Financial advisors are navigating a moment marked by rapid technological evolution, market volatility, and changing client expectations. For those looking to grow while maintaining client trust, the solution is rarely just about having access to great portfolios. It’s about positioning the business, sharpening communication, and finding scalable, repeatable ways to deepen relationships.
In an interview with The Wealth Advisor’s Scott Martin, Mark Mersman, Chief Marketing Officer at USA Financial, discussed the importance of expectation-setting, niche marketing, and leveraging modern tools to enhance both client service and business efficiency. Mersman offers a clear blueprint for advisors who want to move from reactive management to intentional growth.
The Split Mindset in Client Conversations
Volatility tends to separate client reactions into two camps: fear and opportunity. According to Mersman, the dividing line often reflects how well advisors manage expectations at the start of the relationship. “It’s really split, and it really depends on how well advisors set that expectation on the front end,” he says. “It’s our job in the advisor community to help educate but also play that awareness role. What we set up for you is designed to navigate this and is a long-term plan.”
Those early conversations help clients remain grounded when the market swings. More importantly, they reflect the advisor’s value not as a market timer but as a strategist over the long run. Mersman recalls a conversation with an advisor whose clients wanted to either pull out or invest more. By sharing with nervous clients that others are looking to add capital, the advisor might be able to shift anxious attitudes. “It is an interesting split,” Mersman says, “but some of that is just changing the mindset of that investor.”
In times of uncertainty, helping clients understand that volatility is not a reason to abandon the plan is crucial. But more than that, it sets the tone for a deeper and more resilient advisory relationship.
Specialization and Scalability: The Opportunity Advisors Overlook
Long-term success increasingly depends on two factors: a clear target audience and operational scale. Mersman believes advisors who embrace both will gain an edge. “If we think about specialization, this might mean having a clearly defined niche or target audience,” he says. “It allows an advisor to, number one, know who they’re marketing to more efficiently. They can build deeper relationships with those people and command ultimately higher fees.”
Specialization can make an advisor’s marketing resonate when an investor sees the advisor as speaking directly to them and their needs and may attract referrals within the same niche, but many resist it. “A lot of advisors are scared to do that because they don’t want to alienate anybody,” Mersman says. “If you say that you are for everybody, ultimately, you’re really not for anybody.”
At USA Financial, Mersman and his team often find that advisors already have a niche without realizing it. Once uncovered, it becomes a powerful differentiator.
Specialization, however, works best when paired with scale. “It isn’t always just about hiring more people,” Mersman explains. “It’s about how can I leverage technology, build repeatable processes in my practice that will ultimately allow that advisor more time to serve [clients] and create that experience and that transformation for them.”
For advisors aiming to deliver high-touch service while growing revenue, combining specialization with scalable systems is no longer optional—it’s essential.
From Advisor to CEO: Embracing a Vision for the Practice
One of the clearest shifts in the industry is the move from solo advisor to business leader. Mersman encourages advisors to adopt a CEO perspective and revisit the vision for their ideal practice. “It comes down to working with the people that you enjoy and being willing and able to turn away people that when you first started in the business, you would’ve taken on as a client any day of the week,” he says.
The speed of technological change reinforces the need for this shift. Artificial intelligence, automation, and digital tools now allow advisors to save time and improve delivery—if they’re ready to adapt. “The opportunities for an advisor to scale themselves and save time . . . I mean, just look at how quickly AI has moved and is starting to take the industry by storm,” notes Mersman.
Leaders who shape their firm around an intentional vision—rather than reactively taking every client—are better positioned to serve their preferred audience and sustain lasting growth.
Brand and Message: What Most Advisors Miss
While many advisors excel in planning and portfolio management, few invest time in brand development—a stark disconnect that can hold back business growth. “Almost every advisor comes to me and says, ‘I don’t know marketing. I don’t know that side of it,’” Mersman notes.
