{"id":9333,"date":"2024-03-12T13:59:16","date_gmt":"2024-03-12T13:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emoneyadvisor.com\/blog\/?post_type=thought_leadership&p=9333"},"modified":"2024-03-12T13:59:16","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T13:59:16","slug":"3-steps-to-growing-your-financial-advisor-business","status":"publish","type":"thought_leadership","link":"https:\/\/emoneyadvisor.com\/blog\/3-steps-to-growing-your-financial-advisor-business\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Steps to Growing Your Financial Advisor Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

From established Baby Boomers to younger generations just beginning to explore investment options, everyone needs financial planning assistance. \u200b\u200bIn fact, demand is growing\u201458 percent of Americans say they are thinking more about how future events may affect them and are placing greater importance on long-term planning.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

As the demand for your services increases, are you effectively reaching and expanding your clientele?<\/p>\n

Your success hinges on adapting to clients’ evolving needs while expanding your service offerings. Let\u2019s begin with three fundamental steps to growing your business by investing in a tech stack, nurturing existing client relationships, and creating a strategy to attract new clients.<\/p>\n

Step 1: Invest in a Tech Stack That Can Scale Financial Planning<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Investing in a tech stack and intelligent data workflows to digitize and scale your planning process<\/a> will enable you to maximize your valuable client data. Evaluate technologies that help you digitize onboarding, aggregate client accounts, and support client-advisor communications.<\/p>\n

Digitize Your Onboarding Process<\/em><\/h3>\n

Acquainting a client with your services and gathering their information is crucial, but it doesn\u2019t have to be manual or labor-intensive. Digitizing your onboarding process<\/a> allows clients to share information with you while you focus on having trust-building conversations and crafting personalized plans. Digitization also saves you time and ensures a consistent, repeatable experience across your client base.<\/p>\n

Leverage Account Aggregation<\/em><\/h3>\n

Gaining a holistic view of a client’s financial picture is crucial for personalized planning but is often a challenge for advisors. The right account aggregation tool gathers all client data<\/u><\/a> in one place and provides advisors and clients with a centralized view of financial information. Not only does this simplify the planning process\u2014avoiding manually tracking down client accounts\u2014but it also creates a seamless digital experience and fosters a collaborative client-advisor relationship.<\/p>\n

Use a Client-facing Platform<\/em><\/h3>\n

Client portals can significantly enhance the client-advisor relationship. A sophisticated client portal allows the client to view their finances in one place<\/a>, track progress toward their goals, and maintain an ongoing dialogue with their advisor. It enables you to stay connected with your clients outside of meetings, educate and motivate them toward success, and regularly refine your recommendations based on their behaviors. This accessibility keeps clients actively engaged in the planning process without additional advisor input, boosting satisfaction and plan efficacy.<\/p>\n

Step 2: Expand the Relationships You Have<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Scaling your business doesn\u2019t solely entail acquiring new clients; existing relationships offer ample opportunities. Your investment management clients who already trust you may be some of your best planning prospects. Conducting investment reviews to roll out planning to more clients and maximize client satisfaction are some of the most effective ways to expand planning by leveraging your existing relationships.<\/p>\n

Prospect Current Client Base and Conduct Investment Reviews<\/em><\/h3>\n

Regular investment reviews serve as a cornerstone for cultivating new business opportunities from existing client relationships. Begin by identifying clients<\/a> with the most growth potential. Collaborate with them to assess their assets, engage in deeper conversations about their goals, and uncover planning opportunities. Ask your clients to complete onboarding questionnaires for more data about their risk tolerance and use this data, along with your relationship history, to create tailored investment strategies. By demonstrating a deep understanding of your clients’ needs and goals, you’ll build trust, satisfaction, and loyalty, thereby growing wallet share and referrals.<\/p>\n

Combine Technology with FinPsych Techniques to Maximize Client Satisfaction<\/em><\/h3>\n

Our 2023 Beyond the Plan<\/em> research<\/a> found that advisors integrating financial psychology techniques and technology, like client portals, have the highest client satisfaction levels. These strategies directly result in increased referrals\u2014financial psychology-forward advisors receive two times more referrals annually, while tech-forward advisors see double the referrals.<\/p>\n

But not all finpsych techniques have the same impact. Advisors see the highest satisfaction increases when they:<\/p>\n