Why A Clear Message is a Must

Over the past year, I’ve talked about the importance of marketing, and why you need a clear and concise message if you want to attract new customers. I’ve talked about automating your efforts, maintaining a digital presence, and remaining relevant as our population shifts from the workforce to retirement. And I talked a lot about the need for financial advisors as the ratio of the number of advisors to clients continues to grow. These actions are even more important now than ever.

You don’t need me to tell you we have a lot of uncertainty in the world today. We are experiencing political and social unrest, as well as financial instability, especially when it comes to the retirement income planning spectrum. To increase your clients’ confidence, you need to address the topics that matter to them.

Right now, two of those topics are Social Security changes and taxes. Speaking clearly on both topics will help clients see your value and increase their trust in you. And help new prospects want to work with you.

Social Security

We’ve been hearing a lot about the coming changes to Social Security. The pandemic has most likely accelerated these changes, and they are now projected to occur between 2028 and 2031, depending on which expert you listen to.

Surprisingly, more than 400,000 people will benefit from the reduction timeframe of Social Security. The reality is that 12.4% will fund an increase in benefits to those recipients that are under the poverty level. They will also help offset the impact of a change in the CPU index that is being used. Currently, it doesn’t help us at all with the upcoming Social Security reduction. Our challenge is to help our clients shift that risk.

And that’s your message. Make it clear to your clients and prospects that you understand the Social Security changes and that you are ready to work with them to reduce that risk.

Tax Increase

The next topic to be ready to discuss is taxes. The government cannot pay nearly $5 trillion of stimulus money without requiring an offsetting increase in revenue. What is up for debate is how that all plays out. Who gets the tax bill? Regardless of the answer to that question, we need to concentrate on ways to create a more tax-efficient retirement income. How can we help our clients grow assets in a more tax-deferred manner that speaks well to a lot of different annuities?

Your message to your clients regarding taxes is the importance of planning for them. You can help them be prepared for different possible scenarios.

Although both existing clients and prospects are interested in the same topics, how you talk to them will differ. It’s hard work to attract quality leads to your business and still stay in contact with your existing clients.

We must change our techniques and our behaviors. To start, though, we need to change our attitudes about how we market ourselves. If you want to cut through the noise, you need to start with a clear message and a digital presence. We can help you with all of that. Reach out to our retirement income consultants to talk about all the different resources we have available to help you grow your assets, attract quality prospects and most importantly, remain relevant with your clients and prospects in the greatest shift from the workforce to retirement that we've ever seen.