What goals have you set for increasing assets under management in 2021?
Here’s what other financial advisors are hoping to achieve in the near future:
- They expect their managed assets to grow by 7.2% in the next year
- They expect to see annualized growth of 17.2% over the next three years
- They expect 80% of asset growth to come from existing clients
These numbers sound great, but how can you turn these goals into actual asset increases? The key lies in building and improving relationships with your existing clients.
The pandemic may have changed the way we run our business, but there’s no reason you can’t maintain excellent client communication during and after COVID-19. In this post, we’ll outline some financial advisor tips for existing clients that are guaranteed to result in asset increases.
Keep reading to learn more!
Proven Tips for Increasing Assets
The same survey cited earlier noted three things successful financial advisors have in common:
- Regular, meaningful communication with their clients
- Getting to know clients on a personal level
- Building relationships with their clients’ families and heirs
Let’s take a closer look at these practices (and more) so you can get on the fast-track to retaining clients and increasing assets.
1. Carve Out Your Niche
It sounds counterintuitive, but you’ll actually gain more clients by narrowing your focus. More importantly, they’ll be the right type of clients for you — the type of people you can connect with to form deep, long-lasting relationships.
Think about it: There are nearly 13,000 RIAs in the US. If you factor in broker-dealers and insurance channels, that number climbs into the hundreds of thousands. Rather than being just another generic financial advisor, focus on becoming an expert or specialist in your field.
For example, could you become a specialist for retired athletes? Medical workers? Local small business owners? Widows and divorcees? Millennials and Gen Z?
The more specialized you become, the more selective you can be — and the less competition you’ll face from other advisors. If you’re known as the “go-to” financial advisor for a certain demographic, you’ll command greater client loyalty and you’ll be able to justify higher fees.
If you haven’t yet found your ideal niche, think about your current client base. Which of your clients do you enjoy working with the most? Whose portfolios are the most profitable? What parts of your personal or professional background could set you apart from other financial advisors?
2. Include the Next Generation
There’s no doubt that building strong relationships with your existing clients is paramount to increasing assets. But have you thought about what will happen when your clients’ children inherit their parents’ wealth?
If the next generation doesn’t know who you are (or how much you helped their parents), they might switch over to one of your competitors. Even worse, they may not use or see the need for financial advising services at all. In fact, 70% of wealthy families see their assets disappear by the second generation — and 90% by the third generation.
How can you help to prevent this tragic outcome? To reach the next generation of investors, the time to start including and educating them is right now.
Once a year, host a “family” meeting and invite your clients to bring their children, grandchildren, or other suitable family members. Open the conversation by discussing important topics like estate planning, wills, and trusts. Invite everyone to ask questions about the planning process and how to make sound financial decisions for the future.
When you make this a priority, you’ll assure a smooth transfer of wealth when the time comes. You’ll also position yourself to continue to be the family’s trusted financial advisor.
3. Adopt a Holistic Approach
Speaking of family matters, let’s discuss another avenue for increasing assets and creating loyal clients. After all, there’s more to retirement planning and wealth management than just dollars and cents.
Some of the most successful brands today don’t just market a product — they market a lifestyle. As a financial advisor, your marketing strategy should include more than just solid investment advice.
Here are just a few areas of life where you can also offer valuable insight:
- Budgeting for a growing family and other stages of life
- Buying a first home, second home, or investment property
- Managing existing debt and avoiding new debt
- How to save money while paying off student loans
- How couples can stop arguing about money and spending
- Receiving inheritances (and what to do next)
- Planning for critical illness and long-term care
As you can see, a “holistic” approach to wealth management offers you the chance to provide real value in the lives of your clients. You can distribute information packets to clients and their children explaining how to manage their money today and every day.
This also gives you plenty of content work with in your marketing efforts, which we’ll discuss more below.
4. Focus on Omnichannel Communication
The more ways you have to connect with existing clients (and reach out to potential clients), the better your chances of increasing assets for everyone involved.
Your professional website is just the beginning. Add a blog or vlog where you discuss the latest investment opportunities and industry news. Then distribute these articles or videos on your social media channels.
Speaking of social media platforms, make sure you develop a strong presence on LinkedIn and Facebook. Other investors are finding success using Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Do some research to find out where your client base spends most of their time online so you can better hone your marketing efforts.
Of course, the best way to stay in touch with existing clients is by writing engaging emails and newsletters. Keep them informed of what’s happening in the office, but be sure to keep most of the focus on them and how your services can improve their lives.
Have you been forced to change the way you communicate with clients during the coronavirus pandemic? Take advantage of the latest technologies and stay in touch with your clients via teleconferencing or video chat. If some of your clients are old-school, don’t forget you can still make an old-fashioned telephone call too.
5. Help Clients Avoid Emotional Decisions
As Dave Ramsey put it, “Personal finance is not a math problem — it’s a behavior problem.”
Fear and greed are the enemies of a sound investment strategy. For others, they simply become frustrated or impatient when they’re not seeing the asset increases they’d hoped for.
When the market takes a downturn, it’s easy for investors and clients alike to panic. You may receive a frantic call from a client who asks you to make a major change to their portfolio.
It’s your job to help them avoid these knee-jerk reactions and understand the ups and downs of investing. Keep them focused on their long-term lifestyle goals. Help them diversify and rebalance their portfolios so they can ride out the storms that inevitably come (and eventually pass).
6. Develop the Art of Listening
We’ve saved our most important financial advisor tip for last. Like any human relationship, the key to building trust and loyalty lies in listening to each other’s concerns.
Yes, you are the financial expert. Yes, your clients are coming to you for advice. But before you can really help them with increasing assets, retirement planning, or anything else, you first have to understand them.
The most successful financial advisors don’t “talk at” their clients — they listen to them. Carefully. They listen to the words they say, as well as important things that might go unsaid. They go beyond the basics and strive to get to know their clients on a deeper, more personal level.
What are your client’s hopes, dreams, and fears? What do they value most in this world? What causes are near and dear to their hearts? What worries keep them awake at night?
Take the time to really listen to the answers, and you’ll set yourself up as a trusted advisor for many years to come.
Use These Financial Advisor Tips for How to Increase Assets
One of the main goals of any financial advisor is increasing assets for your clients. The key lies in keeping your existing clients happy and engaged.
Use the tips above as your secret recipe for financial advisor asset increase. Find your niche market, build your audience, and include the next generation in the planning process.
Remember that wealth management involves more than just increasing assets. You should offer a holistic approach to your business that includes sound financial advice for all aspects of life. Avert potential disasters by helping your clients avoid bad investment decisions based on emotion rather than numbers.
Finally, focus on increasing the quality and quantity of communication with existing clients. Become skilled at listening to them (rather than talking at them), and you’ll soon have a lifelong loyal client base.
Were these financial advisor tips for existing clients helpful to you? Would you like to continue learning the best ways to market yourself and your wealth management services?
Our specialty is helping financial advisors like you take their marketing efforts to the next level. Give us a call at 303-808-8719 or send us a message via our online contact form. Our friendly team is standing by to answer all your questions!
