Adhesion’s Senior Director of Business Development, Kevin McCrossin, and WisdomTree’s Director of Advisor Innovation, Matt Kress, and Director of Product Solutions, Ryan Krystopowicz, hosted a webinar where they gave insight into some key considerations for attracting new prospects through triggers that lead to “needing” a Financial Advisor, the prospect discovery and evaluation process, and understanding how your clients and prospect perceive model usage.
What triggers individuals to seek out an advisor?
It’s important to understand what life events cause prospects to “invest” in a Financial Advisor so your firm can target these potential clients at the right place and the right time.
There are many reasons, personal and professional, that can trigger an individual to seek out a Financial Advisor. These include anything from marriage and children to continuing education or a new career opportunity. To determine what these specific triggers are, consider your current and former clients. Develop a list of 5-7 “triggers” that have previously caused clients to walk through your doors.
Once you’ve developed a list of triggers, you can use this list as a guide to identify key channels for marketing and outreach to your audience and market.
What can you do to improve the probability of a prospect reaching out?
Meet your target audience where they’re at. Leverage your list of “triggers” to determine events, conferences, and entrepreneurial panels to attend and promote your advisory practice.
But the key to being a top competitor in the financial advisory market is to differentiate. This starts with a strong web presence where you can easily showcase your Firm’s value proposition and longstanding client relationships. Ensure your website emphasizes how your financial services can reduce the stress related to those triggers that are bringing clients through the door.
Another way to engage prospects is by developing a clear, concise process page that explains what working with your firm will look like, step-by-step. This should include information about the Practice’s team and expertise. In doing so, you’re demonstrating a greater degree of transparency, humanity, and personalization.
In addition to transparency and humanity, you need to gain the trust of your prospective clients. You can do this by emphasizing community involvement and your Firm’s dedication to helping individuals meet their financial goals. Moreso, build credibility by participating in interviews with financial blogs, newsletters, or podcasts. This is also a great way to get in front of a larger audience.
How can advisors position themselves more favorably with prospects relative to other advisors?
Almost 4 out of every 10 clients are open to a new Financial Advisor if their current Advisor doesn’t use model portfolios. According to SmartAsset, “model portfolios are a diversified group of assets designed to achieve an expected return with a corresponding risk”.
Advisors should consider leveraging model portfolios to increase the retention rate of their current clients and increase the likelihood of acquiring new clients. Further, consider the priorities of your clients in terms of financial growth:
- Risk management
- Wealth Management
- Education
By positioning your model portfolios in terms of these priorities, you can set yourself apart as a more capable, dedicated Advisor.
How can advisors save time on running their practice to spend more time on growth?
A goal of any advisory practice should be growth, but it can be difficult to grow if you’re not able to scale your current business. First, consider whether where you’re spending the bulk of your time mirrors your business goals. Identify areas of time-wasting and dedicate more hours per week to growth-specific projects.
But perhaps the most substantial tactic for creating growth is to increase the bandwidth of your team by outsourcing. With Adhesion Wealth outsourced solutions, you can create a custom strategy to outsource your investment and practice management, freeing up more time for your team to focus on growing your business without sacrificing control or flexibility.
