Speaker 1 0:08

This is the Ultimate Advisor Podcast, the podcast for financial advisors who want to create a thriving, successful and scalable practice. Each week we’ll uncover the ways that you can improve your referrals, your team, your marketing, and your business operations, helping you to level up your advising practice, bring in more assets and create the advising practice that you’ve dreamed of. You’ll be joined by our hosts Bryan Sweet, who is moving fast towards a billion dollars in assets under management, Brittany Anderson, the driving force for advisors looking to improve their operations and company culture, and Draye Redfern who can help you systematize and automate your practices marketing to effortlessly attract new clients. So what do you say? Let’s jump in to another amazing episode of The Ultimate Advisor podcast.

Brittany Anderson 1:06

Welcome back to your Ultimate Advisor Podcast. This is Brittany Anderson. And again I have with me Bryan Sweet and Draye Redfern. Now, today’s topic is about being unique. And I want to make a really clear point here that you are your brand. Okay, so when you think about your company, like sweet financial, for example, people don’t fall in love with sweet financial as a company, they fall in love with the people in it. And that’s what draws clients. So I want you to think about that. And this is a pre frame for this episode. Because I don’t want you to be afraid of letting your personality shine through. When people feel like they can really get connected to who you are. And it feels natural, it feels fluid, it feels completely congruent to what’s coming out of your mouth, and how you’re acting and all of that good stuff. That’s where you start to stand out. Because anybody can have a financial advisory practice, anybody could go out and do the necessary training and all that good stuff to become a financial adviser. But there’s one unique advantage that you have that nobody else does. And that is that you are you. And that is what I really want to stress in today that we’re going to talk about how you are truly your brand, you know, we actually have an unwritten rule at suite financial, that if another advisory firm, or another advisor in the area is doing something in particular, whether it be a format of a seminar, communications that go out and even down to some of the holiday things that happen. If they’re doing something in particular, and we’re seeing a common thread, we are not going to do that. Okay. And part of the reason for that is that we don’t believe in doing things that are status quo. You know, we believe in doing things that are making big impact that are, you know, really going to, I don’t know how else to say this, but really catch attention, not because we want that attention or not, because we’re like, hey, all eyes on us. But because we want to stand out in a way that shows that we really, really, really put a ton of effort and care into what we do for our clients and what we do for our prospective clients. So I have to preface this before we go any further by saying that we don’t believe in reinventing the wheel. Because there are certain things you need to implement in your business for ease and efficiency, and automation and all of that great stuff. But we are trying to say is that you do not want to get lost in the white noise or become status quo. Because you lack that unique edge. So Bryan, I think that you have some good insights of things that we have done at Sweet financial within our niches and how we’ve really focused on standing out how we focused on, you know, letting personality shine through even for the advisors in the office. So I’d love for you to share a little bit about that.

