When you just want to start helping clients one-on-one, growing your new advisory firm can be frustrating. But the faster you grow your business, the faster you can focus on client relationships.
The process begins with identifying the best way to sell your services. You and your advisors have over 300,000 other advisors to compete with, so you’ll need to set your business apart.
Read on to learn how to differentiate and grow your business quickly, so you can focus on what matters—your clients.

Focus On Marketing

Marketing is key to controlling how potential customers view your firm. When determining your marketing strategy, follow these three key steps:
Identify your target audience. According to industry expert Lisa Salvi, firms that define an ideal client persona and client proposition generate 26% more new clients and 41% more new client assets than firms without defined target audiences. Before anything else, decide who you want to reach.
Craft basic messaging. It may be tempting to run ad hoc social media campaigns, but first, determine your core messaging, like your company’s “About Us” blurb. Then, you can tweak this messaging for other uses.
Determine your advertising channels. Before you create marketing content, form a distribution plan. Tailor the plan to your target audience; to appeal to millennials, use social media and email. To appeal to baby boomers, consider email and direct mail.

Network The Right Way

Networking is critical to growing your advisory firm. Remember that you are an extension of your firm, so act in ways that are synonymous with your company values.
You’ll want to show that your business is invested in its clients, so focus on forming friendships rather than earning leads. Provide unrehearsed, authentic answers when you are asked about your company.
While you do need to be prepared to talk about your business, avoid turning casual cocktails into a sales pitch.

Try Public Speaking

Many of us still dread public speaking, but it’s a must when you’re building your business.
Public speaking quickly spreads the word about your business to large audiences. You can even post recordings of your talks on social media, spreading awareness beyond your initial audience.
Public speaking also builds credibility around your name, which, as you know, is critical in the relationship-centric financial advising business.

Ask For Referrals

Capgemini’s 2018 World Wealth Report revealed that 44.4% of high-net-worth clients found their wealth manager or advisor through referrals. That’s something worth pursuing.
To secure excellent referrals:

• Ask long-term, high-tier clients
• Personalize your ask (don’t send a generic email)
• Make the process as simple as possible

By following these tips, you should secure top-of-the-line referrals with ease.

Embrace Technology

It’s crucial to remain innovative in the increasingly competitive financial advising industry. According to Ed O-Brien, CEO of eMoney, the financial advisor who implements technology “outperforms your traditional wealth manager – growing their number of clients by 5% more than typical advisors, and their assets under management by 9-10% more.”
New advisors may be wary of financial technology, but technology empowers advisors to provide higher quality services to clients. Among other things, technology can help:

• Reduce administrative legwork
• Expand your client base
• Expedite operations
• Increase transparency

When you don’t need to spend time on small, administrative tasks, you can spend more time with your clients.
Growing your advisory firm involves focusing on and investing in a variety of things, like technology and marketing. But once you grow your business, you can refocus your attention on client relationships. At the end of the day, that’s what advising is all about.
Schedule a demo with us to learn how you can leverage automation-driven portfolio management software to grow your firm.