Welcome, everyone. Welcome to the 86th episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast. My guest on today’s podcast is Eric Roberge. Eric is the founder of Beyond Your Hammock, an independent regional application administrator, based in the Boston area, that specializes in financial planning services for high-income professionals in their 30s and 40s. What’s unique about Eric though is the way he quickly propelled his advisory firm to $300,000 of revenue from scratch in just 5 years, with a marketing approach of talking about what he does personally in his own financial lifestyle and attracting prospective clients who want to live the same way.
In this episode, we talk in-depth about Eric’s marketing process, from why he’s decided to abandon the standard approach of trying to make neutral statements in the media and always saying it depends, and instead, showing the financial decisions he actually makes. He’s published articles to share publicly about those financial decisions, including how much he spent on his recent marriage and why he’s chosen to rent instead of buying a home, living in Boston. How Eric deals with the criticism that often comes back when you make such strong statements in public. And why Eric finds that this kind of marketing is the ultimate differentiator because anyone can write technical articles, but only you can write about your beliefs to attract prospective clients who share those beliefs.
We also talk about Eric’s advisory firm itself. From the financial planning process he uses, and the way he uses eMoney Advisor to gather data before meeting with clients, to the way he implements a monthly retainer model with his clients, or as Eric puts it, an annual retainer payable monthly. Why Eric decided to add in a separate AUM service as well and what Eric went through to survive the early years of getting his practice to the point of generating $300,000 of revenue, including spending nearly six months waiting tables on the side to make ends meet while he was getting his advisory firm off the ground. And be certain to listen to the end where Eric talks about how he ultimately figured out the exact type of ideal client he wanted to serve as a way to build his own confidence in communicating his passion for financial planning to clients.
So whether you are interested in learning about how Eric grew Beyond Your Hammock to $300,000 in revenue in the first 5 years, about his unique approach to marketing to his target audience, or about his pricing model that allows him to charge effectively for a blended service model, then I hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!