Bryan Sweet 3:47

Yeah, I love to Brittany, a couple of things come to mind there. And one is we have three niches and I’ll talk about two in particular. But we work really well with women in transition. And that aspect of our business is called Women Forward. And then we work really well with business owners, and that’s called smarter business. And one of the things we always try to do is deliver value. And as Joe Polish says life gives to the giver and takes from the taker. So we’re always trying to deliver value. And so one idea that we’ve had an amazing amount of success with is creating for what lack of a better term client advisory councils or just advisory councils because it doesn’t have to be just clients. And one of the things that we do is we’ll get together a group of women, for example, that replicate the average people that will be in the women forward group, and we’ll get them together for a lunch or an afternoon or, you know, a cocktail hour and we’ll just simply start asking questions about what problems and concerns do you deal with and what what areas could we be most helpful with and then literally just start opening up some open ended questions, and really writing down the responses. And then using that information, then we can help be the solutions to the problems that they have. And this works exceptionally well, in the business owner community. Also, I will tell you one of the things we started as did this, and it worked, so Well, we probably shouldn’t be doing these every week. But it’s it’s amazing how many people and several of them were not clients set after these advisory meetings, that was the best meeting I’ve been to in a long time, because I think they felt like they were finally heard. somebody cared about issues that they had, and somebody cared about trying to come up with what are some solutions that helped me get over the hump. And if you’ve not ever tried that, get together a group of six or eight people and do multiple groups and just keep it open ended and call people up and say, Hey, I’m just trying to pull it together a group of people to learn more about your problems and concerns to see if there’s anything our firm can do to help you overcome those. And you’ll be surprised how many people will actually want to be part of that. And I would definitely include some of your best prospects in that, because that will make you stand out and make you unique as the topic of conversation is today. The other thing, Brittany briefly alluded to is if you have a unique story, and each of us has a unique story, and whether you’re telling it or not, is the the only difference is you really need to share where you came from, how you got in the business, why you’re doing what you’re doing, and the impact that has on people. And I never really believed this until we started working on that particular concept. And I will tell you, it is amazing. The connection you get with people, when you tell them your story, whatever it is. But the thing that I found is that it does make you human people can relate to you, because they may have had that exact same experience. And all of a sudden, you become one of them. And if you’ve had successes, they are more attracted to you because they know you can and help them. And if you have advisors, have them tell their own unique story. Ultimately, the theme of what you do, and the firm you work with and how you go about it, like ours is the dream architect. We all follow the dream architect process. But everybody has a different story of why they’re there. And you know what their story is how they got there. And don’t be shy, don’t be scared, whatever your past is, it’s okay. Matter of fact, it will give you so much better connection with everybody that you work with that, if you’ve never tried it, it’s absolutely amazing. And you can almost instantly see the connection that you gain with people after they hear a little bit about you and who you are. So Draye why don’t you share a couple of thoughts on how you think being unique, because you probably have more than anybody. So I’d love to hear some thoughts.

Draye Redfern 8:39

I love this stuff. I mean, I love all of this stuff, to be honest. But I like this too. I really like all of it. But you know, when it comes to being unique, there’s a quote by Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, it says, If you do not create and control your environment, your environment will create and control you. And so if you’re in big metropolitan area, rural area, it doesn’t matter what it is, if you don’t take clear, concise action to be unique, it’s easy just to get like controlled by the environment, you’re just another advisor, you’re just wanting a million, you’re just or like one and however many people you know, take it take a three word and you can hit 15 advisors in a couple 100 yards in some areas. So what are you going to do to actually create your own environment? Now when it says like be unique? It’s a very, it’s two simple words, but it’s a very big topic, like how do I become unique? And the answer is the same as how do you eat an elephant? And the answer to that is one bite at a time. So what can you do to be unique? Well, if you’ve listened to the podcast for any length of time, I am a huge fan and proponent of what I call singular actions. Doing something once setting it and then either iterating off of it or just forgetting it because it can grow or it can run its own thing or it can be, we call the Marketing World Evergreen. So some say your actions are you could come up with a name and a process. And for our accelerator members, we take all of them through a process of basically creating a process and finding names for the process. Because that can easily be a unique identifier for you and your practice. Because simply just being XYZ financial is cool. But why are you different? Now you could have authenticity, maybe it’s an emotion, maybe it’s empathy, maybe it’s impact, it could be a variety of different things. But at the end of the day, people also want to follow a process, they want to know where they are now, and what the finish line is, and where they are in that in that process. It’s like playing Candyland or, you know, some of these other board games, you want to know where you are, what it’s going to take to get to that finish line. That really helps people. But the problem is, is that many advisors use this, but not enough of them do. And that in and of itself could be a unique identifier for you. So there’s a proprietary trademarked unique dream architect process. In that process. The suite financial team takes you through where you are now in order to help you achieve your goals throughout the planning process. Trademarked can’t knock it off. But that’s what really encouraged like, find different things like that, that you can use that you can identify with your brand that fits who you are, that’s congruent with your brand or your messaging. And maybe you only want a service anesthesiologist in the Northeast or the southwest. Totally cool. What is that unique identifier that unique slogan messaging and sweets mentioned a lot of it over the last few episodes, especially that you have and what’s the process that you take them through that I would say right, there is the perfect place for most people to start because that’s a singular action.

