4 Ways Advisor Firms Nurture Leads to Grow Assets Under Management

Growing an advisory firm requires a coherent strategy. A survey conducted by Janus Henderson Investors and the Financial Planning Association (FPA) examines ways advisor firms can encourage growth. From building a systematic outreach method to increasing the number of people that are communicating with potential clients, there is so much you can do to better nurture leads and grow your advisory business faster. Read on to see the three ways advisor firms nurture leads and grow assets under management (AUM).

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What Is Lead Nurturing for Financial Advisors?

Lead nurturing is the act of building relationships with potential clients in the hopes that they will convert into a customer or clients down the line. It is the act of helping them move down the sales funnel toward making a buying decision. For financial advisors, this can mean a number of things from educating them on proper investment practices to keeping them informed in how your firm is performing.

There are many ways that you can go about nurturing leads. Here are four common practices that advisory firms use to nurture leads in order to grow their business.

1. Build a Team 

Advisory firms come in different sizes. However, working with a team in an advisory firm has demonstrated advantages in growing AUM. Solo practitioners tend to be less comfortable with their growth rate, according to the survey.

“Of firms managing less than $100 million in AUM, 90% do not have a team,” the survey says. “Regardless of why advisors hesitate to form a team, the research shows that teams can onboard more clients than individual advisors.”

As you grow your team, you grow the number of people who might be able to help nurture leads. This gives you more people actively reaching out to potential clients and helping them to learn more about your firm. Just your ability to communicate with more people on a regular basis can increase your ability to nurture leads and grow your business.

2. Have a Process and System to Generate Growth

“An overwhelming majority (89%) of advisors agree that having the right processes and systems is critical to business growth,” the report says. “However, only 59% agree that they have completed this work.”

Crucial processes may involve following up with and nurturing leads, as well as preventing staff burnout. The advisory firms that don’t have a proper process or system in place grow more slowly than competitors that do. “Firms growing at a significantly slower rate are much more likely to have no process (20%) or an informal process (57%) in place for actioning on prospect leads,” the report says.

3. Identify Ideal Clients and Execute Strategy

Identifying your ideal client is just the first step to growing your client base. Growing firms are also tailoring the office experience, marketing communications, in-house specialists and other firm elements to their ideal clientele.

“When you compare the slowest and fastest growing firms, however, you see that those firms
that onboarded 10+ clients in the previous 12 months are more likely to have gone beyond identifying
their ideal clients to intentionally designing an experience based on their specific needs, challenges, and
preferences,” the report says.

4. Increase Community Engagement and Local Visibility

This step focuses on specific actions to execute a strategy for target clients. The report surveyed advisors to determine how many use common strategies like enhancing marketing communications with client newsletters and articles; using client-facing technology such as portals and online schedulers; leveraging in-house specialized expertise; and maintaining a digital presence through websites and social media, among others.

Firms can also participate actively in community events, sponsor local activities and contribute to charitable causes to boost their presence within the community. This visibility could raise brand awareness and position an advisor as a committed and trustworthy member of the community.

Additionally, community involvement can offer advisors other networking opportunities outside the traditional office setting. For example, conducting or participating in financial education workshops not only serves the community but also demonstrates the advisor’s expertise to potential clients directly.

Bottom Line

Having a quality strategy, process and system within an advisory firm is a step to long-term success. Advisor firms that are growing tend to work with a team and execute various client- and business-facing strategies to facilitate growth. The right outreach methods for you will depend on the types of clients you’re targeting and how you want to improve your overall firm communications.

Tips for Growing Your Financial Advisory Business

• Let us be your organic growth partner. SmartAsset AMP (Advisor Marketing Platform) is a holistic marketing service financial 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.
• Expand your radius. SmartAsset’s recent survey shows that many advisors expect to continue meeting with clients remotely following COVID-19. Consider broadening your search. And work with investors who are more comfortable with holding virtual meetings or spacing out in-person meetings.

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