How Financial Advisors Get Clients: 10+ Strategies for Success

Understanding how to get clients as a financial advisor is crucial to growing your business.

The problem is…

How do you get clients in a way that is automated, evergreen and profitable?

After helping financial advisors get leads, appointments and clients (see results), we’ve seen what works well and what doesn’t!

This article will review my top strategies for financial advisors to grow their firms by acquiring new clients each month.

Whether you’re one of the new financial advisors that have started a business or you’ve had a wealth management firm for decades… This article is for you!

Summary

Short on time? Here is a list of the top strategies that you can use to get clients as a financial advisor:

• Utilize digital marketing
• Build a professional website
• Implement search engine optimization (SEO) strategies
• Leverage social media platforms
• Run paid advertising campaigns

See also: How to get new clients (10 best tips)

To learn more about how a financial advisor can get leads, appointments and clients, check out my free training here that goes through the 5-steps to getting predictable high quality appointments with your ideal clients each month.

How can financial advisors get clients?

Here are the best ways a financial advisor can get clients:

1. Digital marketing

By utilizing digital marketing, you can easily access your desired target audience and extend your clientele.

What are some of the best ways to use digital marketing as a financial advisor?

You have two options:

You can use free or low-cost organic strategies (such as SEO) or paid advertising (such as Facebook ads).

Each strategy has pros and cons; ultimately, the best strategies involve a bit of both.

To learn more about how these free and paid marketing strategies work, check out my free training.

2. Build a professional website

Constructing a website that looks polished and easy to navigate should be your top priority to convert more clients. It will serve as the virtual face of your company.

A well-designed financial advisor website showcases your expertise and helps build trust among potential clients.

Ensure that your website:

• Looks professional

• Is easy to navigate

• Provides informative content about what differentiates you from other advisors

• Has calls to actions (CTAs) that prompt visitors to your sales funnel and contact page.

A website on its own, though, isn’t enough. You could have the best website in the world, but no one will find it if you don’t advertise it!

That’s why it’s important to follow the rest of the strategies on this list.

3. Organic search

To attract leads and clients to your website, you need more traffic to your site. You can do this when you optimize it for search engines like Google.

This will improve its visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs) when people seek financial advice.

Here are some tips to rank your financial advisor website on Google:

• On-page optimization: Include targeted keywords in title tags, meta descriptions, headers, URLs, image alt text attributes etc. Always maintain high-quality content throughout the site.
• Off-page optimization: Obtain backlinks from authoritative websites related to finance or other complementary industries. You can do this through guest blogging or leveraging strategic partnerships with industry influencers.
• Technical SEO: Install Google Search Console (it’s free!) to ensure your website has no errors with Google.

To learn how to do this in more detail, check out ‘Step 4’ of my free Masterclass training.

4. Leverage social media platforms

Social media platforms offer excellent opportunities for connecting with potential clients.

It’s a good idea to leverage your expertise and share valuable insights on social media platforms. By doing this, you can create a strong online presence to attract potential clients looking for professional financial advice.

Here are some social media platforms you can use to get clients as a financial advisor:

• LinkedIn: LinkedIn offers great opportunities for building relationships with other business owners or executives seeking advice regarding finances.
• Facebook & Instagram: These platforms allow advisors to engage with an older senior audience. It’s great for running ads targeting clients looking for guidance on managing their finances.
• TikTok ads: Believe it or not, TikTok has been a great channel for finding high net worth clients with people over the age of 55+. Check out what this financial advisor has to say about TikTok ads.

5. Run paid advertising campaigns

Paid advertising can help you win clients than many other marketing channels. With paid ads you can generate leads targeting specific demographics or geographic locations.

What are the best paid ad platforms to get clients as an advisor?

• Facebook ads
• TikTok ads
• Google ads
• YouTube ads
• Adroll

Which channels work best for our clients? We’ve found they are Facebook ads, TikTok ads and Adroll ads. This is true even when targeting high net worth individuals.

To learn more about how we can help you with generating leads, appointments and clients for financial planning services, insurance, annuities or even wealth management, watch this video.

6. Utilize email marketing

Email marketing is an effective way to nurture and convert leads into clients.

An advisor can create content relevant to their potential client’s needs through email marketing. You can also track which leads open and click on your emails.

