TOPICS WE WILL COVER
3 CONTEXT
4 OUR AUDIENCE SEGMENTS
10 VISION, MISSION, PURPOSE AND STORY
15 VALUE PROPOSITIONS
20 WHO WE ARE: BRAND ARCHETYPE
28 WHO WE ARE: BRAND PERSONALITY
34 KEY MESSAGING FRAMEWORK
After working for decades as a Senior Account Manager for the financial giant Transamerica, Ro Morrison had developed a strong reputation and established wide-ranging relationships with banks, regional and independent firms, and big investment firms. Ro left her company in 2011. Due to her strong industry relationships, colleagues and clients frequently contacted Ro asking for speaker recommendations. Sensing a need, Ro began formed a speakers bureau specifically focused on the finance industry.
A brilliant sales “scientist” (warmly referred to as “The Professor”), Chris Dungworth had experienced a meteoric rise in his career. After quickly entering the ranks of senior management, Chris also struck out on his own in 2011. A mutual friend connected Chris and Ro, and their interests seemed to perfectly align. Chris was intrigued with the idea of embedding sales metrics and an ROI process into Ro’s concept for a speaker’s bureau.
Ro Morrison was and still is unique—there is no other speakers bureau focused specifically on financial services. Other speaker bureaus have a difficult time navigating the needs and lexicon of the industry, whereas Ro Morrison is fluent and intimately acquainted with the needs of firms and financial advisors.
The firm bears Ro’s name to leverage her reputation and connections within the industry. In the first five years, Ro Morrison has gained all of its clientele primarily through word of mouth—a testament to the firm’s excellent service and resultsdriven approach.
WHO WE EXIST FOR
These are Asset Managers, Mutual Fund Companies, Insurance Companies, and other Product Carriers who manufacture an investment product. Larger distributors typically have in-house “value-add” departments that focus on education, training and supporting revenue growth. While they do not need to hire out for professional development, they do need help making connections to increase sales and ultimately revenue. It’s harder and harder for these companies to get face time with their desired audience—financial advisors. They leverage events to gain access to desired clients. They may book 50-100 speakers over the course of the year.
Salespeople at large distributors are primarily wholesalers. They use their knowledge and familiarity with the industry to market investment products to financial advisors. They are serviced by their company’s value-add department.
Managerial staff run value-add programs and organize events to foster connections with their target market.
• Supporting sales growth.
• Getting access to quality clients.
• Driving product/selling product
• Building relationships
• Client acquisition
• Top advisor client retention
• Building their brand
• Organizing quality events and staying within budget.
• Getting help with speaker logistics
• Value-Add solutions
WHO WE EXIST FOR
These are Asset Managers, Mutual Fund Companies, Insurance Companies, and other Product Carriers who manufacture an investment product. Small to mid-size distributors are less likely to have “value-add” departments. These companies look for contractors to assist with education and training. They also need help making connections with financial advisors to increase sales and expand revenue.
These salespeople are primarily wholesalers using their knowledge and familiarity with the industry to market investment products to financial advisors.
• It’s harder and harder for these companies to get face time with financial advisors. It is almost impossible for them to break into broker firms like Meryll Lynch.
• These companies struggle to connect their salespeople/ wholesalers with financial advisors. They often organize big events (with speakers) as a way to attract advisors and forge relationships. They are keen to make connections with advisors after the event.
• These companies may organize smaller conferences and be looking for a suite of 3-5 speakers that can “fit together” to build understanding around a financial product or topic.
• Driving product/selling product
• Building relationships
• Client acquisition
• Top advisor client retention
• Building their brand
• Getting their name out there. As a smaller company they have to show “Value” in different ways compared to the large companies with longer track records
Broker-dealers can range from large to small firms, wirehouses and regionals, banks, and independent firms. Larger brokerdealers, such as Merrill Lynch, have a more rigid corporate structure and can be challenging to “break in” to serve them.
Smaller brokerage firms offer greater flexibility as potential clients for our company. They may have a “mom and pop” feel or position themselves as boutique firms. They may be independent fiduciaries and have a more committed stance to serve the best interests of their clients. Smaller brokers may have only a handful of people in the office. Because they typically lack a “value-add” department, they stay current by attending national conferences and planning regional trainings. They may want to book a coach or trainer for on-site professional development for their staff.
