Podcast Summary: Advisor Marketing Made Simple
Episode: Advice Line: When Your Marketing Targets Too Many Client Types (Eli Weissman)
Release Date: February 26, 2025
Hosts: Taylor Schulte and Kendra Wright
Guest: Eli Weissman, Founder of Advocate Wealth
Introduction
In this episode of Advisor Marketing Made Simple, hosts Taylor Schulte and Kendra Wright welcome Eli Weissman, the founder of Advocate Wealth, a financial advisory firm based in Washington, D.C. With a decade of experience as a financial advisor and a recent focus on serving registered lobbyists through his new IRA, Eli seeks guidance on refining his marketing strategies to effectively target his niche clientele.
Eli's Background and Business Goals
Eli Weissman shares his professional journey, highlighting his 26-year tenure in Washington, D.C., including over a decade as a registered lobbyist. Leveraging his deep understanding of the lobbying sector, Eli established Advocate Wealth five months ago, specializing in financial services for lobbyists. His current revenue stands at $220,000, with an ambitious goal to grow to $900,000 in revenue and acquire 65 clients within the next five years.
"I've been working in Washington D.C. for over 26 years, starting on Capitol Hill and serving as a registered lobbyist for over 10 years. This experience has equipped me to speak the language of lobbyists, which has been invaluable in my client interactions."
— [01:48] Eli Weissman
Current Client Acquisition Strategies
Eli outlines his existing methods for attracting clients, which predominantly involve LinkedIn and direct outreach efforts. Initially starting with three non-lobbyist clients, he has since shifted focus, with over 60% of his new clientele now coming from proactive sales outreach and approximately 40% from LinkedIn referrals.
"New clients are finding me through LinkedIn and I'm also doing a lot of direct one-to-one outreach, sales outreach. It's about a 60-40 split of direct outreach versus incoming clients or referrals from LinkedIn."
— [04:44] Eli Weissman
Challenges with LinkedIn and Marketing Efforts
Eli expresses growing frustration with his current marketing approach, particularly the demands of maintaining an active LinkedIn presence. Despite recognizing LinkedIn as a vital platform for reaching his target audience—registered lobbyists—he finds content creation and engagement overly time-consuming and challenging.
"I could spend 100% of my time on LinkedIn all day, every day, trying to be as efficient as I can... recognizing that there's no shortage of time that could be spent on marketing just on LinkedIn alone as one platform."
— [02:10] Eli Weissman
Additionally, Eli grapples with the dilemma of targeting multiple client types—corporate lobbyists versus small business owner lobbyists—each with distinct financial needs and engagement levels on LinkedIn.
Hosts' Analysis and Recommendations
Taylor Schulte and Kendra Wright delve into strategies to streamline Eli's marketing efforts. They emphasize the importance of niche specialization to avoid operational overwhelm and enhance marketing effectiveness.
Narrowing Down the Niche
The hosts recommend that Eli sub-niche further within the lobbying sector, choosing between corporate lobbyists with equity compensation and small business owner lobbyists. They highlight that each subgroup has unique pain points and requires tailored marketing approaches.
"The business owners will, candidly, they're not as good on LinkedIn in terms of marketing themselves. Corporate lobbyists are a little more LinkedIn savvy."
— [12:18] Eli Weissman
Optimizing Webinar Strategies
Given Eli's interest in webinars, the hosts suggest structuring them to appeal broadly to lobbyists while subtly addressing the specific needs of subgroups. This approach allows Eli to maintain inclusivity without diluting his marketing message.
"If I could only pick one and do it consistently, I would say it would be ideal to do a webinar, you know, every month or two."
— [08:07] Eli Weissman
They also propose using webinars as a middle-of-the-funnel strategy to build trust and transition prospects into the sales funnel effectively.
Streamlining LinkedIn Outreach
Kendra shares a successful LinkedIn outreach example, emphasizing personalized direct messages (DMs) that address core pain points without being overtly salesy. She underscores the importance of an optimized LinkedIn profile to complement outreach efforts.
"If they struggle with taxes, let me know. Either way, I would love to connect."
— [Kendra gives a sample DM]
Taylor further recommends leveraging tools like Sales Navigator for more targeted outreach, although Eli mentions he does not currently utilize this tool.
Strategies for Webinars and Nurturing Relationships
The hosts outline a comprehensive strategy for Eli to manage his marketing funnel effectively:
- Top of Funnel: Focused LinkedIn connections with personalized DMs targeting specific pain points of small business owner lobbyists.
- Middle of Funnel: Host regular, broadly appealing webinars that address universal challenges among lobbyists, such as tax strategies and retirement planning.
- Bottom of Funnel: Transition webinar attendees to one-on-one consultations, emphasizing tailored financial solutions.
Kendra emphasizes the importance of consistency and intentionality in marketing activities to build predictable and repeatable results.
"Don't get discouraged. It just takes time. And because your audience is pretty niche in that way, you don't need 500 people on this webinar."
— [Kendra Wright]
[Date: [28:30]]
Taylor adds a tactical suggestion to use the webinar registration process to segment attendees based on their specific needs, facilitating more personalized follow-ups.
"Schedule this webinar, have just a simple Zoom landing page... add a question for them to answer. Are you a corporate lobbyist or are you a small business owner lobbyist?"
— [26:46] Taylor Schulte
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Eli acknowledges the invaluable insights provided by Taylor and Kendra, recognizing the necessity to refine his niche to enhance marketing efficiency and effectiveness. He commits to focusing his outreach on a specific subgroup within the lobbying sector while maintaining the flexibility to accommodate clients from both corporate and small business backgrounds as opportunities arise.
"I do need to embrace going forward one layer deeper in my niche... I'm not going to try to spend all of my energy chasing, as Taylor said, building three different marketing funnels that just, I'm one person."
— [43:10] Eli Weissman
Kendra and Taylor reinforce the importance of narrowing focus and building a structured marketing funnel, encouraging Eli to implement the discussed strategies methodically and adjust based on performance metrics.
Final Thoughts
This episode provides a practical roadmap for financial advisors like Eli Weissman who face the challenge of targeting multiple client types within a niche market. By emphasizing specialization, streamlined outreach, and structured funnel strategies, Taylor and Kendra offer actionable solutions to transform overwhelming marketing efforts into focused, effective campaigns that drive sustainable business growth.
Notable Quotes:
-
"If you have a marketing challenge that's slowing you down, we would love to invite you to join us on a future advice line episode."
— [00:00] Taylor Schulte -
"LinkedIn feels like kind of like a content monster. You just got to keep feeding it."
— [25:58] Kendra Wright -
"Don't get discouraged. It just takes time."
— [28:30] Kendra Wright
This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and actionable strategies from the episode, providing a clear and detailed overview for those who haven't listened to the full podcast.