Finding Your Niche: Leveraging Thought Leadership and Niche Marketing for Professional Success

Lisa Brown [00:00:00]: When I would meet with my clients, I would go to their office. It's so much easier on them. It's convenient. Right? They're busy. And in 1 department, I had so many of those professionals as clients, somebody nicknamed me the money lady. And so one day, I heard, oh, here comes the money lady. So people got to to see my face and and to know that So many people knew me, right, and and of their colleagues that I work with on that floor, and it was so easy to get introduced to people. Like, they wanted to introduce me to their coworkers.

Leah Alter [00:00:44]: Hi there. Thank you For joining us today, I'm Leah Alter. And I'm Joanna Ehresman. And this is WomenShare, a Marketing guide for women in financial services.

Joanna Ehresman [00:00:56]: And today, we are so excited as we have a phenomenal businesswoman and financial thought a leader with us. Lisa Brown, partner and wealth adviser at Coriant. Over her career, she has become the go to adviser for executives looking for compensation advice. She's offered authored 3 books on empowering women financially, posted a podcast for corporate executives for 4 years, And is frequently called upon for media interviews and speaking engagements. But on top of all of that, she prioritizes giving back as well. She's very active and involved as a board member for different nonprofit organizations. There are so many things we can learn from Lisa. That was really tough to narrow down our focus for today, but we'll be talking about how she grew her practice by building a niche within a Fortune 100 company, how she's leveraged thought leadership in her career, And her perspective on helping women clients and her peers in the industry.

Joanna Ehresman [00:01:54]: Lisa, we are so happy to have you. Welcome to WomenShare.

Lisa Brown [00:01:57]: Thanks, Joanna and Lee. I'm so happy to be here with your audience today.

Leah Alter [00:02:00]: We are thrilled that to have you with us today. So let's just we're just gonna dive right in because we want every every second of you we can get. So an area you've seen success in growing your practice is really by focusing on executive compensation and specifically how you're able to build a pipeline of executives within a large Corporation headquartered near you. Will you share with us what's worked for you in this area, what challenges you've seen along the way, and maybe some Key tips or takeaways for our listeners.

Lisa Brown [00:02:35]: Sure. So I think it's good to start really from the beginning of my career when I share how I got to where I am in working with executives. So right out of college, I was fortunate to have an opportunity to work, for a company called The Echo Company, which is now owned by Goldman Sachs, and they specialized in financial planning and investment management for senior executives of Fortune 500 companies. And so I that's really where I I cut my teeth as I entered the wealth management industry was learning how to work with these executives and the complexities of things like, what is the stock option? What's deferred compensation? I was pretty sure I was destined to fail. Within a few months of my 1st job, I had a boss who was very smart woman, but she had this red pen. And she would take this red pen and make these huge x marks through any of The work that I did preparing for client meetings but she didn't explain what I did wrong. It was it was just wrong, and I needed to to redo it. Here I am, 22 years old, 1st job out of college.

Lisa Brown [00:03:42]: I'm like, oh my gosh. I'm never gonna make it in this field. I don't know what I'm doing. It was the 1st time in my life that I felt like a failure, a true failure. And so I decided at that point, I better get plan b in action, and so I decided to Go get my MBA. So I did school, went to grad school, part time at nights while continuing to work full time. Well, I continue to plow through, you know, stuck with it, tried to learn as much as I could in at this company, and then end up moving on a few years later to a different organization. But I found myself kind of constantly going back, gravitating towards the corporate executive type clients during the early part of my career and it took me many years to realize One of the reasons I like working with corporate executives is because I'm a lot like them.

Lisa Brown [00:04:34]: We're very much get to the point, Tell me what I need to do. I'm gonna get it done and check it off my list. Short and sweet. So because my personality type really jibed with a corporate executive, I think that's a big reason why I continue to stick with that type of client. And the longer you work with a particular type of client, the more you know about their not only technically about financially how things should work, but you understand their personalities. You understand what they're looking for. In 2000 Seven, 2008 timeframe, I had an opportunity that really changed the course of my career. I was working for a firm called Brightworth, which is an RIA in Atlanta, and they really grew their company starting back in the eighties by doing retirement planning workshops for the Coca Cola Company.

