“I gain new clients by working collaboratively with CPAs. I help CPAs identify clients with tax-inefficient portfolios, and then work with the client to design a more effective strategy. These clients are primarily individuals in higher tax-brackets with large capital gain distributions and/or taxable interest and dividends. Partnering with CPAs improves the transfer of client trust, leading to more natural introductions,” said Joe Bell, manager of advisory services at BFJ Financial Group.
Get Online Leads
The next generation of planners tend to be more tech savvy than their older counterparts and, as a result, can have more success drawing in leads through the internet, if they use it right.
Autumn Campbell, financial planner at The Planning Center, Inc. and the FPA NexGen 2019 President, believes in being easily searchable. That is why every financial planner should have a focus on search engine optimization.
“I put articles and quotes in every space. It creates cool credibility. When people stumble upon it, they will see other things too,” said Campbell.
She has been successful at getting press by making connections with multiple reporters, often offering her expertise on various topics that they might be covering. She even meets with them in person, when she can, and remembers to write ‘thank you’ notes after engaging with the media.
All the press helps get hits online, which moves things back to the website, where it is important to have good brand messaging to impress online leads, added Campbell.
Create A Podcast
It used to be that having a radio show was a way to build an audience for a financial planner, but it can cost a lot of money to buy airtime. Now it is easy to create a podcast, which can be a much cheaper way to get to listeners and build awareness.
“One of the biggest impacts we’ve seen from having the podcast is the fact that prospects feel like they ‘know’ me before they even schedule a call or reach out to ask about becoming a client. It gives them a way to connect with us on a human level which is really important to gain trust and establish relationships with the people we want to work with,” said Eric Roberge, founder of My Business: Beyond Your Hammock and former FPA of Massachusetts NexGen director.