While certified public accountants (CPAs) handle tax planning for their clients, they may need help bringing their own personal financial plans to fruition. They can also be an excellent source of referrals for advisors. If you’re interested in expanding your niche or referral pipeline to include CPAs, you’ll need to figure out how to attract them. Succeeding with financial advisor marketing to CPAs requires the right approach to get their attention.
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Financial Advisor Marketing to CPAs: Success Tips
CPAs are busy people, so for your marketing campaigns to work, they need to strike the right tone. First, consider your motivations for marketing to accountants.
- Are you trying to attract CPAs as clients because that’s your target niche?
- Or do you want to add more accountants to your network to generate referrals for your business?
Your answer can influence how you approach your marketing efforts. At its core, however, your marketing plan should revolve around demonstrating your unique value proposition to the CPAs you want to connect with.
1. Recognize the Challenges
Marketing to CPAs can be challenging because they already have some financial knowledge under their belts. If you’re trying to attract them as clients, you may have to work harder to demonstrate your value and expertise.
This is where it helps to build an ideal client persona or profile. Your buyer persona is a hypothetical representation of who your ideal client is both demographically and financially. What this looks like can depend on whether you’re targeting CPAs at large or a particular sub-niche, such as:
- CPAs who are just starting their businesses and need help with strategic planning
- Accountants who have established businesses and want advice on retirement or succession planning
- CPAs who work with a particular type of client, such as high-net-worth individuals
If you’re a financial advisor marketing to CPAs for referrals, then it’s important to consider who they are professionally and how they run their business. If there’s a misalignment in your business models, values or priorities, you may hit a roadblock in building meaningful connections.
You’ll also need to be ready to overcome objections. For example, CPAs may have concerns about:
- Clients’ willingness to be referred to another financial professional
- Client privacy
- Conflicts of interest
Preparing answers to these types of objections beforehand can make it easier to overcome them when they arise during conversation. You should also be ready to take CPAs through your process and how you operate.
If you know a little bit about the types of clients they work with, it’s helpful to have some real-life scenarios you can use as examples of what you do that can serve as a connection. For instance, if you know it’s a question they often get from their clients, you might walk them through how you determine when a Roth IRA conversion is the right move.
2. Underscore the Benefits
If you’re trying to gain CPAs as clients, you’ll need to show them the upside. In other words, what’s in it for them if they entrust their assets and financial plan to you?
Here, it may help to zero in on the knowledge gaps you can help them fill. A CPA might have extensive knowledge of the tax code, for instance, but have a more limited scope when it comes to things like financial planning, retirement planning or alternative investment strategies.
What if you’re trying to connect with CPAs for referrals? You have to give them solid reasons to consider it. Again, knowing a little about the types of clients they serve can help you mold your messaging.
For example, say you’re marketing to CPAs who exclusively work with high-net-worth clients, which you want to attract. You might highlight your expertise in estate planning and trusts as tax management tools.
The goal is to find out what problems a CPA (or their clients) faces and market your services as the solution. At the same time, you’ll need to convince a CPA why a referral relationship would be beneficial to them.
For instance, will you refer your clients to them when they have a tax question you can’t answer? Will the services you each provide encourage loyalty and retention so you can both build sustainable businesses? This kind of framing can offer reassurance that you’re interested in a balanced, mutually beneficial relationship.
3. Market Through Multiple Channels
Financial services is a big pond, and if you’re a smaller fish you may need a multi-layered approach to get eyes on your business.
If you’re marketing to CPAs to attract them as clients, that might mean leveraging:
- Social media
- A search engine optimized (SEO) website
- Online seminars
- One or more high-value lead magnets that encourage CPAs to join your email list
- Email drip campaigns
- Digital ads
If you’re trying to get CPAs as a referral source, you may need to split your attention between online and offline marketing efforts. For instance, you might spend time:
- Engaging with CPAs on LinkedIn
- Attending financial advisor conferences that attract accountants
- Attending (or leading) financial seminars that are geared toward CPAs
- Participating in community events for local business leaders
You may also consider print or billboard advertisements, or direct mail marketing. If you have a limited marketing budget to work with, consider what’s most likely to generate the best ROI for the money.
4. Offer to Collaborate
Collaboration is an extension of networking, and one that can be a powerful marketing tool. If you’re interested in a referral partnership with a local CPA, then you might broach the subject of a joint undertaking.
For instance, you could suggest hosting a workshop or seminar together that addresses estate planning and taxes. This is a chance for each of you to learn more about one another while marketing your services to prospective clients.
If the seminar goes well, that could open the door to a more permanent partnership in which you both offer referrals reciprocally. You each get the benefit of having more leads sent your way, while your clients enjoy access to a broader scope of financial knowledge and advice.
5. Ask Your Clients
If you’re looking for a direct path to CPA marketing, consider asking your clients who they use to handle their accounting needs.
Let your client know that you’d be happy to offer their CPA a free consultation if they’re looking for an advisor to work with (if you’re trying to attract CPAs as clients). This is a pressure-free way to ask clients for a referral.
If you’re trying to build your referral network, you might try a different tactic. For instance, you could reach out to your client’s CPA (with their permission) and make a preemptive offer of financial statements or documents they might need from you for tax season.
That shows initiative, which can make a great impression, and it can lay the groundwork for a later conversation about establishing a referral connection.
Bottom Line
Some of these tips are designed to help you get more CPAs as clients, others are meant to help you expand your referral network. Clarifying your goals can help you shape your marketing efforts when reaching out to accountants. Most importantly, be honest and authentic in your interactions so that a CPA understands who you are as a person, not just an advisor.
Tips for Growing Your Advisory Business
- A good marketing plan addresses the needs of your ideal clients and it ensures that your message doesn’t get swallowed up in the crowd. If you’re looking for a way to expand your outreach without taking time away from your clients, you might consider partnering with an advisor marketing platform. SmartAsset AMP (Advisor Marketing Platform) is a holistic marketing service financial that advisors can use for client lead generation and automated marketing. Sign up for a free demo to explore how SmartAsset AMP can help you expand your practice’s marketing operation. Get started today.
- CPAs are just one potential source of referrals for your business. Consider who else you might want to add to your network, including estate planning attorneys, business consultants and other financial professionals who serve the same type of clients you hope to attract.
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