A perception gap exists between the services advisors think they are providing and the services clients think they are getting, according to industry consultants who spoke yesterday at the Preeminent Advisor Summit sponsored by Financial Advisor magazine.

That perception gap is one of the things that can prevent advisors and firms from realizing their goal of being the preeminent advisor in their community, they said.

According to research conducted by CEG Worldwide and the Spectrem Group, only 57% of clients with at least $1 million in investable assets think they are getting investment management from their advisor and only 45% think they are getting financial planning, George Walper,  president of the Spectrem Group, told the audience of financial advisors.

The fact that the advisor is providing financial planning and that the client has a financial plan is something the advisor needs to emphasize every time he or she talks to the client, so that the client understands the services being provided, Walper said. Taking these kinds of data points from research and using them can help a firm become a preeminent firm in the eyes of the client. “The opportunities for advisors are out there,” Walper said.

“In the last year–and particularly right now–clients want a different kind of relationship with their advisors,” Walper said. “They want advisors to lead them, not just tell them what to do.”

At the same time, advisors should not lose sight of the fact that all affluent clients are not all alike, said John Bowen, founder and CEO of CEG Worldwide, a research and consulting firm. 

“Unfortunately, clients cannot tell most advisors apart and we think they can,” Bowen said. “Clients want to work with an expert advisor,” so advisors have to set themselves apart as that expert.

Part of that differentiation process means stepping up as a leader, not someone who is just maintaining his or her business, said Chris Smith, founder of The Campfire Effect, who moderated the session. “You have to make sure you play to win” additional clients and make them the ultimate focus of the practice, he said.

Advisors need to demonstrate that they are skilled and knowledgeable regarding wealth management given that investors are aware that wealth management requires highly skilled professionals, the consultants said.

For the past decade, many advisory firms have only grown their businesses through increases in the market and  have not actually grown in numbers of new clients or services provided, Bowen and Walper said. “To win in this business is to grow organically,” Walper said.

And “the advisors who truly grow are the ones who do so in challenging times,” Bowen added.

Another path to becoming the preeminent advisor in the community is to provide the different services that the affluent want, Walper said. “Clients really need your help right now. For instance, 90% of wealthy advisors feel estate planning should be a component of their plans and yet less than one quarter of them are actually receiving estate planning,” he said.

“The affluent want someone who is going to be an advocate for them,” Smith added. “They want leadership beyond just investment management.”

According to the CEG Worldwide and Spectrem Group research cited by the presenters, advisors who provide wealth management services are rewarded with clients moving more assets to the firm. “Only 55% of affluent investors are currently receiving wealth management services," researchers said. "This reveals an opportunity for advisors to grow revenue among the 45 percent of affluent investors who are not currently receiving wealth management services.”

With financial planning being something that should be offered to most investors, it is important for firms to regularly update these plans, or they run the risk of losing clients.

“This is the greatest time to be an advisor and financial advisors are needed more than ever right now,” Smith said. “But you have to transcend being just an advisor and be a leader, which means you are able to enroll people in a bigger vision than they even think is possible. As an advisor, you can make a real difference in the world and have success with significance.”