Building Your Capabilities Brochure - …...Building Your Capabilities Brochure: Defining Your...

Building Your Capabilities Brochure:Defining Your Business and Engagement Model

For financial representative use only. Not for inspection by, distribution or quotation to, the general public.

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�� Plan sponsors and referral advocates need a clear understanding of the value of your business—to them.

�� To win their business, you must present a detailed and specific description of your business and engagement model.

�� This step-by-step guide will help you create an organized and informative capabilities brochure.

EXECUTION GUIDE


Training Curriculum

Effective Plan Review

AllianceBernstein Retirement FastTrack

Building Your Capabilities Brochure

Unique Value Proposition

Becoming a Retirement Leader

4%Leaders

18%Evolvers

78%Dabblers

There are 320,000 client-facing Financial Advisors actively serving the investing public. All but a few of them collect less than 40% of their income from defined contribution (DC) plans. That leaves only about 4%—approximately 12,500 Financial Advisors—who have an active DC business. That means they receive more than 40% of their income from DC plans.

Regardless of where you are on the continuum, AllianceBernstein offers the tools needed to help you further build your retirement business and take it to the next level.

For more information about any of our programs, please contact an AllianceBernstein Retirement Specialist at 800.243.6812.

For financial representative use only. Not for inspection by, distribution or quotation to, the general public. 1

Today, Financial Advisors/consultants (we’ll refer to them collectively as “advisors”) are battling to keep their existing retirement plan clients and land new ones. There are simply too many advisors competing for too few plans. Even advisors with hundreds of clients and well-established reputations are struggling to acquire new business.

A capabilities brochure can help you differentiate your business and stand out from the pack. A great capabilities brochure answers the questions a plan sponsor or prospective referral advocate has about an advisor: the specifics of your business, the depth of your professional knowledge and its value to them.

This workbook will help you establish guidelines for assembling a comprehensive, effective capabilities brochure. It will lead you, step by step, to develop a winning presentation of your business and your value proposition.

We’ve included several maps and simple diagrams that will help you see the flow of information you’ll want to include in your brochure, as well as the approximate number of pages you’ll need.

Building a Retirement Capabilities BrochureMany capabilities brochures are nothing more than tired pitch books—predictable laundry lists of generalized facts

that referral advocates and prospects have seen before. Here’s how to make your book different.

2 For financial representative use only. Not for inspection by, distribution or quotation to, the general public.

Many plan sponsors will need to review only particular sections of the overall capabilities document you present. But you’ll never be quite sure which sections they’ll zoom in on. Your goal should be to make every aspect of your business as clear and well illustrated as possible.

Diagrams using circles and arrows to depict your firm’s process may seem overdone, but they may be exactly what you need to illustrate what you do. But don’t stop at simply illustrating your approach: use images and illustrations throughout the brochure to help convey the value you can provide.

Here’s a checklist of publishing guidelines to keep in mind as you build your brochure:

�� Be consistent with the look and feel of your materials.

�� Use the same fonts and formatting throughout, and avoid fonts that are too small.

�� Use a standard font like Arial or Times New Roman—one that can be easily read.

�� Avoid being too wordy: get to the point quickly.

�� Use PowerPoint, which will also enable you to give the presentation onscreen.

�� Landscape orientation is typically best for graphics.

�� Make the printed brochure available to plan sponsors and referral advocates to keep.

�� Coordinate production and binding with your marketing team or colleagues.

�� If you need help with graphics and charts, contact your AllianceBernstein Retirement Specialist.

The Publishing LogisticsAn effective capabilities brochure presents a step-by-step tour of the various ways you and your business deliver

value to plan sponsors. It often takes 30 or more pages to fully illustrate the value you can deliver.


Exercise Three: List other specific insights about your target group.

Pre-Planning: Know Your FocusYour capabilities brochure should convey how well suited you and your business are for referral advocates and plan

sponsors. Define your value proposition and the target groups you want to serve. The exercises on this page will

help clarify your target market and how you can help them.

Exercise One: List the existing specialization(s) and value proposition of your business (no more than three). For example, you may have extensive experience doing comprehensive reviews and evaluations of plan design and sharing alternative design/program options.

Exercise Two: List the primary concerns of the target group you wish to reach (no more than three). The primary issues often involve concerns about the costs of running the plan and low participation rates.


Your brochure should answer these six basic questions:

1. Who is the firm?

2. Who is the advisor?

3. Why do plan sponsors need a professional advisor?

4. What is the plan sponsor’s engagement process?

5. How does the process work?

6. Why does the process work that way?

The first three general questions should take up less than 25% of the entire presentation—a few pages. The last three questions should contain much more detail as you expand on and explain the process.

With each step of your explanation, ask yourself: “What do I want Centers of Influence and plan sponsors to know about my business?” Make your answers informative and relevant to your target group.

Map 1: What Do I Want Others to Know About

My Business?

Who is the firm?

Slide 1: Firm timeline

Slide 2: Key facts

Slide 3: Global “footprint”

Slide 4: Services

Who is the advisor?

Slide 5: Your biography (with photo)

Slide 6: Other principals (with photos)

Slide 7: Total team members

Slide 8: Other key information

Why do plan sponsors need a professional advisor?

