ADVISOR WORKBOOK - CI Investments

1 ADVISOR WORKBOOK Section 1 OverviewIntroduction and welcome1 Definition of brand3 The CI BRAND Framework5 Section 2 Developing your BRANDB Biography/Business6R Reasons for what you do and how you act14A Actions you take and your process16N Niche served21D Differences24 Section 3 BRAND summary26 Section 4 Implementing your BRAND28 Welcome to the personal branding WORKBOOK for Canadian financial advisors. It has been designed to help you develop and articulate yourbrand in the Investments has developed the Personal BRAND Framework in co-operation with financial advisors across Canada. For an overview ofthe BRAND Framework, please watch the Personal Branding for FinancialAdvisors presentation at Itprovides an introduction to: A definition of brand Why building a brand is important The Personal BRAND viewing the presentation you are ready to begin the WORKBOOK andstart crafting your brand message.

2 By the end, you should have the abilityto build and deliver sticky messages ones that clients and prospectscan understand, remember and repeat. Defining your brand will enhanceyour professionalism and should help you win objectivesUpon completing this WORKBOOK , you should be able to: Describe your personal and professional biography, plus your business model. Articulate your beliefs and how they impact your business and behaviour. Explain how you create a repeatable, reliable client experience. Identify your tribe the people you serve and how you are qualifiedto work with them. Differentiate yourself by demonstrating how you and your businessare different from others. Implement a personal BRAND methodologyThis WORKBOOK has been designed as a stand-alone document thatcan be customized to your needs. You can work through theentire BRAND Framework, or just complete segments. On page 5, youwill find an exercise to help you identify your level of readiness toarticulate the various components of your Personal BRAND 1 ADVISOR WORKBOOKC opyright 2009.

3 CI Investments Inc. All rights Section 1 OverviewIntroduction and Welcome1 BRANDYour Personal BRAND 2 ADVISOR WORKBOOKC opyright 2009. CI Investments Inc. All rights soonLater this year, I will be launching additional Web-based assistancefor this WORKBOOK . I am planning a series of online tutorials to supportthe five segments in the BRAND Framework and implementationplans for the brand messages you develop. These will be accessibleat It will be like having a personalfacilitator to help you as you go through the will also be launching other material to support your development andimplementation of your personal brand. This will include a review by ourexperts of your brand messages, moderated conference calls andwebinars with other advisors who are using this WORKBOOK to developtheir messages. It should be an opportunity to connect with advisors whoare working with a similar aheadDeveloping your personal brand can be challenging and may not be foreveryone.

4 It is an introspective and sometimes difficult process thathelps you to develop the core messages that describe your differentiatedoffering and value to relevant people. Peter Montoya, one of the gurus ofpersonal branding, doubts that everyone has the ability to do the soulsearching required to develop their brand. I believe the ability to look at yourself openly and honestly is the mostimportant skill when it comes to developing a powerful personal you are up to the challenge, the outcome can set you apart from yourcompetition and help you differentiate yourself in the a positive note, it is easier to brand yourself than it is to brand a company or organization. Why? Because you believe in your talents,skills and abilities and only you have the ability to identify, describe,refine and apply them with your Luck!Doug TowillSenior Vice-PresidentStrategic Business DevelopmentCI InvestmentsBRANDYour Personal BRAND 3 ADVISOR WORKBOOKC opyright 2009.

5 CI Investments Inc. All rights definition of brandBranding isn t new to our industry. The idea has been around for a long time, but few people are able to sustain their brand. This may be because manypeople don t understand what branding is and what it isn t. Let s begin with what it isn is not just a logoA logo can be a short-cut to the brand, by crystallizing our thoughts and feelings about abusiness, but that s not the whole are logos from companies with great brands. They evoke brand awareness,because of the well-defined messaging these companies have done to develop is more than just a marketing is not a personalityEach of these people has a strong personality and certain attributes associated withthem, but their face or name is not their brand. They have done substantial work to develop their brand, or rebrand, over the is not a productIt is more than what you sell. Products are commodities; as such, they provide no differentiation in the market.

