[Disclaimer: this article includes references to actual marketing activities created by my firm. I cite them to illustrate effective use of psychological communication in the financial industry.]

After twenty years of writing and analyzing marketing in the financial industry, and after studying communication psychology for nearly as long, I've seen some things that probably impede your success! So, let me draw a few analogies:

1. If we approached football like we do our marketing, Barry Switzer would still be coaching the Dallas Cowboys.
2. If we approached eating like we do our marketing, we'd be relying on jerky and hardtack.
3. If we approached sex like we do marketing, we'd all be frustrated and the birth rate would disappear!

The point is – the financial industry seems to be really good at either holding onto the wrong tool or using it in the wrong way. While, I applaud the financial professionals brave enough to actually conduct marketing, they've been given some really bad direction, and for a really long time. I don't like seeing good people get set up to fail.

Isn't it about time we had a serious talk about the birds and bees of marketing communication? Isn't it time to take a hard look at what doesn't work, why, and what to do about it?