Rather than outsourcing the entire brand conversation, advisors benefit from stepping away to clarify their mission and message. “Sometimes, that’s just taking a day away and doing a retreat alone or with your team to say, ‘Who do we serve? What is our messaging?’” he says.
USA Financial helps facilitate those conversations, making branding and communication core to their advisor support model. Although the commoditized TAMPS industry offers advisors a range of compelling strategies, including those USA Financial offers, “we look at our value proposition for advisors as not necessarily to bring them great strategies,” Mersman says.
No one can foresee which strategy will outperform a year from now, he notes, “but I can tell any advisor, ‘Well, if you invest some time in this and this, there’s going to be growth.’ And that’s going to have nothing to do with the investment side of things.”
That approach gives advisors a strategic edge that goes beyond asset allocation. It helps them build practices that reflect who they are, who they serve, and how they want to grow—transforming marketing from a weakness into a catalyst for connection.
Efficiency Beyond Technology: Structuring Time for Growth
Many TAMPs promise to save advisors time, but fewer help them use it effectively. At USA Financial, coaching and guidance play a critical role. “A big part of it is helping an advisor run a more effective practice. If they can do that, they now free up time to serve their clients better,” Mersman notes.
Just like advisors help clients shape retirement visions, USA Financial helps advisors craft a vision for their practice. “If you want to stay small and that’s your goal, and just maybe be on the golf course a little bit more, perfect, let’s find a way to find more time to get you more rounds of golf,” he says. “But if you want to pour in and grow, then let’s find time to help you do that.”
Technology can automate tasks, but intentional planning determines how the saved time is reinvested. Whether an advisor wants to grow their book, improve client experience, or reclaim personal time, structured coaching helps align business activity with personal purpose. That’s where efficiency turns into real momentum.
Retention as a Growth Strategy
Client retention is often viewed as a defensive measure, but Mersman sees it differently. “Doing that is marketing. It still is marketing,” he points out. A refined client experience both keeps clients longer and fuels organic growth and referrals. “Understanding that client experience and crafting a better client experience is a growth strategy, and a lot of this is going to come down to how are you going to focus your time?”
One area Mersman emphasizes is segmenting time and communication based on client tiers. He highlights a methodology grounded in the 80/20 Pareto Principle: most of an advisor’s growth will come from a small subset of their clients. “So, how do we take 80% of our time and focus it on the top 20% of our clients when the vast majority of advisors are spending 80% of their time or more on the bottom 80% of their clients?” he says. “How do we create scalability with our communications?”
Tools such as podcasts, webinars, and video updates allow advisors to deliver timely insights to larger groups without repetitive one-on-one conversations. “You can create scale especially to that bottom 80% of your clients by delivering that message in video form,” Mersman explains.
In a high-volatility environment, proactive and scalable communication becomes one of the most effective ways to reinforce trust and value.
Reemerging Power of In-Person Marketing
Although virtual meetings have exploded in popularity and become the norm for many professionals, Mersman argues that in-person events remain the most powerful marketing tool. “There’s nothing in my opinion that will ever outperform one’s ability to get face-to-face with somebody, and in person is ideal,” he says.
Webinars still have a place, especially when targeted to specific groups. “We get a much higher response rate when we do target marketing towards those niche groups versus broader,” he adds. But when the goal is deep connection and higher conversion, physical seminars win out.
Current volatility also creates new urgency for prospects who feel ignored. “People are starting to get a little worried if they haven’t heard from their advisor,” Mersman says. Advisors who host workshops now can win business by showing up when others are silent.
People and Process Over Product
In a commoditized world of platforms, portfolios, and pricing models, USA Financial aims to differentiate by helping advisors lead with clarity, efficiency, and connection. Mersman distills their philosophy simply: “We look at our value prop as how can we take your business from here to here and take products, pricing, and performance out of the equation. Put the focus on people and process, and better things will happen.”
For financial advisors who want to grow without burning out—or who simply want to serve better with greater purpose—USA Financial offers more than a TAMP. It offers a path to a more strategic and scalable practice.
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