6 Products can help position and secure your brand, but theyare never your full brand. You bring more value to the equation than the is a person s gut feeling about a product, service, organization, or an ADVISOR because people are emotional, intuitive and non-rational. It is definedby individuals, not companies, market segments or is not what YOU say it isIt is what THEY say it branding is the process used to develop and implement your brand. It can be difficult because we can t control what others say about us. But,there are deliberate, conscious steps you can take to influence how people perceive you. These involve developing not just a deep understanding of yourclients needs, but also an understanding of your strengths and how they can meet client Retirement PlanningBRANDYour Personal BRAND 4 ADVISOR WORKBOOKC opyright 2009. CI Investments Inc. All rights brand is importantPeople have too many choices and too little time.

7 It has been estimatedthat the average Canadian is bombarded with more than 3,000 differentadvertising messages every day. Potential clients do not have the time to filter all the messages and makedecisions about who should be their trusted ADVISOR . People are confusedand need help to make this decision. To help them, you should craft clear,concise messages that accurately portray your abilities and your offering. You need to enter into conversations with them to gain an understanding of their needs and to provide them with a complete picture of the value you can bring to you were asked to describe what you do, would you be able to articulate yourself clearly, compellingly and with enthusiasm? Having awell-crafted Personal BRAND Statement will allow you to communicateyour value and offering in the marketplace with a concise, powerful is an exercise to demonstrate the importance of a strong the left, there is a list of companies.

8 On the right, there is a list ofbrand statements. Draw a line matching the company to the correctbrand statement1: Company nameBrand statementMichelinSave money. Live at workGEA better way forwardMazdaZoom-ZoomLexusYour potential. Our owners careWestJetJust do itWalmartThe Pursuit of PerfectionWhich of these companies were the easiest to match with their brandstatement?Why do you think those particular brand statements have stuck with you?Is it something the company has done or something about you as aconsumer? Would everyone have the same list?What does this tell you about the power of a strong brand?Based on this exercise and your own experience, what would you say arethe top five components of a successful brand?1 See Bibliography page for Personal BRAND 5 ADVISOR WORKBOOKC opyright 2009. CI Investments Inc. All rights BRAND FrameworkThe Brand Framework is a comprehensive model that addresses the five major components of a powerful / Business You as a person.

9 Your stories. Your for what you do/how you act Business beliefs and you take/processes Client served The people you serve. Your ideal client. Your tribe .Differences Your focus. Your remarkable compelling, precise and insightful messages for each component is necessary for a powerful personal personal and professional biography, plusthe nature of your your experience impacts your business and deep need you satisfy for your clients. How your business beliefs drive your your process the actions you take with a client creates a consistent, reliable and remarkable client type of people you can best serve and the type of person you have had success with in the you are remarkable, or different from other would be caught offguard and find itchallenging to discuss. I would be able to comeup with something on have given this somethought and prepared comments, but don t feel confident with am prepared for thistopic and feel confidentthat I could discuss it at length, without continuumUncomfortable Very comfortableBRANDC omfort continuumThe following topics could come up in a conversation with a client.

10 How well prepared are you to respond to them? The comfort continuum measures howcomfortable you are with discussing these statements. Place a check mark under the statement that most accurately expresses your feelings. Your Personal BRAND 6 ADVISOR WORKBOOKC opyright 2009. CI Investments Inc. All rights this section we go through each of the five components of theframework in order to develop your own Personal BRAND completion of this section, you will be able to: Develop and deliver clear, concise messages for your personalBRAND that address each element of the Biography/BusinessThere are two parts to the Bframework. The first addresses your personal and professional biography, the second, your business. Herewe define the value you bring by highlighting the deep need you fillfor your you have completed this section, you should be able to: Draw on stories to describe your personal and professional biography.