Brittany Anderson 11:50

Hey, Brittany here, stopping and pausing for a moment to talk about something that we’ve had so many of you inquire about, and that is our Ultimate Advisor Mastermind. Now, I’m going to start by saying if you are not a growth minded individual, if you are not somebody who’s focused on taking your business to the next level, if you’re not focused on engaging your team, and helping them to help you in turn, level up the business, the service model, how you provide that wow experience to clients. If those things are not your focus, just fast forward right now, because the ultimate advisor mastermind would not then be for you. However, if you are looking to take your business to the next level, if you want to experience exponential growth and feel supported along the way, if you want to start working smarter and not harder, if you want to help your team members to work within the God given talents that they were provided, and use those skill sets in a way they haven’t yet to help support you in your business, to help them realize their biggest goals, their biggest dreams. If you want creative approaches to marketing, I know that can be an intimidating word. But we’re not talking here about the fancy Facebook stuff, or you know, the latest and greatest, but rather looking at how you can market what you do, how you can express how you’re different, and how you can truly differentiate yourselves in a crowded market space. If those are problems you’re looking to solve, then you absolutely want to go check out UltimateAdvisorMastermind.com To learn more about how we can help you on your path and journey to growth.

Draye Redfern 13:49

What is the slogan or the identifier that people can start with? And then what is the process that you take someone through to help them go from where they are now to where they want to be, maybe that’s going from their first dollar to their first 100,000 Maybe that’s taking from their first million and making sure they have enough income throughout retirement, the goals, the values, the ambitions are going to be different, and yours are gonna be different as well. But those are two singular actions that I would take. But I would also iterate off of that and say, just taking action once is amazing. Do something that can have reoccurring benefits like a dividend, you invest in that stock once that dividend can keep paying you over a period of time. That’s a really solid singular action. But what I would encourage and I would push back on each of you is to say with your marketing or your sales or whatever else, you’ve got to actually like slowly iterated on time and be okay if the first time doesn’t work very well. So when I say singular actors, that doesn’t just mean do something once and then hope like fingers crossed Hail Mary that something’s going to work. No matter if you’re creating your slogan or you creating a process. Amazing. You do it once it’s super solid, it’s dialed in, but it would probably behoove you to ask him check in with your client base like the Sweet Team does with their advisory councils see, does this match with what the services that we’re providing with you, you may say your action, but do not hesitate, do not fear of checking in with the client base when it comes to internal processes or names. But also if your external marketing when it comes to being unique in your marketing or your sales, don’t just do something once because I can’t tell you the amount of conversations that I’ve had, where someone says that I’ve done online advertising, I’ve done postcard mailing, and I’ve done direct mail, and I’ve done dinner seminars, and I’ve done everything, I’ve done everything I’ve done it all, nothing works. And then you ask well, how many times you do it once you can expect results off of that. So part of it is being unique part of it is trying new things, but you can’t be afraid to, to iterate and improve on some of those things as you go. So that’s some of my insights, I guess for the for the unique section is don’t be afraid to to put some of that work and do something, create something that’s authentic and unique to you. That stands for the brand. But also, don’t hesitate to ask the client base, like the Sweet Team does check in and iterate as things go. So Brittany,

