We are remodeling and expanding our offices. Everything is being moved. On my wall hangs this reproduction of Seth Godin’s best seller, Purple Cow, redrawn by Hugh MacLeod in his signature hatch-mark style. Seth and Hugh are both distinctive.
In an information-saturated, message-overloaded world, to keep their sanity, prospects constantly strip you of your distinctiveness and quickly categorize you in their brain.
It makes decision-making easier. 
It helps them keep their sanity.
That way, they can quickly say, “Financial advisor? Already have that. Money manager? Got that. Estate planner? That too.”
Once a prospect “believes” that they are taken care of in any area, their brain highly resists making any kind of a change. It’s as if your closes the door on that category and locks it shut.
The only time your brain will unlock the door is if there is something of interest or value.
Even worse, when your services are not distinctive and appear virtually the same, here’s how prospects choose between you and everyone else: price.
Bad place to be. You already feel the downward pressure on your fees and commissions.
Rising above through your marketing and positioning is the only way to use the marketplace forces to your advantage.
And… not only are your services being commoditized, your marketing is being commoditized as well.
How do I know? It’s just like every other advisor’s marketing stuff. The colors may be different, but it’s all the same.
The end result of commoditization is that you’re spending more and more of your money for less and less results.
It’s time to make your marketing accountable to produce results. Otherwise, save your money.
Step One. Create a 4-column sheet: 1. Description. 2. Investment. 3. Return. List your marketing pieces; how much you invest in each; how many prospects/clients each piece produces; and whether each piece is interesting or valuable.
Next, we’ll cover how to replace the marketing losers with marketing winners.