We’re heading towards the end of the month, and we’ve got another “Showcase Blog” for you as a part of our ongoing series. We had the opportunity to catch up with Jay Rishel, CFP®, financial advisor at Overman Capital Management in New Bern, North Carolina to learn about their firm, their marketing tactics and their biggest goals for the future. Continue reading to find out more about what Jay had to say about Overman Capital Management.
1. Let’s kick things off by learning more about the Overman Capital Management story and how your firm got its start.
Rob started Overman Capital back in 2002 after spending 17 years with Wheat First Securities (and its numerous successors). He sought to create a firm that was independent-minded where he could customize his offerings to each client. Then, in Aug 2020, Jay jumped at the opportunity to join the firm after spending 13 years with Jackson National, a large financial services firm specializing in retirement solutions. We’re excited to offer multi-generational planning to our clients for many years to come.
2.We’re intrigued to see that you’re capitalizing on one of the biggest opportunities for financial advisors in 2021 – subscription-based services. We know that for advisors determining the pricing structure for their firm can be quite a challenge. What made you decide to offer subscription-based services, and what advice would you give to others who may be exploring this option?
First and foremost, we want to give consumers flexibility and transparency concerning our compensation. It’s important to us that we offer our services in a manner that fits each client’s unique needs. Additionally, we contend that younger generations (Gen X, Millennials, etc.) are very familiar and comfortable with a subscription concept. These generations need financial planning services just as much as the older generations. A subscription model is appealing for both the client and the advisor for a couple of reasons. From the client’s perspective, it’s beneficial because it’s straightforward, explicit, and allows you to work with an advisor even if you don’t have significant assets. On the flip side, it enables advisors to make financial planning more accessible for more people.
3.Being active on social media is crucial to growing your online presence, and we noticed that you are active on the big three – Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Can you go into detail in regards to your social media strategy and discuss how it has helped your firm to grow, especially as more people have turned to social media to connect during the pandemic?
Candidly, we’re beginners when it comes to our social media presence and strategy. However, it can be an excellent way for people to get to know us better; they see what we’re reading, what folks we follow in the financial services industry, and learn more about our story, e.g., backgrounds, family, hobbies, etc. It serves a few purposes for us:
- Allows us to be visible.
- It gives us a platform to share educational content.
- Let’s both existing and prospective clients understand our firm better before speaking with us directly.
4. We love your case studies section! Case studies are a great way to show your prospects what they can expect working with you. How did you go about compiling these stories? Any best practices or tips you learned along the way that might be helpful to others who are looking to develop a case studies page?
Through our combined 50 years of experience in the financial services industry, we’ve learned that there is an abundance of technical jargon. Many websites list all of the services they offer but don’t provide examples. Not everyone knows what “investment management” or “cash flow management” means, particularly those who have never partnered with an advisor. Our case studies’ goal is to provide brief, specific actions we’ve taken with clients who may be in a similar situation to you.
*Past performance is not indicative of future results. The case studies are provided for illustrative purposes only.
5. Consistently blogging is a great way to not only drive traffic to your website and boost your SEO but to show that you are an industry thought-leader, so we applaud you for keeping up with your blogging efforts! Can you tell us more about your content strategy and how you create and publish content despite an already busy schedule?
At this point, we rely somewhat on the support of FMG and Twenty Over Ten’s thought leadership when it comes to content. We try to select topics that appeal to who we work with, i.e., young, family-oriented professionals, small business owners, etc. Eventually, we’d like to provide at least one original update a month on a timely topic or subject clients have been questioning.
6. Including a comprehensive FAQ page on your advisory website is a great way to enhance the user experience for your visitors, so it’s great to see that you have one on your site. Have you noticed that you get fewer questions upfront at your initial meetings?
This part of the page was crucial to us. And, we didn’t want some boilerplate FAQ about working with a financial advisor. We tried to be thoughtful about questions clients consider before deciding to partner with an advisor. We think our questions allow us to bring transparency to an industry that greatly needs it. Most of our FAQs, we believe, address the big, critical questions, such as:
- Why you and not someone else
- Do I even need an advisor
- Have you been disciplined for unethical behavior?
7. Looking towards the future, what are your biggest goals in terms of growth and marketing?
We’d like to have a more thoughtful, strategic, and comprehensive approach as we move forward with our marketing. It’s imperative to us to remain visible, and front of mind as clients transition through critical steps in their financial lives. We believe people want content that caters to their situation, and we want to be a source of relatable content for them. Ultimately, our biggest goal is to have a repeatable process that we can customize as the market changes.
8. If you could offer just one piece of advice for other advisors that are looking to redesign their website, what would you tell them?
Please keep it simple in terms of content, site navigation, and language. Clients want to know:
- Who you are
- Who you serve
- What you do for them in an understandable language
Simplicity allows potential clients (rather quickly) to determine if they should pursue more information about your firm.
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About the author
Blair Kelly
Blair is a digital marketing assistant at Twenty Over Ten and has a passion for uncovering what drives online traffic and the highest engagement. She follows more animals on Instagram than humans and her greatest achievement is her daughter, Grey.