Brittany Anderson 16:09

You know, you got my wheels spinning a little bit, they’re Draye. Because, you know, I think back to you know, our I think about our Mastermind sessions. And you know, one of the things that we talk about a lot is our belief in the idea that every advisor has the right to create their own definition of success. And every time we talk about that I think about this Ralph Waldo Waldo Emerson quote, that says to be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else, is the greatest accomplishment. So when you think about all these ideas, and you know how you can really, essentially keep your eyes on your own paper. I mean, that’s really what this is, you know, Draye is talking about how people try things one time, then they throw it out the window, if you think about some of the things that Bryan was talking about, you know, for us, we could very well go and do seminars, just like you know, Joe Blow down the street, that’s, that’s fine. And that works great for some people. But for us, we just see it working better when we can really connect. And we can flip the script and make it all about them all about the audience members, versus us standing out and talking about how great our process is. And I will tell you, when you look at really deepening relationships, if that’s a value of yours, and I highly recommend you try to do something that we’ve talked about that Bryan gave example to the stories thing, there’s your time to be able to share a little bit a little bit about you. I mean, it’s amazing, when you really think about, you know, I think about our close rate when we get in front of a prospect that we really want to do business with. It is few and far in between that we don’t do business with those people. And I truly believe that it’s because we find those connection points, that we find those opportunities to really connect on a deeper level versus Okay, let’s talk about your finances and how we can invest your money. Right? It’s different, it’s unique, we allow our advisors, yes, there’s a formula that they follow. But we allow them to have their personality shine through. You know, I think about Amber in our office, I mean, she talks about canning, and you know, her doomsday prep and all this crazy stuff that she does, that is a really big connector for people. So it’s letting them share what makes them different, and what makes them unique, and actually making that part of of who they are and what the experience is in your office. You know, those things are so powerful. And you know, if you really think about this, when you are and I’m relating back to you, we’ve talked about Dan Sullivan, of Strategic Coach, but he has a whole concept where he talks about the gap versus the game. And it’s more so applied in his context to entrepreneurs. But I think it’s really valid for anybody I’m honestly a lot of humans, just this is a human nature thing, I think. But when you’re in the gap, you are measuring how far you have to go. But when you’re in the game, you’re looking at how far you’ve come. And I think that’s really, really powerful when you look at going after what makes you unique, and really honing in on that. Because again, nobody else does you. Nobody else can be like you. And if you’re sitting there comparing yourself to somebody else’s level of success, and you’re getting down on yourself, Hey, as long as you’re doing things that you know, give you energy, think about what we talked about in the last episode about living your mission? How about being a mission with a business versus a business with a mission? You know, if you’re really living that out, and who the heck cares? Are you accomplishing what you want? If the answer is yes, then who cares what the guy down the street is doing, who cares what their level of production are, what their assets are, if you’re going after what you want, and you’re making a difference in the world, to the people you want to make a difference to, then nothing else matters as long as you’re accomplishing what you want. So I think it’s really important for advisors to hear that. And that well yes, you can have big goals and you can have mentors and you can admire the success of others. Don’t get caught in what Dan Sullivan calls that gap. Don’t don’t look at it saying oh my gosh, I have so much further to go and you know, what’s that proverbial benchmark of when I’ll actually think I’m successful. You know, if you get into that traffic can be really, really hard to get out. So just focus on being unique focus on doing the things that are different, that feel right to you, we’ve talked about how you have to kind of go with your gut, sometimes you have to just go with what feels right in your being. And I think that’s where the power and the magic lies. I think that’s where you’re going to make a difference in your business, you’re gonna make a difference for your clients and a difference for your team. And that’s fun, that’s fulfilling. I mean, that’s one heck of a life. So Bryan, Draye, is there anything else that you want to say before we wrap and give a few takeaways from today’s episode?

Bryan Sweet 20:31

All I can say is well said Brittany.

Draye Redfern 20:34

You said it better. 

Brittany Anderson 20:37

Well, if that’s the case, then let’s round out with a few takeaways. So you know, I think the first one is really to decide how is it that you’re unique? You know, are you allowing yourself to be forced into some box of what you think you should be? You know, are you really living out? You know, who what you were put on this earth for? You know, there’s a saying, and I’m going to totally mess this up. I know I will. But it’s like the two most important days in your life are the day you were born in the day you find out why. And I think if you can figure out that why man get out of your way, because you are going to just take off, and it’s going to be amazing. So I think that’s one thing is what what makes you unique, and what makes you just inherently you. The other thing too is I really encourage you to drill into what your story is, you know, like Bryan mentioned, we all have a unique story. We all have, you know, a life we have, you know, things we’ve lived through good, bad, indifferent, but really deciding what’s shaped you and what’s gotten you here and what makes you relatable, and not being afraid to share that. I think that’s so important. And then finally, you know, putting the little spin on it that Draye talked about is there’s so much opportunity to be able to market your business and to do it in a unique way. Don’t just do it once and quit. You know, it’s like Bryan, we’ve joked about this before it works. So well. We stopped doing it, you know, maybe it’s something that worked well. And you’re like, Okay, well on to the next thing now. rather than reinventing the wheel, just do that same thing over and over, right and tweak it along the way to make it even better. And if you’ve tried something and it hasn’t worked, and maybe you need to look at putting your unique flair on it, maybe you need to do something a little bit more to stand out versus getting lost in that white noise like we’ve talked about. So those are the few takeaways in today’s episode. We’re gonna round out this episode of The Ultimate Advisor Podcast and we’re gonna catch you right here next week where we round out the conversation on how you can make your business standout.