Contrary to popular belief, financial copywriting is not about snowing people. It is, rather, about highlighting the real benefits of a product or service in a way that a prospect can quickly understand.
One of the main tasks good financial copywriters perform is bringing these benefits to the forefront of the conversation… because too many companies “bury their lead,” as journalists put it. They don”t put their best foot forward. They don”t full “denominate” what a solid track record actually means.
I”m not talking about hype. It goes without saying that a good financial promotion often spends more time talking about a prospect”s problems than about the solution to the problem. Many financial copywriters believe that you must first denominate a prospect’s problem… really show you understand the depth of their pain… before you can even hint at a solution. That”s fine… but once you get to the solution then it”s important that you don’t put your light under the bushel basket. Like a diamond with many facets, your track record should be held up to the light and examined from a variety of angles so your prospect can fully appreciate what it can do for him or her. Here are 7 ways that financial advisory services can better hightlight their track records with improved financial copy:
1. What Have You Done for Me Lately? Recency is HUGE. This is obvious… but it”s amazing how many financial newsletter promotions focus on big gains from 3 or 4 years ago and ignore what they did last month. I would much rather discuss the 39% profits my client made in May 2012 than the 390% gains he made back in 2008. Four years ago is ancient history these days. Tell people what you”ve done recently.
2. Big gainers. Most companies understand this. They highlight their advisory service”s big wins. But a few don”t. They focus too much on recency. I had one client who had a staggering 1,200% gain on a stock but it was from 2005 so they didn”t mention it. That”s insane. I”d highlight all big wins from the past 20 years if they”re there. I would lead with recent gains but also include the big So kannst du bereits ab einem Einsatz von gerade einmal 50 Cent roulette strategi spielen und dich mit moglichst geringem Risiko an samtliche Spielmoglichkeiten herantasten. ones.
3. Year by Year. I like to look at a track record from every angle. If a service has a lot of big winners, I then go back and figure out how well the service did year by year. Many clients do this but not all. Some are shocked by just how well they actually did. Highlight the service”s track record year by year.
4. Versus the Market. Again, many people do this but not everyone. Spelling out just how well your service did against the market as a whole be a powerful selling point.
5. Over time. If a trading advisory has a five-year track record of 16% a year, you should always point out what a track record like that would look like over ten, twenty and thirty years. Show how big the gains will be over time.
6. In Real Money. Financial advisers tend to be a bit geeky. They”re number crunchers. They like percentage gains. But prospects think in dollars and cents — and so, in addition to percentages, you should also highlight just how much money a prospect would have had he or she followed the recommendations of the service. This trade would have made you $357 for every $1,000 invested… or… Had you invested $10,000 in these four stocks five years ago, you”d now have an extra $37,541 sitting in your bank account.
7. What It Can Buy. Finally, a good promotion for a financial service will also bring to light the “real life” benefits of a successful track record — the college tuitions paid, the house down payments scraped together, the early retirements made possible. After all, investing and trading serve higher purposes than merely profits: they serve the lifestyle enhancements that success make possible. Those should always be made concrete and real.
In conclusion: I”m a big believer in track record. I”m all for big ideas… story stocks and all that… and I certainly want to feel a prospect”s pain… but, let”s face it, what a prospect wants from you is a credible way to make money in an increasingly challenging investing environment. So, if you can make them money, tell them how you”d do that — clearly, simply, with a minimum of hype, by highlighting your track record from a variety of angles. Anticipate their objections and answer them head-on. If you had the same doubts about your approach that they do, tell them so. Level with them. If you had a bad year or two, tell them why — and why your track record overcame that temporary setback.
