They say you should never meet your heroes, but Marcus Sheridan, author of They Ask, You Answer, was our webinar guest last week.

In a value-packed hour, Marcus shared some incredibly insightful ideas while calling out the “BS” that can hold back your marketing.

Whether you were able to join us or not, I encourage you to click here and rewatch the webinar in full. However, I wanted to share the top takeaways that will improve your marketing.

Let’s dive in!

1. Understand and embrace a prospect’s digital journey

Marcus explained that 70-80% of a consumer’s buying decision is made before they meet with an adviser/planner or the “salesperson”.

This is why every business needs a strong online presence, including social proof, great content, and information about your fee structure.

2. Make social proof intentional, not accidental

Marcus stressed that social proof shouldn’t be an afterthought: “The companies that do the best have an intentional programme to get more reviews. If you don’t have a system, there’s a good chance you’re missing out on a ton of potential. Companies with an intentional process for getting reviews just outperform [their competitors].”

If that won’t motivate you to collect social proof, I don’t know what will!

3. Obsess over your client’s and prospect’s questions, fears, and concerns

Listen closely to what your clients and prospects are asking you. Then, become obsessive about answering those questions on your website and throughout your marketing, including your blog content and social media channels.

Doing this shows you’re tuned into their needs and establishes you as a trusted expert.

4. Focus on the “big five” content categories

Marcus explained that potential clients are “obsessed” with researching five topics before choosing which adviser/planner to contact. Consequently, you must address these on your website and throughout your marketing.

The big five are:

• Cost: Marcus believes potential clients want to know your pricing structure upfront to decide whether they’re “in the game” before enquiring. So, you need to give prospects a sense of how much it’ll cost to work with you, even if you can only provide a range.
• Problems: As Marcus explained, people want to understand what could go wrong if they decide to work with you, so astute marketers won’t shy away from problems; they’ll address potential issues head-on.
• Comparisons: Marcus said, “We love to compare online. We love stacking stuff up against each other. We compare brands, we compare products, we compare services, we compare methods. We are just constantly comparing stuff online.” That means we need to give potential clients a sense of how your pricing and proposition compare to others.
• Reviews: Marcus spoke at length about why social proof is so important, given that, as I mentioned, 80% of a consumer’s buying decision is made before they meet you. But he issued a note of caution about the authenticity of reviews: “We love reviews. The thing about reviews, though, is we don’t just want to see good reviews. We want the good and the ugly. We want to see both sides of the coin”. So, while we aren’t advocating inviting clients to leave negative feedback, less-than-perfect reviews shouldn’t scare you!
• Best in class: Marcus explained how we often search for “best” or “top” followed by the name of a product or service. That means you must convince prospects, through your marketing, that you are the “best” or “top”— the expert they need in their lives.

5. Approach compliance with creativity

Most of us have felt that compliance can be limiting at times.

However, Marcus insists it’s more about perception than reality: “People think, ‘We can’t talk about this’, but that’s not true”.

He goes on to say that the advisers and planners who find a way to work with compliance are “the ones that are winning, that are becoming the most known and the most trusted”.

6. Making pricing accessible builds trust

Our research shows that only 5% of advice firms disclose their fees online. Marcus believes the firms that do build trust and remove doubt from potential clients’ minds.

To illustrate the importance of disclosing fees online, he encouraged us to consider our own experiences when we search for costs on the internet, how frustrated we feel when we can’t find relevant pricing information, and how that frustration often turns into a feeling that the company is hiding something from us.

Marcus also addressed some common objections advisers and planners have to disclosing their fees online. You can watch that section of the webinar by clicking here and scrolling to 16 minutes and 19 seconds.

7. Emphasise “you” over “we” in marketing messaging

Marcus says a common mistake in content is to focus on what “we” do instead of how we help “you.”

Marcus challenged us to visit our website’s homepage and count the number of times “we” or “our” is used compared to “you” or “your.” Then, we would look at the results to reveal who is the most important person on the page.

He believes we should all use “you” language in our marketing to make clients feel like they’re at the centre of your service.

8. The same is true when it comes to the images on your website

Once you’ve run the language test above, look at the photos on your website – especially the homepage, as that’s where most people will land first.

Consider the balance between real people involved with your business – your team and your clients – and models in stock photos. Ideally, your homepage and other key pages should be full of pictures of your team and your clients, not meaningless stock images.

9. Social proof works for all, even high-net-worth clients

Even with high-net-worth clients, Marcus insists that “social proof matters”.

We challenged Marcus to address some advisers/planners’ concerns that social proof doesn’t work with high-net-worth clients. He described this notion as “BS” and explained that “it’s just not true”.

Marcus explained that the myth that social proof doesn’t work with high-net-worth clients is a self-fulfilling prophecy because many advisers have always relied on referrals, networking, and word of mouth to gain new clients.

This means they often overlook the power of the online world in people’s decision-making, regardless of their bank balance.

Ideas without implementation = ineffective

Marcus’s tips are more than good ideas; they’re a roadmap for marketing strategies that will deliver real, measurable growth.

I challenge you to embrace just one or two of his suggestions, and you’ll soon see how much impact client-focused, transparent, and engaging marketing can have.

This month, we’re delighted to be joined by yet another of the sharpest minds in marketing.

Joe Glover, co-founder of the UK’s largest marketing community, will share our virtual stage on Wednesday, 20 November. We’re back to the usual start time of 10 a.m.

Register your place today to hear Joe’s proven ideas that will help you build an engaged community, use social media effectively, and harness the power of AI.

If you could use our help implementing any of Marcus Sheridan’s webinar takeaways, email us at hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call the office at 0115 896 5300. We’d love to hear from you.