How to get clients as a financial advisor

The age old question – How to get clients as a financial advisor?  Well, as an actively practicing advisor who’s brought in clients 100% digitally let me answer this question for you below.

First, some context.  I believe that Financial advisors form the spine of the financial services profession.  Especially with the industry’s landscape undergoing a dramatic transformation since the the pandemic. A lot of new-age financial advisors have at some level embraced more of a digital first model.  But some are now reverting to the more traditional prospecting methods as lockdown measures from COVID have subsided.  Don’t be one of those advisors to fall back into outdated tactics to get clients.

With that being said, the financial services profession is all about engaging with and serving your current client base while also effectively prospecting for new clients. Financial advisors are constantly looking to scale their growth with innovative ways to attract their ideal clients. Keeping that in mind, there are great techniques that financial advisors can use to grow their client base.

Read on to learn how to get clients as a financial advisor, strategies & tactics that I have learned, refined, and continue to use personally.

Social media

One way to attract and get ideal clients online can be achieved through effective social media marketing. When it comes to social media platforms for financial advisors, authenticity is key and goes a long way.  Building trust and relationships and developing genuine client rapport is important.

The content on your social media platforms must offer real value and should include a variety of content.  Not always focused on sales but educational and enlightening posts perform well. It’s important to have a healthy blend of personal and business content.  Focuses on outcomes and benefits for your clients, show them how you can help them solve their problems.

A great way to attract your ideal client is to answer the questions that they already have on their minds through your social media content. This can be easily done through blog articles, explainer videos, or infographics – to name a few.  What types of questions & problems do your ideal clients have?  Create content around those topics.

In addition, financial advisors can network with people of influence online who work with their ideal clients but offer services that are different but complimentary like tax professionals for example. Such people of influence are able to subtly showcase you to their network, inadvertently getting your foot through the door of untapped potential.

If your budget allows, you can try paid advertising on these platforms to have a better chance of reaching your target market.  But I caution you here as if  you don’t know exactly who you are talking to and what your message is any money spent will be a total waste. Ultimately, you’ll need to build meaningful connections on your social media platforms to attract your ideal client and grow your network.

How to Use LinkedIn to get clients as a Financial Advisor

While some may consider LinkedIn to fall under the social media category, I believe this platform is mainly professional and offers financial advisors with incredible networking prospects.

For example, here’s how many times my posts have been viewed in a 12-month period.

This exposure didn’t cost me a thing other than a little bit of time 3-5 days a week.  Think about that, how many potential clients could you acquire with your own content?

For financial advisors today, having a LinkedIn account should be a no-brainer.  It gives you a great avenue to reacquaint old contacts, build up a reputation as an industry expert, and offers plenty of opportunities to grow your professional network and client base.  This is a great way to nurture and get new clients as a financial advisor.

Content posted on LinkedIn should be useful and original and must drive engagement to attract inbound prospects. Like social media, your LinkedIn content should be meaningful and add value to those who you are prospecting to.

For a deep dive on how to use LinkedIn for financial advisors, check out this article.

Update your website

As a financial advisor it’s vital that you have your own website to attract your ideal client. Your website can be thought of as your virtual storefront.  Prospective clients can visit and learn more about your products and services and of course how you are best qualified to specifically help them solve problem XYZ.

In addition, your website should show prospects how your business can help them with their current needs. Irrespective of how a prospective client discovers your business, the very first place that they are likely to go to is your website – to see what you are all about. With that being said, your website should be easy to use and have accurate information about your products and services, team, and contact information.

The best financial advisor websites are simple, clean, and have the right type of information that your ideal client would be looking for. It is important for your website to showcase:

• Who you are – your personal side;
• Who you specialize in helping;
• What your services are;
• What your process is; and
• What your prices are.
• And of course, CTAs for things like booking a meeting, contacting you, getting their Asset Map, Riskalyze Score, etc.

Without these details, prospects will not have enough information to feel comfortable approaching you.  And, make sure to make it easy for them to contact you.  Embed you calendar link.  List your email address.  List your phone number.  Embed a contact form.  Just make it easy!

Create free lead-generating opt-ins

I believe in empowering financial advisors.  With Conneqtor I teach & provide Financial advisors with the resources they need to be able provide free content online that will attract and add value to their ideal client. Such free content will go a long way in helping to establish your brand and building trust with prospects while giving valuable advice and guidance without any strings attached.

Some of that free content can come in the form of free lead-generating opt-ins. These opt-ins are precious resources that your prospects can access for free, provided they enter their contact details on a submission form.

What I’ve come to learn is that details like names and email addresses are invaluable when trying to build your client base, and these can easily be acquired by giving away free resources in return for that – helping you to boost your return on investment in the process.

Some examples of lead-generating opt-ins are:

• Educational webinars (live and recorded replays);
• A free e-book about a specific topic, problem, etc.; and
• A how-to guide on something you help clients with.

Offering these materials for free and including an email capture is critical because:

• Your prospects will be more likely to do business with you if your free content adds value to their lives and circumstances; and
• It helps you to build your database and effectively nurture prospects.

You must remember that it’s a privilege to get a prospect’s email address and name.  You shouldn’t abuse that privilege by spamming your prospects unnecessarily. By sending your prospects valuable content at appropriate intervals, with the option of unsubscribing easily, your prospects will start to look forward to your content as opposed to being scared off.

Email Marketing

Now that you have digital assets to engage with and download you have to have a way of following up with them so you can nurture them over time.  Have you ever heard of email marketing?  This is a great way for advisors to get new clients.

Most clients want to get to know you over time.  They will reach out to you when they’re ready or have a problem they must solve.  In the meantime you can provide them with valuable content while also staying top of mind, positioning yourself as a thought leader and trusted resource.

You can do this through email marketing.

Some best practices for a successful email marketing campaign will include:

• An automated sequence that you can set up once and let run on autopilot (I use ActiveCampaign for this);
• Write our all your emails in one sitting to fill your nurturing sequence; or
• Provide value & education, not cheesy sales tactics in your emails; and
• Tell your prospects what to do with clear CTAs (Cals-To-Action) like schedule an introductory meeting, etc.

I’ve come to learn that email marketing is certainly part art & science but over 90% of it can be set up once and then automated.  This is literally bringing in new potential clients for you while you’re sleeping!  Now you can enjoy more time with family, etc. while at the same time bringing in new potential clients.

Final thoughts on to get clients as a financial advisor

Financial advisors have the world at their fingertips, literally.  Want to answer the question “how to get clients as a financial advisor?”?  Scroll up and read this article again.  Learn & implement what you just learned and give it time, Rome wasn’t built in a day!

My company, Conneqtor, empowers online financial advisors to grow their financial service practices by using our highly-effective strategies.  Make sure to visit my website here and download my free eBook that will inspire, motivate, and show you how to take your business to the next level.

Please also consider my financial advisor course & training for financial advisors here for the master blueprint and expert techniques & strategies that are perfect for growing your financial advisor practice in the 21^st century.

Take some time to read my free e-book, The 21^st Century Financial Advisor Proclamation, and discover the magic of adapting in this new age to become the best 21st-century financial advisor that you can be.

Sending positive vibes your way,

Derek Notman