Lisa Brown [00:05:23]: And so by doing these retirement planning seminars, they were able to attract a number of Coca Cola clients. Now I was given the opportunity to come alongside one of the founders of Brightworth to do these retirement planning workshops at Coke. So What I knew is that if you're standing in front of a group of people teaching them, you better know what they're what you're talking about. So Right? So here I am, a young woman standing in front of these executives trying to talk about their stock options and how deferred comp works and pension strategy and four zero one k when they retire. So I dove into the summary plan descriptions of all of these company plans, and I figured I'm gonna know I need to know this better than anybody else because again, if I'm standing in front of people teaching the material, I I have to have a certain level of credibility. I got to the point where I believe I knew Coca Cola's plans better than their human resources associates did. Wow. And I also got to the point where I could almost anticipate what questions a Coca Cola client was gonna ask me before they asked me because they were the same ones over and over.

Lisa Brown [00:06:36]: So that's that's really the the core of how I I Started working with executives, but really built my niche with Coca Cola executives, over a number of years. And there was 1 more pivotal moment in my building my business and working with executives and that came about 10 years ago when Coca Cola was having a large round of layoffs. I got wind that this, These these downsizings were going to happen through my relationships with my contacts there at human resources. And so I wrote a 10 page white paper Called, preparing I'm sorry. What to do if you receive a severance package at the Coca Cola Company. I dove into the severance plan. I figured out what all the important details were and I put it together in a 10 page white paper. When somebody received their severance package from Coca Cola that following year, The number of pages in the severance booklet that they received from the company was about a 140.

Lisa Brown [00:07:36]: It's a 140 page booklet. I had this 10 page white paper. So you can imagine my white paper spread like a wildfire through the hallways and people Again, you have to know your audience. These are busy executives. They don't have time to read a 140 page booklet. It's overwhelming. But a 10 page document That synthesizes the major points. That was pretty attractive.

Leah Alter [00:08:01]: It's brilliant.

Joanna Ehresman [00:08:03]: Yeah. Well and I have questions about this because in Past role would be at organizations and advisers would say, hey. Large local employer is doing layoffs, marketing. Go do your thing. So, Specifically, how did you circulate the white paper? And then on the, like, seminar and education side of the coin, Were you did you have a formal relationship where, you know, you were an approved provider with the HR department, or was it I'm just so curious about Structurally, how you did this.

Lisa Brown [00:08:38]: Well, coincidentally, we were were booted from doing their retirement planning workshops around 2012, not because we weren't doing a good job because, interestingly, Coca Cola hired ACO to come in and provide these workshops.

Joanna Ehresman [00:08:54]: So it kinda

Lisa Brown [00:08:55]: comes kinda comes full circle. Right? Yeah. However, We had built so many relationships at Coca Cola through the years that not being able to be invited back to do these workshops, it didn't Stop our business. It didn't slow down our business. These white papers really boosted our business. And I think another differential too is We are a boutique firm. And so some of the executives, although they could call the eight hundred number service that that Coca Cola was was now providing, a number of them said, you know, that I want something more personal. I want something that's maybe a little more sophisticated or at least that, you know, that was their perception at the time.

Lisa Brown [00:09:35]: So the retirement planning workshop stopped over a decade ago, but, again, that that certainly didn't slow down our business at all. I'll tell you a Funny story about and I'll answer your question about how I spread the white paper. There was a time when I was visiting clients at Coca cola, and doing their, you know, financial update meetings so frequently that, one day in July, I I was I was stopped by security, and they said, I'm sorry, ma'am. We can't let let you into the building today. And I said, well, why is that? I've I've been here, you know, every day for the past couple of weeks. And they said, you have exceeded the number of times you're allowed to be a visitor on campus. We now need to get you registered as a contractor with the company. So I had to fill out some paperwork.

Lisa Brown [00:10:25]: 1 of my clients sponsored me, you know, as a contractor. Next thing you know, I get a badge to swipe myself in and out of the building, in and out of the parking deck and I essentially worked from Coca Cola's headquarters for for the rest of that year. I I I barely came back to my normal office at Brightworth, and the best place to meet new people well, actually twofold. Number 1, I would say, is the salad bar line in the cafeteria. So I would go eat lunch in the cafeteria every day and I'd hang out the salad bar line and go through the line slowly. You won't believe how many people you meet that way. Also, when I would meet with my clients, I would go to their office. It's so much easier on them.

Lisa Brown [00:11:07]: It's convenient. Right? They're busy. And in 1 department, I had so many of those professionals as clients, somebody nicknamed me the money lady and so one day, I heard, oh, here comes the money lady. So people got to to see my face and and to know that so many people knew me, right, and and of their colleagues around that I work with on that floor and it was so easy to get introduced to people. Like, they wanted to introduce me to their coworkers. Now granted, I had to serve them well. They had to have a good experience for me to wanna do that for sure. But a big key to my my success is to go where my clients were, go where my prospective clients were, make it easy for them to meet with me.

