A majority of financial advisors look toward their peers when trying to find ways to improve their businesses, according to a new survey.
The "quick poll" by SEI Advisor Network also found that 66% of advisors surveyed say their top priority in 2010 is to "create new initiatives to increase sales and grow business."
The second most important priority cited is to communicate with clients and prospects more frequently, according to the survey.
More than half (55%) said they would want a coach to offer new business development advice. When asked to identify the tactics and strategies they planned to implement to achieve their goal of business growth, advisors gave the following top three answers: use client referrals (42%), solidify professional relationships for referrals (32%) and create a formalized marketing plan (20%).
Beyond business growth, advisors plan to increase and improve client communication in 2010. Poll participants were asked to identify how they plan to make these changes to communication. The top three were: increase frequency of outbound communications (30%), increase frequency of client review meetings (25%) and develop a new approach to client review meetings (23%).
The report was based on a survey of 417 advisors.