We ( financial advisors ) tend to view success as a binary system where you either succeed or you fail. Like many things in life success isn’t actually an either/or situation. There’s a between a state that’s seldom discussed – survival. For financial advisors, survival is the direct result of having a mediocre practice. You do enough to avoid being at the bottom, but it’s not enough to put you at the top. There are some people who are fine with performing safely in the middle. If that’s not you, here are 3 things you can do to move your business toward success.

Stop imitating mediocre performers.

In the age of the internet, there’s no shortage of advice out there for financial advisors. Some of that advice is helpful, but a lot of it is bad at best. So what do you do when you’re unsure of how to improve your practice and grow your business? As a first step, it’s likely that you’ll look around to see what everyone else is doing. When you do this, you have to decide if you want to imitate them, or if you want to figure out your own methods. If you’re unsure of the right decision, consider this quote from Earl Nightingale. “Look at what the majority of people are doing, and do the exact opposite, and you’ll probably never go wrong for as long as you live.” Those people you see, are likely surviving just like you, and adopting their methods won’t propel you to the top. 

Diversify your marketing process.

How you find prospective clients impacts whether you succeed, survive, or fail. Would you advise a client to invest all of their funds in a single place? Of course, you wouldn’t. You’d encourage them to diversify, and you should do the same with your marketing methods. 

If you limit yourself to a single method, anything that negatively impacts that method could cut off your flow of prospects. You can prevent this by employing a diverse set of marketing methods that include some automated processes. Those automated processes ensure leads don’t stop coming in just because you’re unavailable. How you diversify should be based on who your ideal client is. Once you decide on your target audience, building out those marketing channels is easier than you may think. 

Communicate with your existing clients on a regular basis.

A constant flow of communication with your existing clients is a key factor in determining your success. It’s not enough to send out an email once a month or send out cards on major holidays; anyone can do that, and almost everyone does. In order to stand out, you should reach out frequently through multiple channels. That outreach should also have a value add for the client. You can update them on additional services you’ve added, or provide them with information on topics that may interest them. 

This level of communication serves multiple purposes. It keeps you visible to clients so it’s more likely they’ll come to you when life changes have financial implications. It also builds their trust in you so they’re less likely to pull back on their investments when a crisis strikes. Both can help you maintain and grow assets under management. 

Doing these three things can help take you from mediocre survivor to top performing success. Each has its own set of questions and concerns, and you may not be sure of where to go from here. If you’re ready to break through to the next level, we can help.

Contact us today to schedule your free business evaluation.