Lisa Brown [00:11:52]: Make it easy for them to work with me. In terms of spreading the white paper, I started with my clients and I said, If you if you know somebody who's being impacted by the severance package, I want you to know we've developed this educational resource. You are welcome to pass it along. If you know somebody, that was the phrase I used. Well, it got passed along, and, I think I onboarded that year personally onboarded at least 25 new clients in about a 6 month period, which, You know? And it with a $1,000,000 investment minimum in our firm, like, that's a lot that's a lot of people be onboarding in a short amount of time.

Joanna Ehresman [00:12:31]: It's funny. You know, you say it out loud, and it all seems very like, well, of course. That makes sense. But I I haven't seen A lot of people actually putting that into practice of being in the office so much where you get the hallway introductions or you become the known face. Right? And that That level of trust and credibility is so important in a financial relationship, plus social proof. Right? Like, who wouldn't wanna work with the person who is Partnering with a bunch of people at Coca Cola. So

Lisa Brown [00:13:00]: Right.

Leah Alter [00:13:00]: That's cool. And the nickname, being the money lady. Right? You're like, I want the money, lady.

Lisa Brown [00:13:07]: That's right. You know, it it was essentially like my clients were doing my marketing for me. Right. Yeah. It was it was a phenomenal place to be.

Joanna Ehresman [00:13:15]: Mhmm. Yeah. That's great. Well, thank you. Thank you for sharing That. And for any adviser listening who is asking marketing, like, can't you just buy the list of employees at this organization and market to them? The answer is no. But Take Lisa's advice.

Lisa Brown [00:13:30]: Joanna, I would I would say one more thing to those advisers who say, hey, marketing. Can you go get me a list? When you can show a prospective client that you get them, that you understand their situation, It does differentiate yourself. So I would recommend anyone who wants to take this approach where you hear that there's a layoff coming at a company, Get your hands on the summary plan descriptions. Know how the four zero one k works. Know how the stock plan works. You know, be able to speak their lingo. As as advisors know, the plan rules often change when you go under severance versus if you retire from a company versus if you leave voluntarily. So keep that in mind that the the rules of the road for When you leave a company, what happens when you retire are often very different than the rules of the road when you receive a severance package.

Lisa Brown [00:14:24]: But in most cases, there is a document the company will Produce that lays out the nuances of that severance package. Get your hands on that as soon as you can. Dive in. Figure it out and the marketing will come easy at that point because you can start using the lingo that these executives are familiar with.

Joanna Ehresman [00:14:43]: So smart. So smart. Love it. Okay. So now the other well, I think your success is multifaceted, but would love to hear from you more about your Thought leadership strategy. So as an author, a speaker, a spokesperson in the media, tell us how you Came to start putting your work out there in that fashion and how you've seen that impact your business and your personal brand.

Lisa Brown [00:15:10]: When I first started at Brightworth in 2005, we were putting out this really nice glossy Newsletter every quarter and mailing it to clients. I think it was like 1500 households got this newsletter. And I would start offering some articles that I could contribute. And one day, one of the managing partners came to me and he said, Lisa, I want to let you know, for the first time ever in the firm's history, We're going to run an article on the cover of this newsletter that was not written by a partner. So I was not a partner at the time. And that was kind of the first time that I realized that I may have a gift for writing. And a few years later, another partner said actually asked me, Where do you get your gift for writing? And I kind of looked at him and I said, well, I didn't realize I had a gift, but both my parents were teachers, you know, maybe that was it. So it actually took other people recognizing that I had a skill and a talent in writing for me to then realize, well, maybe I should do more of this.

Lisa Brown [00:16:13]: If this is different about me, maybe I can leverage this. So I did start writing a lot more articles. We had, A, a PR, individual that we had hired as a consultant with our firm who helped, get my articles into Kiplinger, and I kept them pretty targeted around topics that matter to work to working executives, so I try to stay very focused in my niche. And I would try to do things where, let's say, I was getting the same question 3 or 4 times a week from from from clients. I'd say, okay. This is a hot topic. Right? It's that they they the people would kinda tell you what they wanna hear about. So it wasn't hard for me to come up with these ideas because I would write articles based on conversations I was having with clients already.

Lisa Brown [00:16:56]: And so I I had a a column in Kiblinger for many years. This PR consultant that we used Had a few relationships with media in New York City. Interestingly, the very 1st month we worked with them, He landed me a spot in the New York Times where they flew down a reporter flew down our office and, like, took these pictures of me and interviewed me on the topic of severance. And, he kinda laughed. He said, Lisa, like, we just hit the ball out of the park. I can't believe it. You know, 1st month into our relationship, don't expect It happened again. Managing expectations, but it was really cool.

