Stop Selling to Strangers. Build a Warm Audience Instead

Think back to the last time you made a big purchase.

I’m not talking about ordering something from Amazon. I mean a meaningful investment that required thought. Maybe a car, a financial product, perhaps deciding to work with a coach, advisor, or mentor.

Who did you buy from?

Did you hand over that money to someone you just met off the street? Did you say yes to the first person with a link?

Or did you spend time—weeks, maybe even months—getting to know the person or the company? Did you watch their videos? Read their content? Have conversations? Did you reach a point where you felt, “I trust this person. They get me. I want to work with them”?

Or if it was a car or real estate investment, you likely already had a relationship with the salesperson or realtor.

That’s how we make big spending decisions. We work with people we know, like and trust. People who share our interests and values. People who feel like they already understand us and who we believe have our best interests in mind.

But here’s the contradiction: when most advisors market themselves, especially online, they operate in a completely different way.

They buy lists. They blast strangers with “book a call” links. They run cold seminar ads to people who’ve never heard of them, and they expect these cold strangers to make meaningful money decisions with them based on a headline, a dinner invite, or a Facebook ad.

Then they wonder why the conversations feel flat. Why they’re chasing people. Why the leads they paid for aren’t showing up, engaging, or converting.

The answer is simple: They’re asking for trust without earning it first.

It’s the marketing equivalent of proposing on the first date. It’s transactional thinking applied to a relational business. And it doesn’t work. Not sustainably, and definitely not at scale.

This is what inbound marketing is designed to solve. But it only works if it’s done right.

Inbound isn’t just “create some blogs and hope.” It’s not about cranking out 100 LinkedIn posts with generic advice. And it’s not some formula you can copy from a course and expect magic from.

When inbound works, it works because it creates emotional resonance. Because it builds a relationship. Because it helps people say, “That’s my kind of advisor.”

That kind of connection doesn’t come from volume. It comes from intimacy at scale.

It happens when people watch a video and feel like they know you. When they hear your voice and think, “This person sounds like me.” When they see their own values in the way you speak, write, and teach.

Inbound done right means replicating your presence—your energy, your beliefs, your way of seeing the world—and putting it into formats that can scale: video, email, books, articles, podcasts, automated nurture flows.

It’s about taking who you are at your best in a one-on-one conversation and making that available to thousands of people without losing the human thread.

That’s how trust is built before the meeting. That’s how you stop chasing and start attracting.

Inbound marketing isn’t just about value creation. It’s about connection. And connection only happens when the content is true to you.

Not templated. Not sanitized. Not watered down by generic “financial advisor” voice.

I’m talking about content that actually sounds like you. That shares what you really believe. That shows people how you think—not just about money, but about life, about legacy, about what matters.

Because ultimately, your best clients aren’t choosing you because of your technical knowledge. They’re choosing you because they resonate with who you are and how you see the world. They want to work with someone who gets them, not just someone who manages money.

That means your marketing has to reflect that. It has to sound like you. It has to feel like a conversation, not a pitch. And it has to be built with the understanding that every blog, every email, every video is the beginning of a relationship that might last ten, twenty, thirty years.

So ask yourself: If that’s the kind of relationship you want with your clients, how do you want that relationship to start?

Do you want it to begin with a cold ad, a pushy call to action, or a purchased list?

Or do you want it to begin with a handshake, in the form of an article, video, book, etc. A story that says, “Here’s what I believe. If this resonates with you, we should talk.”

That’s the power of inbound. But it only works if you commit to doing it right.

If you try to fake it, or shortcut it with high volume and low quality, or hire an agency that doesn’t take the time to capture your voice and message, you’ll end up back where you started. Spending money to buy attention from people who don’t know you, don’t trust you, and probably never will.

But when it’s built the right way—when your system is built on real ideas, real values, real emotional connection—you won’t be chasing leads. You’ll be in conversation with people who already know you, already like you, and already trust you.

That’s when marketing stops feeling like a grind and starts feeling like momentum.

This is the kind of system we build for advisors. Not quick wins or cold traffic campaigns. Systems that are human first, scalable second. Systems that feel like you, work while you’re not in the room, and connect with the people you actually want to serve.

If that’s what you want, we’re here to help.

Want your content to actually sound like you and attract the right clients because of it?

Download our Brand Voice Framework to learn how to define your message, differentiate yourself, and build trust through every word you publish.