A broker-dealer is a company that trades securities for its own account or on behalf of customers. Although many brokerdealers are “independent” firms, many others are business units or subsidiaries of commercial banks, investment banks, or investment companies.
When executing trade orders on behalf of a customer, the institution is acting as a broker. When executing trades for its own account, the institution is acting as a dealer
• Staying abreast of industry products and developments.
• Offering continued professional development to support revenue generation.
• Finding quality coaches and trainers for firm trainings.
• Getting the most benefit out of conferences and regional trainings.
• Support top producer conferences
We want to redefine the role a speakers bureau should play in our industry. We want to strategically deliver a ROSI—Return on Speaker Investment—by driving more growth from speaker events.
As change agents, we will change our industry’s definition of a successful speaker event. We will show our clients that a carefully-selected speaker and customized post-event strategy can drive continued engagement and growth. We will prove that the true success of an event is measured in what happens afterwards—in the conversations, connections and resulting business.
We will leverage our industry connections and marry our knowledge of the financial industry with our expertise in sales metrics, business development, and customer relationship management to support our industry.
We will change how our industry plans events by offering a single point of contact to book compelling speakers and design added value. We will serve as trusted stewards, maximizing our clients’ speaker and training budgets. We will help our clients find the perfect speaker and employ customized actions to achieve a ROSI.
We
We bring our extensive experience in the industry to benefit our fellow professionals. We develop rich speaker experiences expanded with pre- and post-event activities. We vet and partner with select speakers whose content and communication are genuinely compelling and relevant to financial industry professionals. We want to make a difference by helping brokers, asset managers and product distributors grow professionally and enhance their business.
“We exist to leverage your company events for long term impact— by building off the inspiration of quality speaker presentations and then implementing strategic post-event action steps that improve the way your people grow their influence, increase sales, and drive new revenue.”
We can’t stand the thought of a company scrambling to find, schedule and pay for a speaker—and have the whole experience feel “blah.” Our industry deserves a better experience, so we’re striving to redefine the standard. We book speakers that can meet your specific goals. We personally vet our speakers to ensure they can electrify and enlighten your audience. We generate excitement, and then we build on that excitement with tailored action steps to accelerate engagement and professional growth. The ultimate outcome should be seeing your business grow.
We are finely attuned to the needs of the financial services industry. We serve as a trusted single point of contact for easy booking. We stay current on industry developments and book relevant speakers to deliver greater value. We ensure your company’s investment is money well spent.
We help our clients create speaker experiences that go above but also beyond the event with a singular focus to generate revenue.
The financial industry lives by the term ROI—Return on Investment. As an innovative speakers bureau for the industry, we live by it too. We believe a speaker should do more than just inspire and inform your audience. We believe your company should experience a positive ROSI—Return on Speaker Investment. We select proven, dynamic speakers to educate and energize your attendees and then strategically harness that energy to produce the results you want. We use sales metrics to develop tailored, goal-driven post-event content and action steps for your attendees. Whether you want to foster client connections, boost your team’s knowledge, or increase sales, we help you meet your goals— at no extra cost. It’s time to think beyond booking a speaker and start thinking about your ROSI. And then think Ro Morrison & Associates.