This data can then be used to refine messaging, segment audiences, and improve lead conversion rates.

Email marketing allows advisors to reach out directly to individuals who have expressed an interest in their services. Email marketing has often proven to generate higher returns on investment compared to other marketing methods.

It can also be a useful way to stay connected with current clients to increase the chances you get referrals.

Tip: Email marketing is not to be confused with cold email. In my experience, cold email, just like cold calling, doesn’t work very well to win financial advisor clients.

8. Maximize your network

Utilizing the people you know can be a great way for financial advisors to find their ideal clients. And you can do this without spending much on advertising! This includes family members, acquaintances, associates and prior customers

To maximize your network effectively, identify key connections within your personal and professional circles. It helps to identify people who are likely to need financial advisory services or know someone who does.

These individuals could be fellow business owners, executives at large corporations, or professionals in related industries such as real estate or accounting.

9. Networking events

Attending local networking events and conferences is a great way to meet potential clients face-to-face.

When attending these events, prepare a clear elevator and sales pitch. This sales pitch needs to succinctly explain your services and how you can help prospective clients achieve their financial goals.

Networking events can be a good way to get clients in the short term. However, it’s not the most profitable or time-efficient way to get prospective clients.

Check out this video for more effective strategies than networking for advisors.

10. Ask for referrals

Don’t be shy about asking your existing client base for referrals. A satisfied client is often more than happy to recommend you to friends or colleagues who might need financial advice.

Make it easy for them by providing a simple referral process. For example, provide them with an email template they can use. Or, give them a link to your website where new prospects learn more.

11. Create a unique value proposition

Your financial advisor value proposition should clearly communicate what sets you apart from other financial planning experts in the industry.

To develop an effective UVP statement, consider factors like:

• Your target market: Who are your ideal clients? What specific needs do they have?

• Your expertise: What areas within finance do you specialize in? How does this benefit your clientele?

• The experience: How will working with you differ from working with another advisor?

Watch ‘Step 1’ of this video to learn the best way to COMMUNICATE your unique value proposition to leads.

12. Showcase your expertise

Want leads to chase you instead of you chasing them? Sharing valuable insights through thought leadership pieces can help position yourself as an expert and attract clients to your firm.

Some ways to showcase your expertise include:

• Writing blog posts or articles on industry trends, financial tips, and best practices
• Participating in podcasts or webinars as a guest speaker
• Creating informative videos that address common questions or concerns
• Publishing YouTube videos on financial literacy
• Speak at events in the financial services industry
• Contributing to reputable online or print publications within the finance industry.

By focusing on building a strong brand presence for your financial advisory business, you will be able to attract more clients who resonate with your values and trust in your expertise.

This can lead to increased client referrals and ultimately help grow your client base over time.

13. Provide exceptional service

The foundation of any successful financial advisor is to provide exceptional service and sound advice to your clients.

By consistently delivering a service that surpasses expectations, they will be more inclined to recommend you as their trusted financial advisor.

14. Utilize testimonials

Showcasing success stories can help build trust among potential prospects who are considering working with you. It also encourages current clients to share their positive experiences with others.

Key points:

1. Gather testimonials from satisfied clients who have seen tangible results working with you.
2. Add these testimonials prominently on your website and in marketing materials.
3. Develop case studies highlighting specific examples of how you’ve helped clients achieve their financial goals.

Unfortunately, I understand that not every financial professional can do this for compliance reasons. However, if it is something you can do, it can go a long way in positioning yourself as a financial expert.

15. Partner with professionals

Establishing relationships with other professionals, such as accountants, attorneys, or real estate agents, can lead to mutually beneficial referral partnerships.

These connections will enable you to refer people to trusted partners while also receiving referrals from them.

In a referral business networking event called Business Network International (BNI) there’s a saying: “Givers; Gain.”

In other words, those that give others referrals also get many referrals in return.

By implementing these strategies for leveraging referrals, you’ll be well on your way to expanding your client base and increasing the overall success of your financial advisory practice.

Conclusion

As most financial advisors say, getting more clients is essential to success.

By utilizing digital marketing, maximizing your network, building your brand and creating engaging content, you can increase the chances of gaining new clients and referrals.

Need help building a successful financial advisory and wealth management business? Watch this video to learn how to get 10, 15, 30 or more high-quality monthly appointments with your ideal clients.

FAQs