“People need to think about ensuring that their plan is cohesive and thoughtful,” said Hudspeth. “They need a plan for how they’re going to launch their brand and consider social media integration into that brand. They need to think about how clients, and prospective clients, will find them once they go independent.”
Creating a digital strategy for breaking away usually requires working with a professional agency or group, said Hudspeth, and should involve an evaluation of their competitors and the overall market combined with consideration for what kind of identity and presence was already established at the advisor’s current wirehouse employer.
Then, the professional team can lead the advisor through a discovery process involving specific and customized content, said Hudspeth, allowing the advisor to articulate their mission and their vision for their new practice.
“Again, this can’t be thrown together, you’re going to want it to appear thoughtful and planned, and for it to be right in line with compliance,” she said. “This is going to help you hit the ground running and move forward with your goals and allow you to start operating your new business immediately. If you’re doing this in the middle of opening a new business, you’re not going to have time to develop a website and all the necessary strategy pieces—it will almost certainly end up a missed opportunity.”
Having a digital strategy in place enables advisors to explore expanding their client base by looking into other sectors of the marketplace by using technology to reach clients down market or into other niches.
As they grow and mature their businesses, few advisors will stick with the current conventional wisdom to focus on an individual niche, Hudspeth posited.
“It’s important to not only think about your current client base, but also how you might want to broaden that client base and what you’re passionate about broadening it into,” said Hudspeth. “There’s been an uptick in advisors interested in expanding their client base and thinking not only about what they’re accustomed to marketing to now, but also what kind of new clients they may want in the future. That’s what will take your digital strategy forward over time.”
Doing so requires advisors to not only have a digital strategy in place for breaking away, but at the very least one that will cover the initial years of their independent practice, she said.
According to Hudspeth, the biggest mistake advisors make in their digital strategies is ignoring the need for customization and for remaining attentive to the strategy.
“Marketing shouldn’t be an afterthought if you’re passionate about starting a firm," she said. "It’s incredibly important and it lays the foundation for future prospecting,”
According to Hudspeth, TruClarity has launched two new independent teams during the pandemic, and plans to launch a third team soon.