Financial Advisor Leads: 7 Best Strategies That Work in 2025

Last updated: April 2025

Generating consistent, high-quality financial advisor leads has never been more important — or more competitive.

Whether you’re an RIA, financial planner, or insurance-based advisor, the traditional methods like cold calling and referrals no longer deliver the predictable results they once did.

In this article, you’ll learn the 7 most effective and scalable lead generation strategies for financial advisors in 2025 — including how much they cost, how to implement them, and which ones produce the best results for high-net-worth prospects.

These are the same strategies that helped:

• Dallen, a fee-only financial advisor, get appointments on-demand using Facebook Ads.
• Drew close $1.3 million in Assets Under Management (AUM) within just a few months.
• Brian make 10x more revenue selling annuities compared to the leads he was buying before.

And those are just a few of the many financial advisors we’ve helped over the years (see more client results).

Let’s dive in.

Looking for exclusive financial advisor leads?

Step 1: Watch our free Masterclass Training (that explains how it works)

Step 2: Click here to schedule a call to learn more about working with us.

Click here to see some of our financial advisor client testimonials.

Note: These strategies apply to financial advisors, financial planners, wealth managers, and even insurance agents looking for annuity leads or IUL leads.

Best Financial Advisor Lead Generation Strategies

Here are the top strategies advisors are using today to generate exclusive, qualified leads — without relying on outdated tactics.

1. Meta Ads (Facebook & Instagram)

Meta ads are one of the fastest and most scalable ways to generate exclusive financial advisor leads — but only if you have the right infrastructure in place.

✅ What You Need:

• A high-converting sales funnel (never send people to your website homepage)
• A video sales letter (VSL) — this is your lead magnet
  → A short (5-7 min) video that explains who you help, how you help, and what to do next
• An automatic email and text follow-up system to convert leads into appointments who show up.

💰 Cost Benchmarks:

Once the system is dialed in, our clients typically pay:

• $20 per lead
• $200–$300 per booked qualified appointment
• Most prospects have $500K+ in investable assets

Once you know your average cost per appointment, you can decide how many financial advisor appointments you want each month!

For example, let’s say your cost per appointment is $200. Want 10 appointments? Spend ~$2,000.
Want 20? Double your budget.
You’re in full control of your monthly lead flow.

Above-Average Performance

Some clients get even better results:

• $5–$10 per lead
• $50–$150 per booked appointment

For example, here’s one of our financial advisor clients was able to get leads with Facebook ads for under $10 as seen here:

Because we’ve run Facebook ads for lots of different financial advisors, we know what variables influence the results the best. So if you’d like to put the odds in your favor, watch this video to learn more. If you like what you hear, you can schedule a call with us after watching it.

🎯 Targeting Tips:

• Age: 55+ (people in or approaching retirement)
• Investable assets: $100K+, $500K, $1Million or more
• Interests: retirement planning, investing, personal finance

Do Meta Ads Really Work For Financial Advisors?

Yes — when done right.

Even billion-dollar firms like Fisher Investments use Facebook ads to attract leads. Their ads:

• Call out a specific niche (e.g. “Retirees with $500K+”)
• Offer upfront value (guide, video, etc.)
• Use copy that builds curiosity and trust

Here is an example of one of Fisher Investments’ Facebook ads:

Notice how the message is clear, targeted, and benefit-focused.

We use a similar strategy for our clients to help them target high net worth leads.

Here’s what one of our clients say:

“In less than 30 days I’ve already had multiple Zoom calls with people who have millions of dollars to invest… I’ve never experienced this with any other lead generation program!” – Paul (Financial Advisor)

See how it works

Watch Step 4 of our Free Masterclass — we’ll walk you through the entire Meta Ads funnel we use to help advisors get consistent, high-quality leads.

2. TikTok Ads

TikTok ads are one of the most cost-effective ways to generate financial advisor leads right now — especially since competition is still relatively low compared to Facebook.

Many advisors are surprised to learn that TikTok isn’t just for young people anymore. In fact, as of April 2025 there are over 17 million U.S. users aged 55+, many of whom have significant investable assets as seen from this image from one of our clients TikTok ad manager accounts:

And this number is growing rapidly every year!

✅ What You Need:

• A short-form vertical video (15–60 seconds) that educates or hooks your ideal client
• A strong call-to-action that sends viewers to your video sales letter funnel
• A campaign optimized for conversions — not just views

💰 Cost Benchmarks:

Once the system is dialed in, our clients typically pay:

• $5–$15 per lead (often 25–50% cheaper than Facebook)
• $150–$250 per booked appointment (also more cost effective than Facebook)

Because the TikTok platform has less advertisers compared to Facebook, the cost to run ads and target these people is usually a lot lower compared to bigger ad platforms like Meta.

