Looking for a new strategy? Take to the air waves

by Katie Bird

Glenn Wiggle

It’s not always easy to find an innovative and effective way to reach financial clients, but financial advisor Glenn Wiggle of Independent Solutions Wealth Management, LLC has done just that with his Financial Guys Radio Show, co-hosted by partner Mike Lomas. To build his brand and attract customers he employed the strategy of sending direct mailers; but eventually he realized that seminars were a more viable option because it allowed for better interaction with a larger pool of people. However, Glenn wanted to go further.

He knew of other local financial radio shows in the Buffalo, NY area that were successful. “The radio show light bulb went off,” he says. “If they can do it, so can we—and we can do it better.” While the show is currently the number one financial talk show in western New York and has held the spot for several years, things did not start out so smoothly. The show began as a strictly financial program, discussing stocks, bonds, mutual funds and more. One day, Glenn asked the opinion of a visitor who happened to be in the studio during the show. “She said it sounded like three advisors talking in a room. It was boring radio,” he says. It was time for a change.

By studying other popular radio shows, Glenn learned a very important lesson: “It has to be a good show first. I realized other shows made it entertaining, so I decided we needed to use different topics to get people interested.” The ensuing change of platform created the top-ranking show we hear today. The current Financial Guys Radio Show covers a variety of topics, from hot-button political issues to interesting news and current events. “We make it a good show first, then pepper in financial questions,” Glenn says. The topics stick to a conservative beat and turn what’s going on in the political and local scenes into a discussion about finance.

Guest speakers and experts frequent the show as well. According to Glenn, they get regular requests for appearances from local politicians, money managers and business leaders from the community. Featured guests include Congressman Brian Higgins and New York State Assembly member Jim Hayes. Through the interactions with these guests and the listeners who call in, The Financial Guys have benefitted from widespread name recognition. With a recognizable name, Glenn explains that you can use it to your advantage. He says there are three key ways to utilize the exposure radio provides, such as leveraging it for news interviews. “We are the go-to guys. Other shows may take our clips and play them on other broadcasts for both TV and radio,” he says. The second and third factors are to use the show to increase your contact base and meet other business members of the community. “We meet people we wouldn’t meet otherwise—we get to know people in our town,” he says.

But perhaps the most important result of the radio show has to do with the business side of things. “We were at $20 million in assets under management when we started, we are at $580 million now,” Glenn says. The show accomplishes this by reaching the right people. The audience consists of 10,000-15,000 listeners age 25 and up. More importantly, the majority of listeners are baby boomers. “These are exactly the clients that we want, the people who are looking to retire,” he says.

Aside from the show bringing in clients and growing their connections with the community, Glenn enjoys having a platform through which he can discuss pertinent and entertaining topics. He says, “It feels good to be able to get on air and have an audience to speak to, it’s been a lot of fun. People recognize my name and say they love the show. We have great listeners and it’s been a great time.” While the show has been going strong for the past 12 years, it is about to experience some changes. “We are about to start a new show in Florida which begins the first Saturday in July,” Glenn explains. This summer, The Financial Guys Radio Show will also take to the Florida air waves, but will be the same format. Mike Lomas will stay with the show in New York while Glenn moves to The Sunshine State permanently. The two plan to call in to each other’s shows.

The Financial Guys Radio Show is a great example of thinking outside the financial world box. Creativity is an essential component of any outreach strategy, and Glenn’s show is one example of how it pays off. If you’d like to catch The Financial Guys Radio Show, tune into WBEN Saturdays at 2 p.m., or visit http://www.wben.com/ for live stream.