plate and start alerting centers of influence about just what your designations mean.
Without your explanation, these prospects have no idea why these designations qualify you as a consultant who can solve their financial challenges. Take pride in letting your clients and prospects know what you studied, why you chose the designations you did, and how much work you must put into maintaining your designations. It is equally important that your clients know the commitment your designations have to ethics within the financial services industry.
Take the time during first-time, in-person meetings to discuss your designations with your prospects. First meetings are make-or-break opportunities, and you must have the fullest confidence in your expertise to express why you are good enough to be your prospects' advisor. Make certain they understand the depth of education you have received, and send them home with a printed handout about your designations.
Educating your clients
Following are five well-respected professional designations, as well as how to find more information on each -- information that could be incorporated into both your print and Web site materials.
o A Certified Financial Planner (CFP) is trained to develop and implement financial plans for individuals, businesses, and organizations, utilizing knowledge of income and estate taxes, investments, risk-management analysis, and retirement planning. For more information, visit www.cfp.net.
o The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation is recognized as a hallmark of excellence in securities analysis throughout the U.S. and around the world. For more information, visit www.cfainstitute.org.
o A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) can serve as a consultant in many areas, including tax, accounting, and financial planning, and is a well-respected strategic business advisor and decision-maker. For more information, visit www.aicpa.org.
o The Chartered Financial Consultant (CHFC) designation is granted by the American College and prepares planners to meet the advanced planning needs of individuals, professionals, and business owners. For more information, visit www.theamericancollege.edu.
o The Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) is also granted by the American College and is the world's most respected designation of insurance expertise, helping insurance professionals gain a significant advantage in a competitive market. For more information, visit www.theamericancollege.edu.
Maintaining your designations
Most advisors fail to alert their prospects and their clients about the continuing education required to keep their designations current. All granting bodies would like anyone using their designations to continue to represent the best and the brightest. Continuing education also gives you the opportunity to tell clients what you are learning, why you choose to attend the continuing education programs they target, and how that information can be of use to you in serving the needs of your clients.
Make certain to post your continuing education studies on your Web site as part of your designations page. Send an email to clients telling them when you will be away and what you will be studying. Use this email as an opportunity to ask your existing clients for a referral. What could be better than a description of what you are learning on the same page with a reminder that you are never too busy to see new clients?
Using your Web site
Most agents pay too little attention to their Web sites in general. More specifically, the professional biographies are generally awful. A biography needs to tell and sell what you do. An up-to-date biography is an opportunity to impress those who have not yet met you. Often, your professional biographies pay no attention to your earned designations except to give the abbreviations, and seldom are the abbreviations spelled out. Your mentions should go like this: Certified Financial Planner (CFP) (description) (link).
Link from your Web site biography's mention of your earned designations to a special page you create on your Web site. On this page, describe your designations and the continuing education required to keep the designations current. Create further links back to the granting body where all of the educational requirements for the designation are listed.
Descriptions of professional designations are out there, and you should be using them. You worked hard to earn your designations, so don't give yourself short shrift. Let your clients know how hard you work in order to be prepared to offer the best financial planning and investment services possible.
Lisbeth Wiley Chapman is principal of Ink&Air and a PR consultant, speaker, and author of "Get Media Smart! Build Your Reputation, Referrals and Revenues With Media Marketing." She can be reached at beth_chapman@inkair.com.