🎯 Creative Tips That Work:

• Being authentic builds trust. The ad doesn’t have to be “perfectly polished”.
• Start with a hook: “Retiring soon? Don’t roll over your 401(k) until you watch this.”
• Use plain language and talk directly to the camera
• Add subtitles (some people watch videos with the sound off)

📈 Client Example:

One of our financial advisor clients generated over 800 leads for $5 each using a simple TikTok ad campaign built around a “how to avoid running out of money in retirement”, as seen from this image here:

Here is another example of one of our financial advisor clients who successfully generates leads and appointments from TikTok ads.

“It has been completely eye opening to get highly qualified high net worth leads through TikTok ads that are ready to speak to a financial advisor.” – Eric (Certified Financial Planner)

Watch this video to learn how we can help you with running financial advisor TikTok ads.

3. Record YouTube Videos

YouTube is one of the most powerful free lead generation tools for financial advisors — especially when targeting high-net-worth individuals searching for retirement advice.

Even if you’re just starting out, a single helpful video can drive traffic for months or even years.

✅ What You Need:

• A YouTube channel branded with you or your firm’s name and niche
• Weekly videos answering questions your clients are already Googling
• Links in your video description to your video sales funnel or scheduling page

💡 Video Topics That Convert:

• Answering “How to” questions, such as “How to roll over a 401(k) to an IRA”
• Creating “Best of” videos, such as “3 Best Strategies To Retire With Peace of Mind”
• Making Comparison Videos, such as “401K vs IRA: Which is better for your retirement?”

📈 Client Example:

One client started posting one video per week, answering the exact questions their ideal client was searching for. Within 90 days, they began booking free appointments from YouTube — without spending a dime on ads.

Here’s an example of the video views one of our financial advisor clients gets each month when using YouTube to generate leads:

As you can see, they went from zero to thousands of views (over a period of 6 months).

Many of our clients start with less than 100 subscribers and now have thousands of subscribers. Either way, no matter how many subscribers you have, if your videos are specific and helpful, it will still attracted the right people at the right time.

🎯 Why It Works:

• You rank in both YouTube and Google (video often gets top search results)
• Videos build trust faster than written content
• You get free exposure 24/7 with no ad spend

📌 Pro Tips:

• Use simple thumbnails and clear titles like: “Should I take Social Security at 62 or 67?”
• End every video with a strong CTA (book a call or watch your VSL)
• Optimize your video descriptions with keywords and links to your site

“Even with a small channel, I’m getting 5-10 qualified appointments each week from YouTube. It’s my highest-ROI lead source.” – John (Fiduciary Financial Advisor)

See How It Works

Watch Step 4 of our Free Masterclass to see how to use YouTube (even with zero subscribers) to start attracting financial advisor leads organically.

4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is one of the best ways to generate high-quality, inbound financial advisor leads — for free — month after month.

It works by creating valuable content that shows up in Google when your ideal clients search for financial questions.

✅ What You Need:

• A blog or website with articles targeting retirement, insurance and/or tax-related search terms
• Content optimized for both SEO and conversions (every article should lead to a CTA)
• A consistent publishing schedule (even 2 articles/month can move the needle)

💡 Blog Post Ideas That Attract Leads:

Answer specific high-intent questions your potential clients are searching the answer to. Here are some ideas:

• “Should I rollover my 401(k) at 60?”
• “Best states to retire in 2025 (for taxes)”
• “How to avoid capital gains in retirement”

📈 Client Example:

A financial advisor client followed our SEO framework and published weekly blog posts for 6 months. The result? The traffic has steadily increased over time and more importantly they get several free inbound appointments each month, as seen from this image from their analytics:

🎯 Why SEO Works:

• You capture people actively searching for help
• It compounds over time and builds your authority
• It costs nothing after the content is created

📌 Pro Tips:

• Use tools like Ubersuggest, Ahrefs, or AnswerThePublic to find keyword opportunities
• Structure posts with clear H2/H3 headings and a CTA at the end
• Include internal links to other posts and your funnel

“In less than 6 months of working together, I got my first sale from an organic Google lead which is something I have not been able to do in 28 years of marketing. It paid me back the price of your services and one month of Facebook ads .” – Tony

See How It Works

We walk through the SEO strategy we use for financial advisors in Step 4 of our Free Masterclass. Watch it now to see how you can start attracting traffic without paying for ads.

5. Buy financial advisor leads

Some advisors choose to buy leads from third-party vendors — but this method comes with high costs, lower conversion rates, and very little control.

✅ How It Works:

• A lead vendor runs Facebook ads to generate a lead for $20–$30
• They resell that same lead to multiple advisors for $200–$300
• You chase the lead, hoping they remember signing up

💸 Real Cost Breakdown:

• On average advisors who buy leads pay about $250 per lead
• Often only 1 in 10 leads books an appointment
• That’s $2,500+ per booked appointment in many cases

📉 Why This Fails:

• The lead doesn’t know or trust you
• You’re competing with other advisors for the same lead
• You’re doing all the chasing

📈 Better Alternative:

Use that same budget to run your own ads. Our clients typically pay:

• $20–$40 per exclusive lead
• $200–$300 per booked appointment
• No middleman, and full control over targeting, messaging, and follow-up

This is why many of our clients have told us they’ve made 10x more revenue working with us compared to buying leads.

