It's particularly important for advisors in smaller practices. Such firms can be lonely in the best of times, says Youngwirth, but they are that much more so during markets like the one we're in now. Individual advisors share their stories in these teleconferences, talk about lessons that are emerging for them and go through the best practices they've discovered.
Of course, like Securities America, Commonwealth has also offered its reps up-to-the-minute tools and resources through its Web site, items it calls "turbulent marketing materials."
"We created this new section to our Web site last October," says Youngwirth, "to arm advisors with compliance-approved communications available for use in client-retention and prospecting efforts."
The more robust site, which is frequently updated, offers client letters, market updates, print ads, direct-mail pieces, PowerPoint presentations-all specific to the turbulent times, Youngwirth says.
For its elite advisors, Commonwealth offers its annual "chairman's retreat," which allows the reps a unique networking opportunity.
After an offsite meeting last October, LPL Financial launched several programs designed to help their reps hold onto existing clients and win new ones. One program, dubbed Operation Hand Hold, was designed to provide communications tools to address turbulence in the financial markets without sugarcoating it.
Another program, called Clients First, was developed on the premise that the demise of several Wall Street firms would produce a plethora of investors seeking advice as they looked to move their accounts to a more stable environment. "We felt we could help advisors on new client acquisition," says Ruth Papazian, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at LPL.
Accordingly, the firm is aggressively acquiring new lead lists to help advisors prospect.
LPL's market research found that "mass affluent" investors are staying in the market while looking to recoup a major chunk of their investment losses. At the same time, they are also allocating a portion of their assets to guaranteed income vehicles. To that end, the firm partnered with three outside vendors, Prudential, Van Kampen and Lincoln Financial, to participate and offer marketing consultations.
Much of the support B-Ds most often offer comes through their dedicated rep Web sites. Raymond James Financial Services, for instance, offers special reports through a section on its Web site called "Practice Intelligence," says David Lee, branch productivity resource manager for Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Fla. Among the new reports is one that talks about thriving and surviving in tough times.