Audrey Rush Green, CEO of Yesu2Can Financial Consulting Group has a big dream — to improve financial health for under-served populations. Her goal is to help urban minorities, who have historically been outside the purview of finance due to factors such as high incidence of income below the poverty line, education, or geographic isolation.
“I wanted to see finance made simpler, and more straightforward,” Audrey said.
The company is headquartered in Plantation, FL and has operations across the United States.
During her prior seventeen-year career in the banking and retail industry, Audrey realized there are a million questions that go through people’s minds when it comes to being financially independent and understanding credit. The hardest part of not understanding finance is the public shame and the risk that comes from a lack of knowledge and information. So, she quit her job and embarked on a journey as an entrepreneur, becoming the principal founder of Yesu2can Financial Consulting Group.
New clients are drawn to Yesu2can Financial Consulting Group, Audrey said, because the company doesn’t make unrealistic promises or attempt to minimize the difficulty of a client’s situation. At the same time, she embraces her own troubled past to demonstrate that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Promotion is a big part of what Audrey does, especially since it can be hard to reach potential clients who have limited capital and networking opportunities. Since day one, her mission has been to deliver honest financial products that improve lives. That mission hasn’t changed—and it never will, said Audrey.
Since Yesu2can Financial Consulting Group opened for business in 2014, the company’s marketing solution has been to apply a mix of social media, door hangers, table tents, brochures, booklets, website, bookmarks, flyers, and other marketing outreach to spread the word.
Here are the marketing strategies Audrey swears by:
1. Build meaningful partnerships
Audrey has made it a priority to form strong partnerships with insurance brokers, realtors, mortgage brokers, and anyone else who can provide financial services or advice. Then, she brings these people together and uses their expertise to help her clients.
Sometimes, these partners send their own clients to Audrey. When this happens, she works with them, helps them understand the financial language, and sends them back with a better understanding of the financial system.
Through this win-win partnership, clients get a better grasp of their finances so that when they are ready to ask for a loan, they come from a more informed place.
The best practice, Audrey says, is to reach out to potential partners through emails and phone calls. Her go-to strategy is to make an appointment to meet face-to-face at the potential partner’s office. During the meeting, she explains who she is, what she does, and proposes a partnership plan.
Audrey stresses that it’s important to vet potential partners before you meet with them. After all, they’re going to be associated with your brand. So do your due diligence before you reach out. “Usually, we check their credit, look at their priorities, and then make the decision,” Audrey said.
2. Strategically post flyers
Flyers have improved customer awareness of Audrey’s business. She posts them in underprivileged neighborhoods and other areas where they are likely to be seen by people who can benefit from her services. Her go-to posting locations are restaurants and the post office.
Audrey and her team also visit local businesses and, with their permission, post flyers in their buildings. In these locations, she accompanies the flyers with plastic boxes that customers and other business owners can drop their business cards into. At the end of every month, she collects the cards and draws one to select the winner of a free consultation.
Audrey doesn’t have a set schedule for posting flyers. Instead, she posts when she feels it would be advantageous. For instance, if there’s an important event coming up, or if she has resources available to take on more clients.
PosterMyWall is Audrey’s secret weapon for flyer design. “It’s so versatile and easy-to-use, we don’t really have to look anywhere else,” she said.
3. Offer a free service or prize to entice new clients
Audrey incentivizes potential clients to drop their cards in the boxes by advertising a prize drawing for a free financial consultation and report. While many young businesses might hesitate to offer anything for free, Yesu2can Financial Consulting Group has secured many new clients using this strategy.
“Potential clients don’t know you or your company. At the start, they’re wondering if you’re the best fit for them. They only have one foot in the door. So, you need to provide that nudge to get them all the way in,” Audrey said.
Through the free consultation, Audrey demonstrates what her company is all about – and how valuable her services are.
Audrey ends her consultations by suggesting a personalized strategy to help the customer clean up their credit. “It marks the starting point of our client’s journey with us,” she said.
4. Send out periodic emails
Audrey routinely sends emails to potential partners and existing clients. However, she’s careful not to spam her list by sending emails too often.
“We only send out regular emails when we’ve connected with a business or if they’ve talked to us directly in the past,” Audrey said. In her emails, she tells people about her company, invites clients to networking events, and promotes special offers.
Audrey builds her email list through the business cards that people drop in her boxes, meticulous research into local businesses who may be interested in partnering with her, and sign-up sheets that are available for people who come in for free consultations.
5. Create a website and update it regularly
“A website is like the cover of a book – if you stare at it long enough, it gets boring. So we change our website almost every month,” Audrey said. The Yesu2Can Financial Consulting Group website is unique in that its design changes to reflect whatever holiday or event is going on.
Audrey maintains her website herself because she feels that no one knows a business better than the person who’s running it. She makes sure that every update showcases her vision.
She uses business flyers from PosterMyWall to keep the site updated for clients.
The Yesu2Can Financial Consulting Group website makes the company highly accessible to new clients. The site has a pop-up and a banner that allows clients to schedule a consultation in just a few steps.
6. Leverage video
Over the years, Audrey has discovered that her video promotions draw a lot of attention online. She says that video tends to be more focused and engaging, so it draws more attention than static images.
“I’ve realized that people hate reading. So, with flyers, you have to keep the words to a minimum. With video, however, you can get your message across in a much more holistic and engaging way,” Audrey said.
Audrey and her team use PosterMyWall to create all their video promotions. “PosterMyWall’s video tools are awesome. There are so many templates to work with that I really don’t need to put in a lot of effort to create my videos,” she said. Her go-to approach to finding the right template is to check out finance sites and magazines, see what the trending colors and images are, and then pick the template that feels right for her.
7. Host networking events
Now that pandemic restrictions are loosening up, Audrey and her team have started to host networking events for their clients and business partners. These events are important because they help increase awareness through word of mouth. “One small business will tell another about the event, and so on,” Audrey said.
The guest list for these events includes the Yesu2can Financial Consulting Group email list, as well as businesses that Audrey would like to work with. Invitations are issued – and RSVPs managed – via email. Depending on the time and effort put into an event, there is sometimes a small fee to attend.
8. Promote with social media
Last but not least, Audrey stresses the importance of promoting via social media. Yesu2can Financial Consulting Group has streamlined its social media process by integrating its Facebook and Instagram posting so that Facebook posts are automatically posted to Instagram as well. This helps Audrey reach both an older audience that stays informed via Facebook and a younger audience that prefers Instagram.
Audrey also posts to her LinkedIn page twice a day.
“I post twice a day on all my social media. In my experience, 6 a.m. is the best time to post because that’s when people wake up and log in before work. If you want to post during midday, 11 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. is when you’ll get the most engagement. And at night, 10:30 p.m. is a great time to post,” Audrey said.
Audrey uses PosterMyWall to create social media graphics and posters. She often flicks through finance magazines to ideas. “Once I have an image in my mind, I modify the template and insert the elements I need. I always say that presentation and detail are very important, so I pay special attention to those,” she said.
As for the future of Yesu2Can Financial Consulting Group, Audrey has big plans. She wants to host more conferences and events and reach out to even more people so that she can help marginalized members of the community achieve financial independence. “Marketing is all about building relationships, and that’s what I keep in mind when doing my work and promoting it,” Audrey said.
New to PosterMyWall? Check out our easy-to-use design tools and linkedin cover photo templates – and start promoting your financial consulting firm today.
Senior editor at PosterMyWall.
