“We are paid disproportionately less as new financial advisors for the work we put in, and later, we are paid disproportionately more as older advisors for our work.”
Anonymous financial advisor (pre-pandemic)
Well up until Covid-19 coronavirus, life was pretty good. The markets had enjoyed an unprecedented runup from the disastrous era of 2008. Be it index funds, selected equities or a plethora of other products that you have offered clients, you have done well as they have done well. Happy clients bring greater revenues and quality referrals. As generations change, the increase in account values in regular, retirement, trusts, Smart529, etc. have led to clients’ family members also maintaining those relationships, even when the inevitable happens.
Now it has changed overnight. You spend time reassuring them and talking with clients. You have a better understanding of their cash needs, how their incomes may have changed, what will happen as this continues, how their retirement plans are in upheaval, and how college funds have been hammered, which affects their children’s futures.
Now is the time, when likely most of your time is focusing on existing clients, to also look at your process for presenting your business to the properly qualified prospects. Not just for now, but where you want to be going forward, whether you are a younger financial advisor wanting to grow, a middle-aged one now having to work more and work harder, or a more mature individual who perhaps was looking to monetize your book as you look to your own retirement.
Those who are often looked to for advice in financial matters have a difficult time seeking and accepting advice on how to improve their businesses. Marketing budgets if any at all are often de minimis. Some highly effective client recruitment efforts will be difficult if not impossible in the pandemic and immediate post-pandemic world.
This is the time to reassess your business and your processes. Looking forward to a post-pandemic normal should have you more willing to seek and accept advice as you move forward. It requires openness and a willingness to accept and try new things. It requires you to invest in your own success by investing in your business. A trusted marketing partner like AHMDIGITAL will ask you tough questions, will want to know your data and the metrics upon which their success, and yours, will be ultimately judged.
Arguably now more than ever in your professional lifetime, people need quality professional financial advisors. How you position yourself and your firm will be a critical factor in your future success. If you are ready to have that discussion with an open mind and a willingness to learn, we are here to help you. Just reach out to us at info@ahmdigital.com
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