Are you positioned to provide your clients with the service they require as they move into the next phase of their lives? Are you prepared to work with clients who have a different view of the world? Clients who are digital natives who have significantly less client loyalty to their advisors. I believe this client creation process begins with creating an extraordinary leadership brand.

Financial  advisors are going to have a unique opportunity to develop better relationships with their clients. Many long-term clients may be looking for new services to complement what they are currently getting from their advisors. Many of these clients are not content with what their current advisors provide.

Your next generation of clients have different expectations from their predecessors. They are looking for deeper relationships and connection to their advisors!

We are seeing generational wealth being transferred to future generations. Thousands  of former corporate employees moving towards the next stage of their lives require additional financial expertise to navigate their transitions successfully. All these changes provide serving advisors an opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

How do your future clients find you? Today’s clients are looking for a stronger connection, people who share their values and want to make a difference for future generations. I believe that creating a leadership brand in your communities is critical to your long-term success! How do you create a leadership brand that resonates with your future clients?

In the past, corporate brands where very important to the organization’s success and prosperity. I have worked with many of the world’s most successful brands. Successful brands that helped organizations become household names.

Because of the strength of their brands, many organizations have become incredibly successful and valuable. Many times, significantly more valuable than their competitors.

I asked the leaders of these brands what it takes to establish credibility in changing global markets. When talking with founders of many growing technology organizations, I often get push back from them saying its more about the quality of their product or service. Outstanding products and services drive the market, not their brands, nor how they deal with their clients.

I’ve asked many of these leaders how people discover their extraordinary services or products? What have I learned from my discussions?  I’ve discovered many of these leaders are working out of a very old marketing or sales playbook. One from the early 2000s. They seem to be ignoring how their customers and clients prefer to buy today!

At the other end of the spectrum are people who believe everything has changed and they are not certain what it takes to be successful in the new global economy. These leaders say they’ll wait and see what the change means before they make any moves.  They are more reactive than proactive. I believe they will be waiting a very long time. I believe the change we’ve been through is irreversible. Global competition is here to stay.

As an insurance policy, I believe you need to have a strong leadership brand. This helps you find the best career opportunities both inside and outside your organization. It provides you with a strong foundation for personal and professional growth.

Here is a list of questions to help you get started on your way to understanding your own leadership brand.

These questions help you to better understand what your leadership brand is today. They help you understand what it might mean to your career today and the quality of opportunities in the future.  Let’s get started!

Does your personal leadership brand address people’s hopes and fears? Does it answer the questions people have before working with you?

What emotions does your brand bring out of the people you know and work with? What do collaborators say about you when you aren’t around?

Is your leadership brand about the past, present, or future? How does your leadership brand position you for future growth and expanding opportunities?

Is your leadership brand based on trends and new emerging ideas? How consistent is your message with who you are? Are you aware of the message people get when they interact with you?

Does your leadership brand attract new people to you on a regular basis? When was the last time you received an award or praise from someone outside your organization?

How well does your leadership brand represent the unique capabilities and strengths you possess? How critical are these capabilities in the future workplace?

Is your leadership brand congruent with who you are today? How is your leadership brand evolving to match the direction of your career? Does your leadership brand inspire you to take on new challenges and opportunities? Does it inspire confidence in your coworkers and leaders around you?

Does your leadership brand have an element of giving back to your workplace or communities? What would other people in your organization say about what you value and why? Is this consistent with who you want to become?

Now that I’ve got you are thinking about what your leadership brand should look like, over the next several weeks and months I’ll be sharing ideas that will help you answer these questions.