Top 3 Investment Advisor Prospecting Hurdles & Solutions
Presumably, you are reading this article because you’re interested in financial advisor prospecting. So, before we do anything else, let’s define what prospecting actually is.
The Art of Prospecting: Finding Your Financial Advisor Niche
Do you ever find yourself pondering what differentiates an average financial advisor from a true industry authority? It isn’t just their experience, years in the field, or a long list of clientele. It’s where they focus their efforts: their niche.
Today, we are going to pull back the curtain on a secret weapon that many top-performing advisors have in their arsenal: Niche Specialization.
You’ve likely heard the adage, “There are riches in niches,” right? It’s not just a catchy phrase, but an effective prospecting strategy.
Many financial advisors, when quizzed about their niche, will excitedly say, “Retirement planning!” And while retirement planning is lucrative and impactful, it’s like an ocean full of fish that everyone is fishing for new clients. It’s vast, wide, and quite frankly, saturated. With that approach, at least. It’s the equivalent to a chef saying their niche is “food.”
However, a beacon of hope exists. The power of precision and specificity in your marketing strategies can set you apart. Instead of trying to serve everyone, why not be the go-to expert for a specific group? By focusing on a particular demographic with specialized financial needs, you become their prime choice.
Imagine being:
- The financial guru for families with special needs children.
- The trusted wealth management partner for farmers.
- The guiding light for immigrant business owners navigating new financial waters.
- The financial professional for socially-conscious investors.
- The dedicated planner for teachers eyeing a comfortable retirement.
- The key financial planner for incorporated professionals.
How to Establish Your Niche as a Financial Advisor
Arm yourself with a notepad and pen, and answer these questions:
- Who do I enjoy helping most? (Write down traits, not careers just yet.)
- What is the thread that links the people with those traits? (Keep in mind, the more specific, the better.)
- What are the five key challenges this group recognizes as their biggest obstacles? Am I a specialist in helping them overcome those obstacles?
- Is my specialty in helping my niche evident on my LinkedIn profile, social media, or website?
- What are my current prospecting techniques to dominate this niche? Are my efforts turning potential clients into new leads?
- Can my target audience easily find me on search engines, thanks to a solid SEO strategy? Would they view me as a uniquely qualified guide for their financial needs?
- If I haven’t pinpointed a niche yet, what barriers are holding me back?
Remember, specificity is your friend. Carving a niche doesn’t box you in; it propels you forward. It’s your unique value proposition. While it doesn’t have to be the sole source of your new business, it should be at the core of your lead generation, outreach, and prospecting strategy.
Make use of email marketing tailored to how you are uniquely qualified to help your niche overcome their obstacles to success. Host webinars, and even in-person seminars when possible. Engage with your audience on social media platforms, offering financial advice tailored to their needs. Don’t forget the power of face-to-face networking events, and consider launching a podcast to share your expertise with a wider audience.
Your current clients can be a gold mine for referrals, especially if they belong to the niche you’re focusing on. So, ensure your client appreciation events are top-notch, and always be ready to follow up on any leads they provide.
Digital marketing, especially social media marketing, is your ally. With the right content marketing, even cold calling can become warm calling.
So, dive deep, refine your focus, and embrace your niche with open arms. Your future, brimming with targeted and genuine connections, awaits!
Find New Ideal Clients with the Help of Bill Good Marketing
Prospecting isn’t a skill exclusive to sales reps. Salespeople do this day in and day out, so it’s natural that they’ll do a better job of closing clients.
However, with a marketing engine in place, you can fill your pipeline with new leads every day—even if you haven’t mastered all the different advisor prospecting ideas.
The trick is discovering which advisor marketing and prospecting efforts will work for you.
The good news is, we’ve cracked the code for you after decades of growing financial advisory firms like yours – and wrote the playbook, too.
Get ready-to-implement workflows so you can add more qualified people to your client base. Learn more about the prospecting machine we’ve built that led our average client to $19.8M in new AUM last year.
Andrew D. White
Andrew is a digital marketing expert here at Bill Good Marketing. Before joining Bill Good Marketing, Andrew spent most of his previous work experience in the digital marketing realm helping small businesses with things such as Web Design, SEO, and Social Media Management.
learn more on:
Recent articles
Cold Calling Scripts for Financial Advisors
Cold-calling is NOT a “try it once and hope it works” endeavor. It requires testing and tweaking to learn what works for your market, your list, and for you. Cold-calling is NOT for advisors who fear rejection. You will get a lot of rejections when you cold call – but if you follow best practices, it won’t matter, because the number of new leads you…
Recent webinars
Proven Prospecting
When Neil McPeak Jr. — CFP®, CEPA® — joined his father’s practice fresh out of college, he was given one instruction: Learn to prospect. In other words, want to manage your own assets? Go out and find them yourself. (That wasn’t on his college curriculum…
The Secret to Organic Growth
HNW clients. You want ‘em. Everyone wants them. And you’ve likely gotten a dozen emails this month alone on how easy it can be to get more. But whether you’ve been in this industry for 1 year or 30, you know the truth…