You will gain in the long run by listening, and even pushing yourself to do something you may not be entirely comfortable with.
4. Consider the external events that provide reasons to contact clients.
There are many of these this year, such as Brexit finally happening on January 31, then the planned end of the transition period on December 31 2020, the Tokyo Olympics, and the US presidential election.
Each of these can and will have an impact on investments in the relevant countries, and the currency for each country, both of which can provide opportunities or threats to portfolios exposed to them.
If you are getting in touch with clients at the right time to offer advice and information then you should get more business, and it takes less time than you might think.
To be effective, you need to put yourself in their position to understand their motivations to act, and talk to those in any communications.
5. Expand your marketing horizons.
If you do not spend time liaising with journalists on trade or even local papers, then make 2020 the year that you change that.
There are a number of things you need to be prepared to do, primarily answer queries in a short period of time. But there are ways you can make the process easier.
Most journalists will be grateful for you emailing your quotes, for example, as it means they can literally strip them into a piece.
The benefit to you is that you have time to craft the words you want to use and there is no fear of being misquoted, which is one of the main reasons IFAs are reluctant to speak to journalists.
This is a great way to raise your profile if you are prepared to have an opinion and to put some time into getting involved in the discussion.
Companies quoted in the press have a higher profile and are usually seen as more authoritative by potential clients.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of ways you can help your promotional efforts this year, but it provides a decent start for any advisers who think they could do a little better at it.
Happy New Year.
Alison Steed is a freelance journalist
