5 Ways to Spur Organic Growth

Bull markets provide a sense of calm, and not just for clients. As assets increase in value, advisors often relax their defensive posture, leaving themselves vulnerable. Financial advisors who consistently reinforce their practices are more likely to experience a more stable growth trajectory, regardless of the markets. Here’s how to help fortify your practice and grow your practice organically.

1. REFOCUS AND ENERGIZE

How much time do you spend with clients? While markets are up and clients appear content, advisors may spend more time overseeing the business side of their practice and lose focus on new client acquisition and relationship management. If you are spending time managing staff or overseeing operations and compliance, your client relationships may be suffering.

Now’s the time to evaluate whether or not your time is being well-spent. We suggest you refer to these two recent articles to determine if it’s time for you to refocus your energy by outsourcing specific tasks such as investment management, financial planning or others.

Is Your Time as an Advisor Being Well-Spent?

2. ENHANCE YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION

One way to build client loyalty is to distinguish your value from investment performance. If conversations with your clients are always focused on investment returns, you are vulnerable to losing them when markets are down.

Rework your value props to include services in the areas of:

• Financial Planning
• Retirement Income Planning
• Estate Planning
• Financial Organization
• Behavioral Finance Coaching

If you do not have a specialty in these areas, expand your professional network and identify outsourced resources you can rely on to deliver increased value to your clients. Market your expanded services and, if possible, the external resources as part of your team to demonstrate breadth and depth to your practice.

3. MARKET AGGRESSIVELY

How often do you market your services to prospects? It used to be that a prospect would have to come across your marketing at least seven times before taking action, nowadays it’s even more. Why does it take at least seven times? Because when they first see your message, they likely don’t need you.

Now imagine you decide to start marketing your services when markets are down, will someone take action if they’ve just heard from you once? The answer is most likely no. After all, would you hire an advisor you’ve only just come across or one who has established themselves as an expert and made themselves known for months, maybe even years?

To market aggressively, advisors need to implement the following tools and utilize them on a consistent basis:

• Responsive Website with Prospecting Offer
• Email Marketing
• Social Media
• Content Marketing: Videos, Research, Insights

Click the link below to learn more about creating a digital marketing strategy.

Tech Tolerant to Tech-Obsessed: Advisor Marketing

4. ESTABLISH CENTERS OF INFLUENCE

When you think about your network, both personally and professionally, how many people are advocates for your practice? How many are willingly referring you to others on a regular basis? If your list of centers of influence (COI) is lackluster, this should become your current primary area of focus.

COIs include family members, friends, clients, alliance partners and non-competing, business professionals. Start by connecting with the following professionals in your area to find those you prefer to work with:

• Estate Planning Attorneys
• CPAs
• Senior Living Facility Managers
• Home Healthcare Providers
• Medical Insurance Providers
• Charitable Foundation Specialists
• Psychologists
• Grief Specialists
• Mortgage Professionals
• Local University Professors

One way to connect is to reach out and explain that you are looking for someone with their specialty to help educate your clients and to become a resource for your firm. Establish the connection and open the door to having them join you as a guest speaker at a client event or get them involved with a specific client need. Build a relationship on mutual respect and referrals may become the bonus by-product.

5. IMPLEMENT PROVEN PRACTICE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Sometimes we think we need to make significant changes to continue to grow and sustain success.  While big change is not always required, staying strategic is highly advised. This means continuously evaluating where you are, your goals, your frustrations, and ways to improve.

Working as an independent advisor can feel isolating at times. If you are not part of a team, collaboration and inspiration can be hard to come by or altogether non-existent. Partnering with an independent advisor consortium, like Financial Advocates, can help keep you become inspired to do more, grow, and pursue more, all while maintaining your separate practice and independence.

In addition to the benefit of a community, Financial Advocates advisor consortiums also provide business development as part of their support services. The business development specialist meets with you on an ongoing basis, helps to identify practice goals, helps to keep you accountable and on-task and often implements many of the tasks associated with helping you to reach those goals.

Some examples of proven practice management strategies they help advisors implement include:

• Branding
• Client Service Model
• Client Segmentation
• Advertising/ Marketing Assessment and Support
• Hiring and Staffing
• Maximizing Resources

Regardless of your next step, it’s essential to take one! To get started with any of the strategies discussed here, give us a call! Irrespective of where you are now we can help you increase your independence and opportunities for potential success.