In this episode of Bridging the Gap, Matt is joined by Stephen Oliver to delve into his wealth of experience in the world of marketing within the financial industry. Stephen emphasizes the importance of personal branding, seizing opportunities, and staying visible in a fast-moving world where AI and robo-advisors are on the rise. Throughout their conversation, they explore the concept of ‘marketing incest’, the detriment of mediocrity, and how authenticity and a personal connection can distinguish advisors from the competition. Drawing parallels with companies known for impactful marketing and culture-building, such as Apple and Harley-Davidson, they discuss the value of community and how companies should stay connected to their roots and personalities behind the brand.

The conversation continues to open up about the need for advisors to cultivate their personal brand and not to hide behind corporate facades. This means showcasing personal interests, embedding themselves in their clients’ worlds through regular communication, and not giving up on prospects too quickly. As the conversation goes on, Matt and Stephen open up about opportunities advisors should see in everyday occurrences, and to ensure they’re consistently providing value to stay top of mind for their clients. For consistent engagement and growth, advisors must take initiative daily, emphasizing the importance of incremental steps toward success. Stephen emphasizes the importance of approaching marketing with a niche focus and tailoring communication strategies to specific audience groups to forge stronger connections.

This episode is filled with marketing insights! Listeners can follow Stephen Oliver’s work and insights on marketing for financial advisors through advisorwealthmastery.com which includes links to his podcast, YouTube channel, and written works.  

Timestamps From This Episode

[18:59] Creating a sense of community and value in the industry, drawing parallels to biker culture. They explore the idea of making wealth management more experiential and creating niche communities tailored to specific interests, such as riders or hikers.

[25:13] Stephen discusses the importance of recognizing a company’s founding history and values, using the example of Dairy Queen featuring its evolution display. Stephen believes that this would make the theater experience more engaging.

[36:15] Train yourself to see opportunity in everything and take action daily.

[41:07] Consistent communication is crucial in online marketing. Engage with clients regularly through emails, texts, and valuable content to stay top of mind and foster strong relationships.

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About the Show

Bridging the Gap is a financial podcast hosted by CEO Matt Reiner focused on bringing together leaders from the finance and the technology industries to focus on innovating the financial services industry.

Host

Matt Reiner, CFA, CFP®

I’ve been fortunate to be around the wealth management business for over 25 years. Along with this, I’m also the CEO of a tech startup. These experiences have given me a bird’s eye view of both the technology and financial services spaces.

Guest

Stephen Oliver , Founder - CEO @ Stephen Oliver's Advisor Wealth Mastery | Marketing, Wealth Management

Stephen Oliver, MBA is the coach to top producing agents and advisors in marketing, sales, and practice management for over 25 years. He’s been a business owner in the front line of high level marketing and face-to-face, belly-to-belly sales creating thousand’s of clients for his businesses for 40 years and hundreds of thousands of new clients for his clients. His no BS, Maverick approach will teach REAL-World lessons to massively accelerate your growth. He’s “written the book” on Internet Marketing (first in 1999,) direct response marketing, sales, and business development. His latest: “Extraordinary Marketing for Financial Advisors”.