Lisa Brown [00:17:34]: So, you know, my expertise with executives and really understanding severance Packages was something the media was interested in, and I landed a spot in the Wall Street Journal with my expertise in executives. So it's been it's been very Corporate executive focus that the media has been interested in hearing from me, running my articles or interviewing me. And so again, I've kept it very focused. Now, pivoting a little bit. This has nothing to do with corporate executives. In 2015, I started to get the string of phone calls from women in their forties fifties and they received my name from so and so, and they were either recently divorced or widowed at a young age. And all of these women had had received or inherited a pile of money and some of these piles were bigger than others. All of these women We're absolutely petrified to make any decision with this pile of money.

Lisa Brown [00:18:27]: And what I found was growing up, None of these women had received any sort of financial education. Daddy took care of the money and then they got married and husband took care of the money. And now they were suddenly thrust in into a position of responsibility for money that they had never been in before, so they were scared. And so I typically do my best thinking when I'm exercising. And I was out running 1 morning and I just I was so frustrated by this trend that I was seeing with these women. And it just dawned on me, you know, instead of being frustrated by it, Lisa, why don't you go do something about it? And so that's why I decided to write a book for women to lay out the basics of what women need to know about finances. And so I never thought I would write a book, but I realized this really needs to be a book. So I originally, wrote my manuscript and I provided money advice for girls starting at age 13.

Lisa Brown [00:19:23]: You know, kind of when you get your babysitting job or, you know, maybe a lifeguarding job as a teenager. 1st time you're making money. And I wrote the book with lessons for women up to the, end of age 30 in their in their late thirties. Now knowing I'd never written a book before, I was smart enough to know I need to go hire some professional help to figure out how do I publish this darn thing. Make sure it's edited correctly, formatted correctly. And I got some really great advice, from hiring a professional editor. She said, you know, you really need to narrow your audience down. You're trying to cover too much in in 1 book.

Lisa Brown [00:19:57]: So that's how I targeted advice in my 1st book, Girl Talk Smart Girls Guide to Money After College for women in their twenties and thirties. And it takes them through all the big first right after college. 1st job, 1st four zero one ks, 1st time having to file a tax return, 1st mortgage, 1st car payment, 1st marriage, 1st baby, 1st time I have to think about quitting my job and possibly being a full time mom. So it walks women through all those big aspects And I knew I needed to continue this on for women, at at later stages in life. And so I had committed in my first book that I would write another book for women, and I did. Unabilty. Feel like if you put it out there, you you know, it's gotta happen. So, 1st book was published summer of 2019.

Lisa Brown [00:20:43]: 2nd book was published summer of 2021, so almost 2 years to the day after. And the 2nd book is Girl Talk, Money Talk to financially fit and fabulous in your forties and fifties. I had a sense that the 2nd book was Going to open some doors for me in terms of getting me in front of speaking in front of women's groups or other organizations. You know, a lot of companies have, women's initiatives, women's affinity groups. And so I have got a a number of speaking engagements as a result of my 2nd book where companies bring me in to to on the topic of financial wellness to their female, employee base, and that's been very rewarding for me. I've been really, really enjoyed that. It's an interesting intersection between writing the books for women and bringing me back into corporate America but through a different door. So, not something I had initially planned on, but have woven my way to to Use these 2 specialties that I have really, you know, in in the same tone of voice.

Leah Alter [00:21:47]: That's really that's really just so interesting, and I I feel like you've made so many smart moves throughout your career. It's really it's really inspiring to hear your Stories and how they all kind of intertwine. That being said, we you know, you you mentioned you entered The industry at 22, and you've spent basically the whole of your career in the industry. What are some things that you've seen over the years As a woman, how things are evolving for women in the industry.

Lisa Brown [00:22:20]: So I've been in this industry almost 25 years, and there Still is a shortage of women in this industry. It has not improved. That's been a little surprising. However, I have felt like it's been more of a benefit to me at times than a disadvantage. So I'm very used to being the only woman in the room in in, you know, internal meetings. From time to time, A prospective client may call into the office or or speak with somebody to say, I'd really like to to work with a female adviser. Don't often hear somebody saying, I'm calling specifically to with a male adviser. Right or wrong.

