If you compared every financial advisor’s New Year’s resolutions for 2022, we’re willing to bet that somewhere in the top five (if not #1) would be some variation of this: Grow.
There are two ways to grow:
- More clients.
- More AUM from existing clients.
Today we want to focus on the first option (we’ll come back to the second topic another time). From content creation to social media tips, here are our top five things you can do to help expand your firm’s reach and grow your client base.
1. Target the Right Audience
Focusing your message on the right audience is an essential first step of effective growth tactics.
Although you may have the urge to reach out to everyone possible when you’re prospecting, it could actually hurt your success rate and cost you more per acquisition if you open the gates to everyone. By targeting your audience and narrowing down your ideal client, you can make the most of your efforts and meet your buyer personas efficiently.
But how do you find that balance of speaking to your specific personas without leaving out potential clients who may not perfectly fit the demographics you have in mind? The answer is in the research.
While you’re narrowing down your target audience, pay attention to not only which groups are most lucrative, but also those that have the largest numbers and availability. Middle-aged and older clients might have more assets, but are fewer in number and more likely to already have a trusted advisor.
Sure, five clients with $1 million each would be great, but what about 50 clients with $100,000 each? Thanks to modern technology, scaling up your service doesn’t have to mean a bunch more work.
In contrast, serving younger target clients in higher numbers might be a better opportunity for your firm. Don’t be afraid to conduct research and change course if what you’re doing isn’t working.
And, of course, be specific with your personas—beyond just age and assets. A great buyer persona considers interests, motivations, challenges, personality, and life goals.
2. Get Social
Did you know that 82% of Americans 12 and older use at least one social media channel? By extending your digital efforts to social media channels, you can expand your reach where it matters—especially since one-third of Americans say they trust social media to help them make financial decisions.
Choosing the right platform(s) for your business can be tricky—with an ever-changing landscape of apps, how do you know which is right for you?
Your social media channels should be based on your specific target audience. If your ideal client is an older business owner from the Midwest, TikTok might not be the right place.
Whichever social platform you decide on, having a gameplan to ensure your public profiles reflect your firm’s values and adhere to current compliance regulations is a must. Creating a plan for your online presence will help you better engage directly with your audience in a consistently authentic and positive way.
Speaking of authenticity, don’t be afraid to show your personal side when posting. A good rule of thumb is to follow the 80/20 model: 80% business content and 20% personal content. Personal content may be about the people on your team, office life, your hobbies, or something else.
3. Find Your Niche
Finding your corner of the market can be tough. You might feel like you’re limiting yourself in terms of growth. But selecting a niche and going for it has proven time and time again that it can pay off big time.
Unique personality traits and hobbies offer an instant connection between you and your clients and can distinguish you from the competition. For example, Ron Carson (the Founder and CEO of Carson Group) often says that when he first became an advisor in the ’80s, he only worked with people who loved wine or the Nebraska Cornhuskers. If they at least had that in common, he knew he could find a way to connect with them.
Or take Colton Etherton, also known as ‘The Tattoo Advisor.” Etherton has made a name for himself in the financial advising industry as a CFP® who only works with tattoo artists.
4. Measure Your Success
When it comes to setting growth goals, you’ll want to pick a few KPIs and then make sure you can actually measure your progress toward them.
Maybe you’ll use Google Analytics on your website, maybe you’ll track how many subscribers your newsletter has, maybe your goal is tied to increased AUM—whatever it is, make sure you can actually track it. All too often, advisors set goals and then don’t check back in on them until the end of the year, and they measure progress by their gut.
A popular quote to live by here is this: “If you can’t measure it, it didn’t happen.” If you can’t boil the growth down to simple metrics, how do you know if it really happened?
5. Expand Your Value Prop
One interesting way to grow your client base is to expand your services, thereby making your value proposition that much better—and helping your firm stand out against the competition.
As we said before, the technology of today can make scaling your services much easier—even if it’s in an area that feels outside your wheelhouse.
Take tax planning, for instance. If you’re like most advisors, you’re probably a little intimidated at the prospect of dipping your toes in tax waters.
But you don’t have to be a CPA to offer basic—and highly valuable—tax planning services. In fact, over 3,000 advisors use Holistiplan to provide their clients with in-depth tax planning that is almost entirely driven by our platform.
The fintech landscape is overflowing with cost-effective, efficient solutions to help advisors provide broader, deeper services. If you’re not sure where to start looking, we’d recommend Michael Kitces’s AdvisorTech Solutions Map. It’s huge, but it’s bound to have something that could help.
Conclusion
With these five suggestions in mind, now it’s up to you: How are you going to hit your growth goal for 2022? How will you set your firm apart and reach your target audience in new ways?
Want to try Holistiplan’s automated tax optimization platform for yourself for free? Click here to sign up for a free trial.