Reg BI took effect on September 10, 2019 with a compliance deadline of June 30, 2020. Much like the DOL rule, Reg BI sparked concerns from various stakeholders, even leading to lawsuits challenging it. Many questions arose: Was the rule fair? Did it go too far or not far enough?
While those questions were important, let’s focus on how advisors can use this rule in their marketing efforts.
Most advisors agree that putting clients’ interests first is crucial, even if the rule isn’t perfect. In fact, you’ve likely identified some shortcomings to the rule as it is currently written. While following the requirements of the rule is essential, you can certainly adopt additional measures and best practices in your practice, like improving processes to help clients understand how your recommendations fit their financial plans.
The marketing opportunity presented by the rule can most easily be summarized by looking at it from a three- dimensional marketing perspective:
Marketing Dimension #1: Become a Thought-Leader on the Topic
The final rule is a mere 770 pages. If that seems like a bit too much reading for you to get through, some Google searches on the topic may help you cut down on your reading. Before you can accomplish some of the marketing actions shared below, it will be imperative that you have a good understanding as to what the rule requires of financial professionals and the impact it has on investors.
Marketing Dimension #2: Become a Champion for Your Clients
Your clients look to you for advice and guidance. When financial news breaks, they expect you to be on top of it. Reg BI made the headlines, and other advisors talked about it. You needed to be the first to inform your clients. Were you?
From there, you have two choices: comply passively or become a fierce advocate for your clients, their friends, and your community. You could voice your concerns about the rule professionally and implement measures to overcome them in your practice. You can position your firm as the go-to place for investor advocacy, going above and beyond the rule’s requirements. If you want your clients to be an advocate for you and your practice, a good starting point would be for you to be the same for them.
Marketing Dimension #3: Recognize the Issue
Reg BI was a big deal. Regardless of how much of a direct impact it has had on your practice, we couldn’t ignore that this type of regulation had been a major issue within our industry for years. Sadly, investors often misunderstood how the financial industry was regulated. While the financial industry media covered this issue extensively, the mainstream media (both nationally and locally) barely touched it.
Next Steps
The three items outlined above provide specific marketing actions that could have been taken (when the rule was set up) and could still be taken. Let’s explore these opportunities that they present and some opportunities you can take to market your practice alongside the regulation (if you haven’t already been doing so).
- Client/Referral Events – Reg BI is the perfect topic for a client/referral event. It impacts all clients. It’s financially related, yet not product focused. It wouldn’t require a long presentation. Lastly, it presents a perfect call-to-action for non-clients in the room.
- Public Events – An event solely focused on this topic might not be the perfect answer, especially as there are other rules and regulations that have come out since this went into effect. However, it could easily be bundled in with other changes that are impacting investors right now. A few ideas could include: recent changes affecting tax laws, social security, and any pending legislation. Reg BI and the fiduciary standard might not be the best stand-alone hook for front-end marketing, but combined with other newsworthy items it becomes a compelling piece of the presentation.
- Private Group Webinar – This is different from the other two items referenced above, but may not require new presentation material to be created. This would be an online webinar for employer groups, clubs, and organizations. Do you have clients/contacts that could help get you in the door here? Once again, the beauty of this topic is the wide range of people it impacts AND the non-traditional nature of the content. It’s not a presentation selling your goods, which will make it unlike most pitches these individuals hear.
- Whitepapers/Guides/Downloads – If the group presentation doesn’t interest you and/or you want to take this opportunity in an additional direction, creating an asset that provides information to consumers about the topic can help cultivate activity while establishing thought leadership. If you hate to write, try this: think of as many questions that you possibly can that clients and prospective clients might have about the new rule. From there, simply dictate your answers. An FAQ download is a valuable asset.
- Enhanced Rationale Reporting – This is where the rubber really hits the road as it relates to actionable items that will benefit clients of your firm. Make sure that your planning recommendations are supported by easy- to-understand documentation explaining the rationale behind the decisions you are helping your clients with. Help them comprehend why your recommendations are putting their interests first and how those decisions may help them reach their intended goals. USA Financial created a software tool (Asset Cycle) to help accomplish this. If you’d like a demo of our rationale builder technology, we’d be happy to share.
- Video Blog – Social media loves video. If you hate writing, the video blog idea may be for you. Once again, you could leverage the FAQs as your starting point for each video. Keep them short, demonstrate thought leadership, and provide a simple call-to-action.
- Article Writing – If writing is more up your alley, you could create valuable content for your website and showcase your expertise. You could write informative articles explaining Reg BI and its implications for clients. By being proactive and addressing this issue on your site, you position yourself as a knowledgeable resource. Many of your potential clients likely hadn’t encountered this information elsewhere, making your website a go-to source for clear, reliable explanations about this important regulation.
Was this list all-inclusive? Of course not. Yet, by focusing on three core dimensions, you could uncover numerous opportunities. Reg BI is more than a mere disclosure. It represented a big step towards potentially transforming the financial advice industry – a field that was often confusing, yet vital to our society’s future welfare.
To find out more about how USA Financial supports the efforts of financial professionals and the commitments they make to their clients, please contact us or give us a call at 888-444-0125 to speak with one of our business development professionals.