Lisa Brown [00:23:03]: I've never marketed myself as hire me because I'm a woman And, hey, if you're a woman, I get you. And in fact, that, I've I've stayed away from that intentionally over the course of my career. I I tend to get along really, really well with my male clients and and I have several female executive clients as well, but I definitely have a lot more male clients than I do female. I believe everybody needs a financial education and, everybody comes from it from a from a different point of view. So I'd rather work with personalities that I like rather than the gender. So over the course of my career, again, I've not seen more women in entering the industry or more women in in the room. But, again, I don't think that's been a a disadvantage for me, and I don't think it'll be a disadvantage for other women.

Joanna Ehresman [00:23:49]: It is interesting, though, the phenomenon of yeah. That it is stagnant. We've got some discussions and things we're looking at of, like, what is going on here? And I think it's it's so, there are obviously many dynamics at play. And I to your point of There aren't many people who call in and and say, I'm looking for a male adviser. Quite frankly, it's probably because that's the assumption of, like, it's the table stakes. Right? Like So well

Leah Alter [00:24:15]: and I think that the change really comes the more we talk about it, the more light we shine on it. And and so having these conversations I mean, that's why we have this podcast. That's why this is so important to us because we want to shine a line on it, The light on it.

Joanna Ehresman [00:24:32]: One question we like to ask every guest on the show is what's the best career advice you've received?

Lisa Brown [00:24:39]: The best career advice is to never give up your book of business. So those who manage revenue in our business have The power and the control. It's also job security. I've had opportunities during my career, and I've and I've pursued, leadership roles within the company, but I've never stopped working with clients. So maybe I've worked a little more at times, a little less at times, but I've never completely transitioned all of my clients to others. And I've watched our CEOs over over the course of my time at this company do the same thing. They may be leaving the company, but they've never totally given up their client relationships. So I I would recommend anyone in this business and and there's times where I think people will have certain career opportunities where they'll say, gosh.

Lisa Brown [00:25:29]: If I could go in this direction. I think I would really like it. I would always say think twice if you're being asked to to give up your client base because It probably took you a while to build it and build it well. And if you need to start over at some point and rebuild it because you didn't like said chosen career trajectory that you put yourself on that it can be it can take a while to build back up.

Joanna Ehresman [00:25:54]: So smart. Be strategic about That grows.

Leah Alter [00:25:58]: Yeah. Both ways. Well and you're also I mean, you you practice what you preach. Right? Like, I was just saying you've been so and the moves that you've made, these decisions you've made, the focus you've had on your business. That's obviously worked very well. Alright, Lisa. This has been such an interesting conversation. And if somebody wants to find out more about you or connect with you, Buy your books.

Leah Alter [00:26:22]: Where can they do all of that?

Lisa Brown [00:26:24]: So I would tell people the best way to get in touch with me or if you wanna learn any more about Some of the articles I've written or read more about that, is LinkedIn. Lisa Brown, CFP, is my handle. That's the only social media platform that I use. I'm very intentional on, what I say and how I say it on LinkedIn, and so I would recommend anybody. If you're using social media, try to keep it very focused because that's part of your personal brand and building your personal brand. So LinkedIn is the best way to get in touch with me. My books are found on Amazon as well as Barnes and Noble and Target's website and I also have a website for my books, girl talk money talk.com. And, actually working on my 4th book right now, which I hope to release in the next year or so.

Lisa Brown [00:27:15]: It's gonna be a mentoring book for young to mid career women where, over the last of years, I've interviewed several dozen women about their journey towards success and when they tripped and stumbled and had to pick themselves back up. So I'm looking forward to that being the next phase of the, you know, education that I can hopefully provide to younger women in any industry.

Joanna Ehresman [00:27:35]: Oh, that's wonderful.

Leah Alter [00:27:37]: To get my hands on that one. You might have to come back for another conversation. No worries. Good. That. Yes.

Joanna Ehresman [00:27:44]: Well and, for those listening, we'll make sure the links are all available on this episode, and we'll be taking you on the women share Social posts as well. So, yeah, Lisa, thank you. Thank you for being here. This has been such an interesting conversation, and I think I just I'm so grateful that you were very specific and actionable. Like, here's what I did. Because we think empowering others, right, to To take action and learn from your best practices is so important. So if ours is a mission that you want to share in, We ask that you subscribe to Women's Share on your favorite podcast platform to make sure you don't miss an episode. And with that, I'm Joanna Erisman.

Joanna Ehresman [00:28:25]: And also, Don't forget,

Leah Alter [00:28:27]: we have an amazing email subscriber list. You can get on that list by visiting womensharepodcast dotcom. You can sign up for the mailing list right on the front of our website. I am Leah Alter, and we will catch you on the next episode of