The Personal Profile Interview

What exactly is the PPI?

The PPI is a 4-page printed interview done in short Q&A format that tells your full story in the most interesting and compelling way.  It’s a totally unique item with unlimited shelf-life…and it’s easy and fun to do! 

How are advisors using this?

The biggest way is as a handout for live or virtual workshops  where it can dramatically increase the number and quality of appointments you generate from your events.  There are many other uses too, and I’ll explain that in a second. 

Why does this work so well for workshops? 

In a live or virtual workshop, your goal is to impart some valuable wisdom to your audience, but it’s also to set appointments and drive business.  To do that you need to create a personal and professional bond with that audience.  And if you do it well, you should be setting appointments with at least 50% to 75% of the attendees.

BUT…(and this is very important!) 

You can’t take a lot of time to talk about yourself.  In fact, if you do a giant commercial about you, your team, your unique process, etc.,  you come across as way too salesy and your business results suffer badly.   So the question becomes: How can you tell your full story in a compelling and exciting way that lets the audience know what makes you special and different and why they should come to see you?  That’s exactly what the PPI does! And what’s more amazing is that it does it better than you ever could by telling your story live.   

How would I use it with my workshops? 

In a live event, you would give it to people as part of their kit when they come in or email it before the workshop starts. For virtual workshops, you could email it in advance or as part of your post-event follow-up. Then during the event, you might say something like this:

“Folks…the goal of our workshop tonight is to share some critical ideas about “Taxes in Retirement” (or whatever your topic is) and we have a lot of valuable information to cover.”  

“The purpose of tonight is NOT to do a massive commercial about myself.  If you would like to know more about me and my team, please read the interview that’s included in your packet.”   

“I think you will be quite intrigued by our story.  It might help you understand how we do things at The Smith Group and why I am here tonight teaching this critical important subject.” 

That’s pretty much all you need to say.  They will read your PPI because they are truly interested to know who you are and because you graciously did NOT waste their time to blow your own horn.  Also because they are sitting there with nothing to do before you start talking. 

If its an interview, who is the interviewer?

The friendliest “reporter” you will ever find…ME!  I will ask you all the questions you are just dying to answer about yourself, your team, how you do business, what makes you special and different from other advisors.   We can talk about anything, no subject is off limits.  This is YOUR story.  We can talk about your family and your personal history (prospects love that!).  You can share life stories about the formative experiences you’ve had growing up or even things you did in a previous career.  The goal is to build a bond with your prospects, and when they read your story…that’s the inevitable result. 

But print is so old-fashioned!

Wrong!  Print actually enhances your stature and credibility.  And because printed material is permanent, it gives you one major benefit that no other format can match… REPITITION!   People will read and RE-READ segments of your interview several times.  (You’re probably doing it right now subconsciously!)  That’s why we design the interview in a short Question & Answer format, which is the most readable structure there is.  The PPI allows people to absorb your story at their pace.  There’s no rush for you to hurry up.  This relaxing experience coupled with the “Re-Read Factor” is extremely powerful and can only be done with a well-written printed piece. 

How do we conduct the interview?

There are two ways.  First, we could do it live over the phone (which is fun).  I will record the entire conversation, create the interview and send you a draft for approval.   Second, you could pick whichever questions you like and write your answers in a Word Doc.  I will create the interview based on that and send it back to you for approval.  Most advisors choose the phone option because writing takes more time. But it’s your choice and either way works fine.

What kinds of questions will you ask me? 

You can see some of the basic “Sample Questions” on the following pages, but the best interviews flow from the things you say and it’s my job to illuminate the most intriguing parts of your story.  Often these are things that you might think are trivial, but told in an interesting way they become very compelling to an audience. 

Like what for example?

Many advisors tend to downplay their professional skills or the most fascinating parts of their personal life because they don’t want to sound like they’re bragging.  But there are ways to phrase the questions or highlight the most remarkable qualities about you without coming across as self-aggrandizing.  

Also, people love to hear about experiences you may have had in a prior career.  If you did something else before becoming an advisor, we can play up those valuable life lessons and skills and talk about how they inform and guide your work today.  It can be a very rich story angle! 

What about personal information? 

Prospects love to know more about you, your family, your roots in the community, the groups you might belong to or support.  They like to see you as one of them, a friendly neighbor and someone who understands their world.  So we try to highlight some of those aspects if appropriate.   

But my story is really boring and ordinary.

