Advisors: Is writing a book on your bucket list?

Too often, I fear that we as advisors subscribe to someone else’s methods and process for helping our clients achieve their goals. Sure, the achievement of their goals is the ultimate objective, but owning the deep truth of your own process cannot be faked. Using someone else’s voice to communicate their beliefs will simply sound like someone else. How could it not? The main objective of writing your book then, should be discovering your own voice as a financial advisor.

To help you develop your voice and possibly your book, consider these questions:

• What is unique about you that makes you who you are, not only as an advisor, but as a person?
• How did you get into this business and into the role in which you currently serve?
• What outcomes can your clients expect to achieve as a result of your planning process?
• What qualifications do you possess that make you a credible source of financial expertise?
• What would your best client say about you to other prospective clients?
• What would past clients say about you?
• What types of clients should not consider working with you?
• Why should the reader do business with you as opposed to every other advisor in the world?

As you can see, this is deep stuff we’re talking about here. The road to being published should be paved with numerous personal obstacles. If the process were easy, everybody would write a book and people would not hold the same level of respect for those who do.  Whether or not you choose to author a book, please consider the questions above and work toward a level of clarity and authenticity in your planning and marketing that is worthy of being encapsulated in bound form. The rewards are tremendous and the title “published author” is yours forever.