I was on my way to another “networking event” and it had been awhile because I’ve always felt like I was being perceived no differently than the other guy – and at least I wanted to sound different. I called up my friend and business mentor, a very successful financial planner that works BRO (By Referral Only), and asked him off the cuff, “What do you do?”. He asked me “What would you say if I told you I was a ‘wealth advisor’?” I said, “I’d ask you what a ‘wealth advisor’ is?” He said “Exactly! And that is what you want.”

What my friend does that most of his peers do not is spend time with his clients up front to understand their underlying and guiding core values as well as goals. And not until he has these most important personal pieces of information, which usually takes four to six weeks of work, would he present a strategic plan that outlines the potential positives as well as risks – all in accordance to the core values originally discovered. He is not like most of his industry peers that launch into recommending a myriad of financial products during the first meeting.

In my friend’s introduction, if he were to merely introduce himself to new contacts as a ‘financial planner’, most people will automatically put him in a box. In other words, the paradigm and perception that new contacts would have of my friend would be of typical financial planners…. usually not the image that is wanted.

Avoid being boxed in. Separate yourself from the mediocre peers of your profession on the first impression. Give yourself a chance to enter into a deeper conversation. How? Be vague in your pitch with the intent of getting asked “what is that?”