Do you genuinely want to grow your business in 2019? Really? Good—I’m glad to hear it. I want to help. But I’m not really the type to tell you what to do. That’s not my style. This is your business, and it’s your decision. I’d rather tell you about what I’ve seen, what worked, and what didn’t.
Here’s a fictional case study. I made it up, but it reflects patterns I’ve seen play out again and again.
Fictional Case Study to Help Grow Your Business in 2019
So, let’s talk about a successful financial planner in the Charlotte area—we’ll call him Jake. After all Jake is one of the more popular names right now.
Jake has made many connections and is someone people go to for planning. He spends a lot of time with his family and never misses his weekly golf game with friends. On Friday and Saturday night, he and his wife get together with friends from the club. He’s making a good living, and it’s not because he has to sacrifice living his life.
How is he doing so well? He can’t compete directly with Merrill Lynch or UBS, they have resources he doesn’t. He does great work, but how does he get the word out?
His advantage is that a lot of his clients play golf. Some play better than others, but they all love the game. Jake has played all the courses in the Carolinas. Kiawah Island and Pinehurst are, of course, his favorites, but he likes the not-so-famous courses those places offer. Most people say Pinehurst #2 and The Ocean Course, but he likes Osprey Point and Pine Needles (which is a short drive from Pinehurst). He loves finding amazing courses that other people don’t know about or aren’t as talked about—and he loves sharing these finds with his clients.
When his clients come to his office, they chat about golf for what seems like half the time. In reality, it’s really more like three-quarters of the time. In fact, many people send quick emails, not asking for a stock tip, but asking about what course they should play when they go to Kiawah, what time of year is best, and what nearby restaurants have the best barbecue?
Is all of this a distraction from business? Anything but!
By connecting with clients—and potential clients—through a shared passion, Jake keeps in touch, and not in that greasy financial planner way, either. Through golf, Jake shows others his intelligence, his judgment, his reliability, and his ability to understand what others want and need, and he does it without bragging, in a completely genuine way. His golf buddies introduce him to their friends. And when any of those people need help with their 401Ks, they know who to ask.
Content Marketing Works
See, this is how content marketing works. Those conversations about golf? They don’t have to happen on the course. And they don’t have to be about golf.
Whatever you love—that ties into what existing and potential customers also love—talk about it. Blog about it. Share it on social, on a standalone website, on emails. Give away your expertise for free. It will grow your business.
You’ll develop a following, a following of people who trust your judgment and think well of you. And, when they get curious, they’ll click on your LinkedIn icon on your website and see where you work and what you do. And when they need professional services like yours, they’ll know who to call, because they’ll know whom they trust.
Now, that’s good business.