An opportunity to test and learn new acquisition strategies
Lately, whenever I talk to one of our clients, I make it a point to ask them what their year-to-date new households/ new clients numbers look like. Almost every response has been “oh, not great!” But when I then ask them what their year-to-date net new money looks like, the vast majority tell me that those numbers are up.
Without a doubt, it’s a terrific accomplishment to be net positive in new assets during a year of unprecedented turbulence. But if this is the situation you currently find yourself in, it’s important to acknowledge both the good and the bad. You should be supremely confident in the fact that you’re growing your wallet share. It’s a clear indication that your existing clients – despite the ongoing turmoil – have growing confidence in your ability to help them weather the storm.
But the way in which elite advisory firms are differentiating themselves in this market climate – above and beyond wallet share – is in their ability to consistently add new relationships, despite all the hurdles associated with conducting business remotely.
This is NOT a question of how to market your business in a virtual world (there are a million articles out there on the topic). Instead, it’s a call to use this current bizarre situation we all find ourselves in to test out new acquisition and business development strategies to see what things work well that you should consider carrying forward when life gets back to some semblance of normalcy.
If you’re no longer having golf outings, conducting seminars, or meeting people for cocktails/coffee, then where are your new relationships coming from? And are those new avenues potentially both more efficient and sustainable?
Diving deeper into client commonalities
The vast majority of advisors segment their business more or less in similar ways. You either use some combination of financial metrics (such as revenue or profitability) to categorize A clients, B clients and C clients, or perhaps you segment them by broad categories (e.g., retirees, corporate executives, business owners, etc.).
What I’d like to suggest you begin doing, however, is to start looking deeper, for smaller groups with niche commonalities – a practice that I call micro-segmentation. The following are just a few examples of this strategy being put into action that I’ve witnessed over the past several months:
Each of these are perfect examples of micro-segmentation in action. Done right, it’s an opportunity to engage more deeply with existing clients (potentially driving greater share of wallet) AND presenting new client acquisition opportunities in the process.
Would it just be easier to slide right back into the old way of doing things once this pandemic is behind us? Absolutely! But why not opt instead to bring together the best of the past with the best of the present. That’s precisely what the best in the business are doing.
Coaching Questions from this article:
Like this blog? Click "Follow" in the upper right-hand corner to receive all the eLibrary Blog updates