The not-for-profit world is facing its worst crisis in generations. Endowment values are down more than 25% in many organizations*, contributions are declining**, budgets are being slashed and personnel are being let go in record numbers.
As a result, many CFOs, CIOs and endowment investment committee members are looking for guidance and solutions from their banks, investment advisors, and asset management companies. Those companies that can provide this help are more likely to retain these clients, even in times of sub-performance.
What do not-for-profits want? Veteran institutional marketing professional Jeff Briskin can tell you.
For more than 15 years, Jeff Briskin has helped some of America's leading financial services companies win new business and increase market share through effective, client-focused marketing based on extensive research into the needs and attitudes of retirement and not-for-profit investors.
As the project lead for Bank of America’s trailblazing 2008 Bank of America Study of High Net-Worth Philanthropy, he helped change the way not-for-profit organizations and financial advisors cultivate their most important benefactors.
Jeff has leveraged this research experience to conduct a survey of CIOs and endowment investment committee board members in more than 100 not-for-profit institutions ranging from $5 million to $170 million in assets. These organizations include social service agencies, hospitals, educational institutions, and cultural organizations.
Unlike other surveys, which focus mainly on investment performance, Jeff’s research zeroes in on the psychological factors that affect decision-making—factors that could affect your ability to win new business and retain existing clients. Jeff is willing to meet with members of your sales and new business development team to share some of these findings at no-cost.
A sample of some of the insights Jeff will provide:
- Nearly 80% have changed or plan to change two managers in 2009; a little over 30% have changed or will change 3-5 managers
- Nearly 60% have revised their investment policy statement in 2009, and more than 42% intend to do so soon before the year is through
- Nearly one in five plan to fire traditional product-oriented investment consultants and delegate investment management decisions to an outside advisors
- While meeting total return goals is still a key concern for endowment managers, its importance has lessened between 2008 and 2009, while "meeting spending needs," "conducting proper due diligence" and minimizing reputational risk have become far more serious concerns than they have been in the past
- While performance is still the most important consideration for selecting asset managers, not-for-profits are giving greater consideration to managers who can provide fiduciary advice and insights. can clearly articulate their investment process, provide exceptional client service, and use sales processes that focus on the needs of clients, rather than branding and products.
Jeff can offer you advice on how to apply these and other findings to help your company gain and retain clients more effectively—and what warning signs you must look out for that could lead to attrition.
About Briskin Consulting and Jeff Briskin
Briskin Consulting provides strategic marketing and sales process optimization services to help asset managers and investment advisors gain and retain clients more effectively.
The company was founded by veteran marketing professional Jeff Briskin, who has developed innovative marketing strategies, ecommerce initiatives, sales campaigns, interactive marketing initiatives, and training programs for some of America’s largest financial services companies, including Bank of America, Fidelity Investments, Pioneer Investments, and Columbia Management.
Jeff's ‘end to end marketing’ approach combines client research, opportunity analysis, value proposition development, sales process re-engineering and integrated online/offline marketing communications to help asset management companies deliver solutions that reflect each client’s unique challenges and opportunities.
Please contact Jeff at jeffbriskin@hotmail.com to set up a time for him to present findings from his survey to your sales and client service team.
*According to the 2008 NACUBO Endowment Study and 2008 NACUBO-Commonfund Endowment Study Follow-up Survey, the average endowment declined 22.9% in 2008, and those with between $500 million-$1 billion declined 25.5%.
**According to Giving USA 2008, contributions declined 2% between 2007 and 2008, the first decline since 1987.
No comments:
Post a Comment