Ed Jacobson, Ed Jacobson & Associates - On Articulating Your Value

In a nut shell:

"The aim is to build a positioning statement – and a practice -- based on your positive core:  the person and professional you are when you are at your best.

Think about your most valued (cherished) client relationships where:

1. You clicked with the client;
2. You were at your best, when with them; and
3. You delivered more than you even dared promise.

What was there about them? About you? About the chemistry?

What do people turn to you for, because they know you’ll come through? (Note: this could be something people have always turned to you for, even as a child, or of more recent vintage.)

Clients? Family? Friends? Colleagues?

What skills, talents, qualities do you prize most about yourself?

Six Things to Do When You’re Anticipating Being Asked, “What You Do?”

1. Remember to breathe – and not just once!
2. Smile. (It will make you attractive, and fool your brain into thinking you’re relaxed and happy.)
3. Recall a client who is irrationally exuberant about you.
4. Imagine that you’re going to be in conversation about your work, and the other person will be fascinated and intrigued, and time will fly by; keep that image of success in mind. (Keeps your amygdale from firing, and hijacking your relaxed alertness.)
5. Be curious about, interested in, and fascinated by them; ask questions that reflect that interest. They will think you’re intelligent, empathic, and a good person to be around.
6. Remember: even though they’re asking about you, it’s not about you: they’re asking if you can solve a problem or make their circumstances better.

MY POSITIONING STATEMENT

What do you do?

Do you know how so many advisors are searching for a way to take their practice and their business – and maybe their life – to the next level, whatever that is for them?

Well, I work with them so that we get very clear on their great strengths, and their proven successes, and on what that next level really looks like. Then, we create ways to leverage those best qualities so they can be successful in getting to that next level – or beyond.

How do I do that?

I create a climate where it’s safe and even exciting for them to explore who they are when they’re at their best, and what they truly want—as individuals or as a firm.

Very often, that means I change the focus of their internal and external conversations from weakness, failure, and doubt to proven successes, positive possibilities, and realistic optimism. That way, my clients become inspired and catch fire, which gives them the drive and courage to take risks for success.

I have mastered a wide range of approaches, and have decades of experience with individuals and firms, which makes me confident that I deliver for (and with) my clients. They sense this, and they trust me to select the right method or tool at the right time."

Learn more about Ed and his Appreciative Financial Planning methodologies at www.edwardjacobson.com.