The pandemic has made reaching prospective clients more difficult for financial advisors, according to Jason Steeno, president of CoreCap Investments and CoreCap Advisors, an independent broker-dealer and RIA based in Southfield, Mich.

Despite those challenges, CoreCap has initiated an aggressive growth strategy that could serve as a model for other advisory firms, Steeno said in a recent interview.

CoreCap grew from $900 million in assets under management to its current level of nearly $1.65 billion in about 15 months and has its eyes set on the $5 billion mark within three years, Steeno said. The organization is now made up of 125 independent advisory firms and wants to increase the number of firms, as well as the number the clients the firms serve, he said.

“Getting in front of prospects is the issue right now because of the pandemic,” Steeno said. “Our model has been the seminar method, which has worked extremely well for us. We switched to webinars during the pandemic, but webinars were not as successful in generating new clients as the live presentation.”

CoreCap already has returned to live seminars and plans to pursue this avenue for future growth. CoreCap uses third-party lead generators such as Dave Ramsey and Smart Asset and is developing its own lead generation program, he said.

There are different types of calculators available to individuals, such as college planning calculators or retirement planning calculators that help people determine future financial needs, he said. The calculators include a referral to a financial advisor if the user wants one.

“The calculators gather information from the individual and then usually refer them to two or three advisors who fit their needs,” Steeno explained. There is a cost to the advisor for the referral usually based on the amount of assets of the lead.

“The success of those referrals then depends on the advisor’s messaging,” he said. “The advisor has to clearly articulate his value proposition. You have to communicate how you can help the individual. What is your differentiator? You have to take the time to understand what the individual is trying to do, what his goals are, and what you can do to match those needs.”

For the in-person seminar, certain techniques work better than others, he said.

“There is a lot of art involved in a good presentation and in good follow-up during an event. CoreCap usually succeeds in getting 70% to 80% of attendees asking for referrals after a seminar with about 25 attendees,” Steeno said.