The goal of the Value Proposition Canvas is to aid in the design and definition of great value propositions that match the need of our audience segments and their respective jobs-to-be-done and helps them solve their problems. This is what the start-up scene calls productmarket fit or problem-solution fit. The Value Proposition Canvas helps us work towards this fit in a more systematic way.*
*Source: Strategyzer.com
PRODUCT & SERVICES
• Single point of contact
• Industry Specialists
• Custom Programs
• Fresh Perspective/Ideas
• SpeakerConnect®
• ROI Focused
• Consultative Approach
• Benefit from our Speaker Network/Relationships
• Experts in compliance
• Understand your customer’s needs
• Manage negotiations
• No cost
• Wholesaler training
• Get speaker for their own conference/due diligence conference
• Get speaker for Broker-Dealer conference
• Get speaker for road show
• Leadership training
• Save time
• Meet budgetary needs
• Execute a successful event
• Increase sales (post-event)
• Better social status/reputation
• Effective training programs/ protocols
• Meet budget expectations
• Find a speaker
• Handle all logistics
• Advisor accessibility process
• Bring them “value-add” solutions
• Sales growth
• Client acquisition
• Client access
• Secure “quality” wholesaler appointments
• More quality options (speakers/topics)
• Message didn’t fit the audience
• Audience left indifferent and uninspired
• Embarrassment
• Do all the work themselves
• No ROI
• Not worth the money
• Bad speaker presentation
• We don’t cost extra
• Pre-event & post-event strategy
• Deliver new speaker/ program options
• Optimal ROI
• Strategic partner connections
• Turnkey program
• We find the best possible speaker
• Provide you a competitive advantage
• Build out your speaker bureau
• Internal recognition/ reward
• Be seen as a problem solver
• Be seen as a thought leader
• ROI
• Stronger relationships
• Deliver real value to clients
• Increased sales
• Often done at a lower cost than not having RMA involved
• Single point of contact
• Industry specialists
• Custom programs
• Fresh Perspective/Ideas
• SpeakerConnect®
• ROI/ROSI focused
• Consultative approach
• Benefit from our speaker network/relationships
• Experts in compliance
• Understand your customer’s needs
• Manage negotiations
• Can find any speaker
• Advisor training
• Get speaker for their own conference
• Get speaker for road show
• Leadership training
• Find program a sponsor would love to support
• Save time
• Meet budgetary needs
• Execute a successful event
• Client/consumer event
• Increase sales (post-event)
• Better social status/reputation
• Effective training programs/ protocols
• Build a multi-speaker program for a conference where all the speakers connect
• Select speakers to open and close a conference, then have a post-event 90-day program
• Meet budget expectations
• Find a speaker
• Bring a sponsor to the table
• Handle all the logistics
• Client acquisition
• More quality options (speakers/topics)
• Sales growth
• Bring them “value-add” solutions
• Message didn’t fit the audience
• Audience left indifferent and uninspired
• Embarrassment
• Do all the work themselves
• Pay for the speaker themselves
• No ROI
• Not worth the money
• Bad speaker presentation
• We don’t cost extra
• Pre-event & post-event strategy
• Deliver new speaker/ program options
• Optimal ROI
• Proactively secure sponsor
• Turnkey program
• We find the best possible speaker
• Provide you a competitive advantage
• Help build the agenda
• Provide multiple speakers to fill multiple needs
• Internal recognition/ reward
• Be seen as a problem solver
• Be seen as a thought leader
• ROI
• Stronger relationships
• Deliver real value to clients
• Increased sales
• Stand out from the competition/crowd
To give us a deeper understanding of how our brand is relevant to our audiences, we mine archetypes found in literature, psychology and story. By identifying the archetypes that reflect us, we can better understand the role our brand plays in the life and customer journey of our audience segments.
“An archetype is a character-type that recurs in different times and places so frequently or prominently as to suggest that it embodies some essential element of ‘universal’ human experience.”
(Adapted from The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms)
“An archetype is a universally familiar character that transcends time, place, gender, and age. It represents an eternal truth.”
Jon Howard-Spink, Planning Director at Mustoe Merriman Levy
For all of our clients, we locate the perfect speaker to present on a desired topic. We personally vet our speakers to make sure they are engaging, knowledgeable, and able to generate genuine excitement. We start with their desired outcome and work backwards to make the matchmaking process simple, serving as a company’s single point of contact to access top-notch speakers from across the country.
Ro Morrison is a Matchmaker to all audiences.
A strategic intermediary who reduces risk and fear of rejection while building relationships.
By focusing first and foremost on desired outcomes, we place the right speaker with the right message for the right audience every time.
Driven by a core belief to create mutually beneficial relationships.
We believe in creating mutually beneficial connections between your brand and the best speakers in our industry.Work to keep the path clear on the way to home ownership
Able to spot patterns and make connections between presumably unrelated traits.
Keeping our focus on your desired outcomes, we find memorable speaker-to-audience fits that other firms miss.
Always on the lookout for opportunities, synergies and intersection points.
Stays behind the scenes and maintains a high degree of confidentiality and discretion.
Loyal to you first: our goal is your company’s growth. We look for opportunities to maximize your budget.
We champion you and your needs. We take on the workload and logistics so you can look like the hero.
Examples: eHarmony, TheDeal.com, DonorsChoose.org, the movie Amélié, and Jane Austen’s Emma.
