• Among investors with $10 million to $25 million, that percentage soars to 22%.

But those numbers don’t tell the whole story. Add in the percentage of clients who are feeling “neutral” about switching—that is, they’re open to firing their primary advisor if they came across a better one—and you end up with:

• 18% of clients with $5 million to $10 million are looking to switch advisors/are open to switching.

• A whopping 38% of advisors’ wealthiest clients are looking to switch/are open to switching.

Insights Into Action
The upshot: This is what opportunity looks like. You can attract large numbers of affluent clients who are already inclined to work with you—if, that is, you can deliver the exceptional experience that high-net-worth clients want.

The key is to be proactive with your clients and the other professionals you work with who are instrumental to your success (such as accountants, attorneys and other centers of influence). Ask for referrals—or, even better, offer a complementary second-opinion service to friends, family and associates of your clients and COIs.

With a second opinion, you will assess the person’s current financial picture and the advice they’re getting. If they’re in good shape, you’ll say so and recommend no changes. If they’re not, you will determine if you’re the best advisor to help them get on the right track. Your framing here is that you want to offer value and leadership to people your clients/COIs care about who are concerned or feeling uncertain in today’s environment.

There are three ways to approach a referral “ask” or a second-opinion offer—but only one is the superior approach.

1. Awareness. You let clients/COIs now that in this time of uncertainty, you’re offering second opinions to people they care about. This makes them aware. But awareness is rarely ever enough to drive action. You need to go further.

2. “Do you know anyone?” You ask clients/COIs if they know of anyone who they think would benefit from talking with you and getting a second opinion on their financial situation. The trouble with this approach is that you’re asking a yes or no question—and it’s very easy for the person to simply say that no, nobody comes to mind.