I guarantee that your story is far more fascinating than you imagine.  You just think it’s dull because you’ve lived with it all your life.  I will find and highlight the best parts.   Look, people don’t expect you to be a rock-star.  But I guarantee that there are parts of your professional or personal story that can be extremely compelling if crafted correctly.  It’s my job to make you look great!  But in case you really ARE massively dull and I absolutely can’t find anything interesting about you…you don’t pay!

So what does the PPI cost?

The PPI is $1,600 and you don’t pay until it’s all done!

What about Compliance?

We have a 100% track record with Compliance and have never failed to get approval on a PPI, even with some insane firms like wirehouses and banks.  And if your people don’t approve it…you don’t pay!  So there’s zero risk to you.   Actually, Compliance loves this process because I’m not some nasty reporter trying to catch you in a scandal.  I will make them happy and I’ve never missed!  

What about pictures?

Pictures are very important and I’ll take anything you have about you, your team, your office, you speaking at a workshop, your company working at a charity event, you doing your radio show or enjoying a favorite hobby…etc.  

Can I include family pictures? 

Absolutely…family pictures are fabulous!  They humanize you to the audience and get them to like and trust you as both a professional and a person.

How many pictures do we need?    A typical PPI will use 5 or 6 photos, but it’s better to send me several to choose from. You can upload them to DropBox or send a SD card and I will return it to you. 

Can I use pictures from my website?

Sure…but we want you in the photo.  Have someone take some shots with a decent camera and I will edit them as necessary. 

Can we customize the PPI for different audiences?

Now you’re thinking.  Absolutely YES!  And that’s another major benefit.  You can focus your PPI for a specific target market.  We’ve done PPIs for advisors who specialize in certain demographic groups, specific companies, industries, professions and communities.  Any group you want to work with can be the focus of the interview.  Or you can do separate, customized interviews for a small additional fee.  

What are some other ways to use the PPI besides seminars and workshops?

Basically you’re going to want to send the PPI out to everyone you know and meet for the rest of your career.  You could use it as a stand-alone direct mail piece or as part of a target campaign we call “The Binder Strategy.”  This is a very focused program directed at high net-worth “elephant” prospects that is producing remarkable results.    The PPI should also be part of your “Referral Guide.”  And you should send to every client as well…because most of your existing people would love to learn more about you.   

Can I put the PPI on my website?

Yes. The PPI can be formatted to be used as a blog post or article.  But it usually works best as a downloadable pdf file.  

Can I send my PPI to the local press or magazines? 

Absolutely!  Local press is always looking for well written content.  One advisor had a regional magazine run it as a story in one of their issues that went out to over 100,000 people! 

What will I receive when the piece is done?

You will get a high-resolution PDF of the interview that you can take to a local printer and print as many as you like.  I can also print the copies for you for an extra fee.  But it’s probably faster to go local.  

Can I make changes if I need to? 

Yes…and we can usually do them within 24 hours.  Maybe you hire a new teammate, move, or change phone numbers.  Whatever the change…it’s easy to do and most are totally free. 

How long does it take to do a PPI?  

I can usually get you a first draft in less than two weeks.  How long Compliance takes is anyone’s guess.  But I know what they’re looking for and approval is usually very quick.

Why have I never seen this before? 

Mainly because I invented it and this takes some skill to do well.  Also, you want someone who knows something about our profession to write your interview.  An outsider wouldn’t be able to identify the most valuable parts of your story and craft them into a great piece for prospects and clients. 

What if I have other advisors on my team?  Can we all do one piece for the group?

Sure…we can do a group interview and write it as one “team voice” or attribute specific answers.  It can be fun to get different perspectives and styles in an interview. 

Couldn’t I just publish my own interview?

Not really.  Plus it would be kind of strange to ask and answer all the questions yourself.  Having an independent third party actually interview you and write the article carries a lot more weight and credibility and makes you look more impressive. 

How can I get started?

Just call me or email me and we will set up a 15-minute call to answer all your questions and get a feel for the direction you might like to take the piece.  Then we’ll get you on the calendar for the recording.  It’s totally painless.  

Can I see some other samples?

Yes…just to download some samples of other PPI’s just click on this link:  PPI EXAMPLES   

They will give you a sense of what’s possible and what other advisors have done.  

What if I have more questions? 

Call me at 919-329-2723 or email frank@maselligroup.com anytime.  I’m eager to help you!