Maybe it’s true that winning isn’t everything, but in terms of marketing outreach, it certainly helps. Winning an industry award gives you a reason to reach out to clients and prospects, and alert them to the fact that you’re viewed as someone who is dedicated to the profession and your practice. Here’s how to extend the glory of earning recognition in the financial planning and advice industry to grow your client base and connect with existing clients, and how one advisor did just that.

6 Ways to Leverage Your Recent Industry Award

Hanging up a plaque or showing off an award in the office lobby limits who finds out about it. Here are some more effective ways to keep the momentum going once you’ve been alerted to your win:

Make new connections. If there’s an awards event, use it as a networking opportunity. You could connect with potential new hires, discover new business acquisition opportunities, and be introduced to a new center of influence.

Reconnect with leads and prospective partners. It’s always good practice to follow up periodically with leads or prospective partners—and now you have an excuse for touching base again. Use your award as a reason to reengage. Be sure to highlight how working with you can benefit them so that your news doesn’t come across as boastful.

Work on improving your Google ranking. Awards are typically accompanied by news articles that link back to your website. Organizations that sponsor awards often post on social outlets and may tag your social accounts or link to your firm’s site. All of this posting and tagging create content from reputable sources—a must for optimizing your firm’s search engine visibility. And stronger online presence furthers your visibility to prospects. Add to your SEO presence by including an “In the Media” on your website that lists your award mentions.

Share the good news. Whether you post about the award, celebrate your peers’ wins, or share photos from winners’ event and conferences, snagging an award will give you great fodder for social media. Be sure to optimize your pictures for dark mode, as it’s becoming increasingly more popular on various platforms. And don’t forget to tag your friends and peers in all photos!

Recruit with confidence. In today’s competitive job market, prospective hires want to know that they’re joining a strong firm. Including your awards in the “About Us” section of your job listings will bolster your credibility—and could appeal to stronger, more qualified job seekers.

Prioritize timeliness. While you’re actively highlighting your award, remember to keep it timely. You’ll want to stop promoting the win after a year—or when the next award cycle comes around.

A Real-World Example: Maggie Johndrow of Johndrow Wealth Management

Advisor Maggie Johndrow has received several industry accolades since joining her firm in 2017. Here’s she and her team created a plan around using these awards to both bolster relationships with current clients and win new business:

Press release. Johndrow distributed a press release coordinated with her broker/dealer, and then she had an official document to share with her personal social media networks.

Award ceremonies. Some award ceremonies are not for financial advisors only. “This presented a meaningful opportunity to network with other ambitious professionals and ultimately secure several new client relationships,” Johndrow says. “Others event attendees knew the high standards I had to meet to win the award, which created immediate credibility in my services.”

Partner organizations. Johndrow asked organizations that she and her firm partner with to highlight the awards in their own newsletters and bulletins. “My alma mater, Miss Porter’s School, published a full one-page writeup in their newsletter about my winning an award,” she says. “This publication then led to an opportunity to lead a webinar on the markets for alumni, again leading to several new clients.”

Digital communications. News of Johndrow’s award resulted in 4,551 views on LinkedIn, and 31 comments, in addition to an opportunity to share the news on the firm website and in a client newsletter.

Take a Victory Lap

Enjoy the post-win glory. The positive news about your industry award can help to build trust and confidence in your capabilities and expertise. It’s one of the many ways you can remind clients and prospects that you can be there for them, through everything.

Please consult your member firm’s policies and obtain prior approval for awards, social media use and any sales ideas you would like to use with clients.

This is not an endorsement or recommendation of the advisor’s services.  Awards do not guarantee an experience or outcome of working with an advisor. Please be sure to read the important disclosure associated with each award.