Author: rafferty

Making the Most of Marketing Kits – Keeping them Informative and Simple

by Jonathan Henschen, CFS and featured in Broker Dealer Journal
September, 2005:

Weeding through dozens of broker/dealer marketing kits as I do every year, and listening to Advisors sounding off about them (a daily occurrence), I have concluded that more often than not, there is quite a bit of room for improvement!

Some firms’ marketing kits are two-to-three inch thick doorstops, bogged down with mind-numbing amounts of information—plus a lot of generic claims that say little. For example, broker/dealers routinely advertise that they provide Representatives with “great service”, “flexibility” and “the latest in high-technology”, when, in truth, they don’t always live up to their claims.

No matter what a broker/dealer’s marketing kit says, it doesn’t take long to determine just how flexible a firm really is.

How to Ruin a Good Broker/Dealer

by Jonathan Henschen, CFS and featured in Investment Advisor
June, 2005:

In the spirit of Ben Stein’s How to Ruin Your Financial Life (Hay House, 2004), I penned a guide to assuring the premature demise of an otherwise successful broker/dealer. Tongue-in-cheek tips from the frustrated financial advisors we’ve consulted with in our recruiting activities.

• If you’re the president of a broker/dealer, establish the fact that you’re far too busy to spend time visiting with prospective advisors. If you must, visit with million-dollar producers only (just be sure to be pompous and listen primarily to yourself).
• Let your compliance folks run wild creating reams of paperwork to protect the firm. Clients feel more secure when handed stacks of disclosure forms to sign.