The Engineer is curious and looks to find solutions to everyday problems. Eminently practical, this archetype converts creative energy into practical expression, and is results driven and delivery oriented. Interested in patterns, the Engineer demonstrates the value of a structured approach to problem solving. This archetype prefers to work methodically, to stay calm and to avoid intuitive leaps. The Engineer is a good team player, placing high value on collective work that is focused toward an outcome. At its core, the Engineer is a systems specialist.
Ro Morrison is an Engineer to the Product Distributor.
Looks to find solutions to everyday problems.
Utilizing our SpeakerConnect® process, we go beyond just finding you a speaker. We find a true fit by matching your speaker to your desired outcome.
Converts creative energy in practical expression, and is results driven and delivery oriented.
Believes that a structured approach is the best solution to any problem.
The successful execution of an event is not a good enough result. We pioneer actionable post-event strategies that contribute immediately to business growth.
A great team player who places high value on collective work that is focused toward an outcome.
Informed by sales metrics and ROI, we craft pre- and postevent strategies to leverage speaker presentations for ongoing audience impact. We work seamlessly with key members of your team. We optimize our collective efforts to maximize ROSI?
Devoted to making things work to the absolute best of their ability.
Any firm can find you a speaker. We find speakers that best accomplish your desired outcomes.
Examples: Dyson, Bill Gates, Howard Roark, Applied Materials, and Alexander Calder.
The Companion is a trusted support who can be relied upon to lend a helping hand. Offering assistance, order and a sense of belonging, the Companion holds a deep respect for each person’s value and inherent worth. The Companion is essentially a friend and confidante, offering help and listening without measure or judgment. Typically good-natured, the Companion is a comrade through the ups and downs of life. This archetype enables freedom by being the wind beneath the wings of others.
Ro Morrison is a Companion to the Broker/Dealer and Distribution company.
Trustworthy and deeply loyal.
Values the actual doing or use of something, rather than the theory or idea.
We value quality over quantity and seek long-term partnerships. We place your success above ours.
Rather than just hoping for ROSI, we optimize your ROSI potential through our SpeakerConnect® process.
Detail-oriented and determined.
We attend to every detail so you and your employees can enjoy an unforgettable speaker presentation.
Believes deeply in the value of all people.
In an industry that often undervalues both people and communication, we take a stand by deeply valuing both.
Empowers other to experience greater freedom.
We free up your plate by taking on the work of finding and booking speakers. You can relax knowing that every detail is covered, from pre to post event.
Examples: Lassie, Thelma & Louise, Anne Sullivan, Guide Dogs of America, Kiva.org, Zagat
WHO WE ARE AND WHO WE ARE NOT Our personality is defined through the lens of the customer. How do they perceive our company and our services?
(Our personality is not how we perceive ourselves internally.)
For clients faced with the daunting task of picking and booking a speaker, they can trust us to recommend an excellent speaker, attend to all of the details, and know that their event will be a success. We are not experimental, in the sense that we don’t take chances with speakers or an event’s outcomes. We carefully vet our speakers and use only speakers that we can enthusiastically recommend. We approach events strategically by determining the desired outcome, developing the most effective pre- and post-event actions, and picking the ideal speaker to drive our clients’ ROI.
There is a lot of distrust inherent in our industry. Many financial advisors are motivated by personal gain, and that motivation is naturally projected onto anyone serving the industry. We want clients to trust that, as industry experts, we have their best interests at heart. We want to educate them, motivate them and inspire them. We want our clients to know they can trust any speaker recommendation we give. They won’t be a guinea pig and suffer the boredom (or worse, the embarrassment) of paying for a mediocre speaker. They can also trust us to understand their particular challenges and their desired outcome (higher revenue).
We are niche, as we are focused on the financial services industry. We have an extensive experience and connections in this industry. No other speakers bureau thinks like we do or creates value like we do, because we understand our niche market so well. While we are focused on a specific industry, we are not small. We partner with an impressive number of speakers. We serve clients of all sizes, from modest firms to large brokerages. And we don’t think small—we aim to drive huge ROI for our clients.
We excel within our niche, because we best understand what financial service companies need. We understand the pain points and budgetary concerns of the staffer tasked with picking and booking a speaker for his or her firm. We deliver something far greater than a fabulous speaker. By understanding our niche, we deliver a stronger outcome by leveraging speakers to generate a higher ROI.
