A practical playbook for advisors to build their brand

Advisors don’t compete on product alone. You compete on trust, clarity, and the stories clients tell about working with you. Matt Butters, Vice President, MGA Distribution at People Corporation, and host of the ‘18 Minute Experts’ podcast spoke with Robin Bailey (Aria Benefits) and Hannah Gilmore (manager of brand strategy at People Corporation) about building a memorable advisory brand through storytelling, consistency, and a client-first experience.

Why brand matters in a parity market

Group benefits can look interchangeable to buyers. Brand is how you translate invisible value - your process, behaviour, and reliability - into something clients can feel and recognize. Brand is more than logos and colours. It’s the emotional connection your work creates and the perception you consistently reinforce across every interaction. For advisors, that’s a robust differentiator when pricing and plan designs converge.

What advisors can learn from Robin Bailey’s journey

Robin’s path will feel familiar: carrier-side experience, a shift to brokerage, and then a deliberate effort to make the firm’s benefits capability visible and distinct. The change from a general financial brand to a benefits-focused brand (Aria Benefits) shows that clarity is key. If prospects must dig to learn what you actually do best, your brand is leaving equity on the table. The conversation (which you can listen to here on Episode 4 of the podcast) also highlights how a content platform (in his case, a podcast) can compound brand reach when it reflects your real client experience.

Hannah Gilmore’s branding lens: Start with authentic story

Hannah anchors brand decisions - down to colour choices - in personal meaning and honest self-reflection. The point isn’t aesthetics; it’s alignment. When your visual identity, messages, and behaviour share the same roots, clients sense coherence. That coherence builds familiarity and trust over time. For advisors, this suggests a sequence: define the story, then design the system (visuals, messages, cadence) that keeps that story consistent in market.

5 practical steps to building your brand as an advisor

1. Write your three-year “vivid vision”. Define, in concrete terms, what you want the firm to look and feel like in three years - revenue mix, client profile, service rhythm, community presence. This becomes your brand blueprint and decision filter.

2. Articulate a client experience promise. Spell out how clients should feel after meetings, during renewals, and when issues hit. Build internal rituals (response times, renewal choreography, stakeholder updates) that make that promise real and repeatable.

3. Choose a flagship channel and show up consistently. Long-form conversations (podcast, video interviews, webinars) are powerful in benefits because they transfer credibility and reveal your style. Commit to a cadence you can sustain and let the format amplify client stories - less pitch, more proof.

4. Tell stories that prove partnership. Case narratives about responsiveness, problem-solving, and shared wins communicate more than feature lists. Capture moments where you acted as a partner, not a transaction - then repurpose them across your site, proposals, and social.

5. Align the inside with the outside. Brands crack when client-facing promises don’t match internal behaviours. Document your service model, coach the team on tone and standards, and celebrate examples where teammates embody the brand. Consistency beats slogans.

Small moves that matter to build your brand

Audit your presence. Does your website, LinkedIn, and proposal deck clearly lead with your benefits value? Remove anything that dilutes that message.

Capture three client stories. Focus on the human problem, your approach, and the outcome. Publish one, save two for proposals and talks.

Set a content cadence. Pick a monthly interview or insight format and book the first three guests or topics now. Momentum beats perfection.

In a business built on relationships, brand is the system that carries your reputation when you’re not in the room. When your system is rooted in an authentic story, a clearly defined experience, and the discipline to show up the same way, everywhere you’ll grow trust, referrals, and resilience.

Listen to episode 4 of ‘18 Minute Experts’ with Robin Bailey and Hannah Gilmore for the full discussion and practical examples you can apply to your advisory brand today.