“I made 10x more revenue after switching from buying leads to generating my own with Skyline Social.” – Brian, Financial Advisor

6. LinkedIn Prospecting

LinkedIn can be a strong platform for advisors targeting business owners, executives, or employees at large companies — especially those with stock options, pensions, or 401(k) rollover opportunities.

✅ What You Need:

• A clear LinkedIn profile that speaks to your niche
• A daily outreach system (manual or automated with AI)
• Educational content or offers to start conversations

🎯 Targeting Tips That Work:

• Search by job title + years of experience (e.g. CFO with 15+ years)
• Target employees of companies you specialize in helping
• Use connection requests followed by helpful, non-pitchy messages

📉 Challenges:

• It’s time-intensive and not always scalable
• Most leads aren’t ready to book immediately
• You need to nurture with consistent follow-up

📈 When It Works Best:

• As a supplement to your ads or SEO funnel
• For high-ticket, 1:1 outbound prospecting
• When combined with a warm-up offer like a guide, checklist, webinar or video sales letter.

Although this can be a cost-effective way to generate leads as an advisor (especially when using LinkedIn automation software), it can also be challenging to target people in (or entering) retirement using LinkedIn’s advance search features.

There are some workarounds, for example, this guide explains how to use LinkedIn to get 401K rollover leads. And as a financial advisor on LinkedIn, you can also target wealthy people by years of experience and job titles (e.g. a CEO with 10+ years of experience).

See How It Works

Want to learn how to integrate LinkedIn into your lead system? We break it down inside Step 4 of our Free Masterclass.

7. Traditional marketing (referrals, seminars, word of mouth, etc)

Some advisors still use traditional marketing — but it’s harder to scale, and often more expensive per lead compared to digital strategies.

📉 Challenges with Traditional Approaches:

• Unpredictable lead flow
• High time investment (seminars, networking, hosting dinners, etc)
• Limited reach
• High cost

✅ What Still Works Well:

• Warm referrals (with a system in place to ask consistently)
• Local educational events (for retirees)
• Partnerships with CPAs or estate attorneys

📈 Best Practice:

Use traditional strategies as a supplement to your digital efforts — not your main lead source.

For example:

• Run a seminar → then retarget attendees with Facebook ads
• Ask for referrals → then drive them to your VSL funnel

How much do financial advisor leads cost?

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the most popular lead generation strategies and what they typically cost:

Lead Source	Avg. Cost per Lead	Avg. Cost per Appointment	Exclusive?	Scalable?
Facebook / Meta Ads	$20–$40	$200–$300	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
TikTok Ads	$5–$15	$100–$200	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
YouTube (Organic)	$0 (time only)	$0 (time only)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
SEO / Blogging	$0 (time only)	$0 (time only)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Buying Leads (3rd party)	$250+	$2,500+	❌ No	❌ No
Seminars	$250+	$3,000+	✅/❌ Mix	❌ No

Note: Costs vary based on your offer, niche, and how well your funnel converts. The numbers above reflect average results from hundreds of our financial advisor clients.

Conclusion: Build a Scalable, Predictable Lead Flow System

There’s no shortage of ways to get financial advisor leads — but not all strategies are created equal.

Instead of relying on outdated, unpredictable methods like buying leads or cold calling, today’s top advisors use a system that combines:

• Paid ads (Facebook, TikTok)
• Organic content (YouTube, SEO)
• Niche targeting and automation

🎯 When done right, you can:

• Predict your cost per appointment
• Control your lead flow every month
• Get in front of high-net-worth clients consistently

If you’d like to work with an expert to help you get faster results and make fewer mistakes watch ‘Step 5’ of my Free Masterclass training.

This explains how we can help you generate leads as a financial advisor. We provide both done-for-you and consulting options for advisors looking to generate high quality leads.

Looking to Hire a Financial Advisor Lead Generation Company?

If you’re ready to stop guessing and start scaling, we can help.

We specialize in helping financial advisors generate exclusive, qualified leads using done-for-you or consulting options.

🎓 Step 1: Watch our Free Masterclass — you’ll learn how our entire system works
📅 Step 2: Schedule a free strategy call to see if it’s a fit

Let’s help you attract clients — not chase them.

If you’re ready to take your lead generation efforts to the next level, consider hiring a company that specializes in financial advisor leads. We help advisors like you generate exclusive, high-quality leads through both paid and organic strategies. To learn how our service can help you grow your business, click here to watch our free training and schedule a call.