We are focused on understanding current challenges and opportunities facing our industry. We need to be current in order to select speakers that can bring the most value to our clients. We as a company lose relevance if we cannot illuminate what’s happening in our industry. We are not pessimistic. We believe education and inspiration can create magic. We believe in our ability to drive ROI. Our optimism springs from our confidence in our strategic approach.
The financial services industry must constantly adapt to new laws, regulations and guidelines. Professionals within the industry are motivated to stay current to prove their value, retain their clients’ trust, understand new investment risks and opportunities, and ultimately drive revenue. We provide more value to our clients when we deliver speakers that can shed light on the most pressing topics or current challenges facing our industry. We help our clients feel optimistic about creating a wildly-successful event, knowing that we will manage every detail and carefully plan action steps to drive ROI.
We offer clients a simple, straightforward and uncomplicated process for planning an event. We serve as a single point of contact to tap into a vast array of speakers. We offer clarity on how clients can leverage a speaker to achieve a higher level of return. We connect the dots between the outcome our clients want and the speaker they need. We offer a transparent accounting of how we spend our clients’ budgets. We are not basic. We provide speakers on a multitude of topics. We offer more than a typical speakers bureau by designing pre- and post-events—at no extra cost—to drive revenue.
They appreciate the simplicity of working with one firm to plan events that are anything but basic.
We are dependable, which creates the foundation for our clients’ trust. Clients can depend on us to understand their needs and spare them the headache while we take care of every detail. When you call on us, you can count on us. Clients can depend on us to make the process easy, stay within their budget, and deliver ROI. We are not an ordinary speakers bureau. We are intimately aware of what best serves our industry. We go the extra mile to vet speakers and plan pre- and post-event actions, unlike our competitors.
Our clients are busy. They don’t want to devote hours of precious time to finding and booking a speaker. They also see their responsibility as fraught with pitfalls. They want everything to go smoothly without stressful complications. They want to avoid the potential embarrassment of poor planning or a speaker not delivering a good performance. Clients want a bureau that’s dependable and will deliver and do everything as promised.
VISION
We want to redefine the role a speakers bureau should play in our industry. We want to strategically create a ROSI—Return on Speaker Investment—by leveraging more growth from speaker events.
CHARACTER
Matchmaker Engineer Companion
AUDIENCE SEGMENTS
Large-scale Product distributors
PERSONALITY
We are Trusted, never Experimental
We are Niche, never Small
We are Current, never Pessimistic
We are Simple, never Basic
We are Dependable, never Ordinary
Small-to-midrange Product distributors
Broker/dealers
We support the financial services industry with speakers that drive professional development and revenue growth.
We bring our extensive experience in the industry to benefit our fellow professionals. We develop rich speaker experiences expanded with pre- and post-event activities. We vet and partner with select speakers whose content and communication are genuinely compelling and relevant to financial industry professionals. We want to make a difference by helping brokers, asset managers and product distributors grow professionally and enhance their business.
• We find fresh, informative speakers geared to your needs thanks to our extensive speaker network. You get to be the hero.
• We spare you the hassle by serving as the single point of contact and handling all of the logistics.
• We select speakers that support your outcomes and use ROIfocused strategies to catalyze immediate sales growth.
• We stick within your budget to secure speakers, trainers and coaches. You also get pre-and post-event strategies to maximize ROI at no extra cost.
• We leverage your events to access new clients and drive revenue growth.
• We treat every event as the important project it is.
We’re a value-added speakers bureau for the financial industry. We select great speakers and follow up with post-event actions that spark immediate business growth.
We leverage decades of experience and deep connections in the financial services industry to create a unique speakers bureau focused exclusively on our industry. We partner with an impressive number of relevant, exciting and engaging speakers. We apply our expertise in sales metrics to select speakers and develop post-event content and actions that deliver a ROSI (Return on Speaker Investment) that boosts your bottom line.
• We provide speakers for advisor/leadership training, conferences, road shows or consumer events.
• We work within your budget, save you time, and handle all of the logistics.
• We make you look good. We increase your reputation by delivering inspiring, relevant speakers.
• We deliver more than just a speaker. We craft pre- and postaction events to drive engagement, win clients, and increase your post-event revenue.