Slide 9: Investment reviews

Slide 10: Fiduciary services

Slide 11: Participant education

Slide 12: Fee reviews

Slide 13: Vendor selection assistance

The Six Basic Questions In the following pages, you’ll answer six basic questions that will help you develop the information to include in

your brochure.


Question 1: Who Is the Firm? This section should include three or four pages of relevant information about your firm:

�� A historical timeline

�� Key facts such as assets under management

�� Employees and offices

�� Types of services available �

Page Description (title/brief information) Work Area (source/graphics)

Use the page-description area below to create page titles and top-line information. Use the work area to note where and how you’ll obtain this information and any illustrations that will best convey it.


Question 2: Who Is the Advisor?Here as well, the answer to this question should be brief—two to four pages. Credentials are the key element �


here, including years of industry experience, tenure with the firm, current title, licenses held, additional certifications and

education (degrees and the schools where you earned them).


Question 3: Why Do Plan Sponsors Need a Professional Advisor?Allow approximately five to 10 pages to answer this key question. Make the case for the complexities involved in �


overseeing a retirement plan and the need for objective outside guidance. Use graphics to illustrate the challenges of taking on the responsibilities themselves.


Question 4: What Is the Plan Sponsor’s Engagement Process?A one-page overview—a diagram or illustration of your process—is a strong way to illustrate the answer to question 4. Many advisors use a circle to describe the main features of the plan sponsor engagement process (see Map 2).

The diagram below shows four steps (you can use more or fewer steps). It serves as a strong visual metaphor for introducing and framing the rest of the information in the brochure.

Near the map, show the process in its major steps, labeling each step. Note the possible ways to display the process graphically.

��


Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

Map 2: The Plan Sponsor’s Engagement Process

1. Discovery

3. OngoingMonitoring

2. Build & ImplementStrategy

4. Communication& Review


Question 5: How Does the Process Work?For each step of your engagement process, provide three to eight pages on how that component works. To make the brochure resonate with your target group, provide explanations or examples of how the strategy will reflect the group’s situations.

Map 3: Schematic of Component Breakdown into

the “Hows”

1. Discovery




It may be helpful for you to sketch out the subcomponent “hows” of each part of the process. Map 3 provides an example. On the following pages, this workbook provides you with space to start sketching out your steps, but don’t be limited by this segmenting. Expand if any step of your process has more parts.

> How #1:

> How #2:

> How #3:

> How #4:

> How #1:

> How #2:

> How #3:

> How #4:

> How #1:

> How #2:

> How #3:

> How #4:

> How #1:

> How #2:

> How #3:

> How #4:


1. Discovery

Page Description (title/brief information) Work Area (bullet points/graphics)

How #1:

How #2:

How #3:

How #4:

2. Build & Implement Strategy


How #1:

How #2:

How #3:

How #4:


3. Ongoing Monitoring


How #1:

How #2:

How #3:

How #4:

4. Communication & Review


How #1:

How #2:

How #3:

How #4:


Question 6: Why Does the Process Work That Way?In the previous section, you listed how you execute each segment of your plan sponsor engagement process. Now, elaborate on that execution: supply proof points that explain why your model works the way it does. This may include in-house research and analysis, industry-wide statistical trends, and both hypothetical and concrete examples.

Map 4: From “How” to “Why”

1. Discovery




Remember that your prospects want to know why you and your business are right for them specifically. Any information that ties your target group’s concerns to your problem-solving methods will help secure the plan sponsor as a client and build trust.

How #1 How #3

A. Why that way? A. Why that way?

B. Why that way? B. Why that way?

How #2 How #4



How #1 How #3



How #2 How #4



How #1 How #3



How #2 How #4



How #1 How #3



How #2 How #4




1. Discovery


How #1

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?

How #2

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?

How #3

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?

How #4

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?


2. Build & Implement Strategy


How #1

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?

How #2

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?

How #3

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?

How #4

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?


3. Ongoing Monitoring�


How #1

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?

How #2

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?

How #3

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?

How #4

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?


4. Communication & Review


How #1

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?

How #2

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?

How #3

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?

How #4

A. Why that way?

B. Why that way?

C. Why that way?

This material was created for informational purposes only. It is important to note that not all Financial Advisors are consultants or investment managers; consulting and investment management are advisory activities, not brokerage activities, and are governed by different securities laws and also by different firm procedures and guidelines. For some clients, only brokerage functions can be performed for a client, unless the client utilizes one or more advisory products. Further, Financial Advisors must follow their firm’s internal policies and procedures with respect to certain activities (e.g. advisory, financial planning) or when dealing with certain types of clients (e.g. trusts, foundations). In addition, it is important to remember that any outside business activity including referral networks be conducted in accordance with your firm’s policies and procedures. Contact your branch manager and/or compliance department with any questions regarding your business practices, creating a value proposition or any other activities (including referral networks.)

It is important to remember that (i) all planning services must be completed in accordance with your firm’s internal policies and procedures (ii) you may only use approved tools, software and forms in the performance of planning services and (iii) only Financial Advisors who are properly licensed may engage in financial planning.


AllianceBernstein® and the AB logo are registered trademarks and service marks used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.

© 2012 AllianceBernstein L.P.

As an advisor, your ultimate goal is to build better outcomes for your clients. At AllianceBernstein, we share your commitment. We’ve put our research to work for our clients around the world:

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Our research insights are a foundation to help you serve your clients. Speak to your AllianceBernstein relationship team to find out how we can help you.

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