When financial advisors start their own businesses it is a time of excitement coupled with a fear of the unknown. Navigating this new terrain doesn’t have to be fearful, but you should know what comes with this new responsibility.
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When you’ve waived a solid paycheck to become a new owner, suddenly the money stops with you. Here are eight tips to help young independent financial advisers gain a foothold.
Set specific goals
Nothing you accomplish as a new business matters without specific goals. Setting goals makes all other business planning easier. Have you ever wondered how some financial advisors have the magic touch and others don’t? The difference is their ability to set goals.
It’s harder to get lost when you’ve set goals to pursue. Your goals should be both short and long term to get going as your business grows.
Believe in yourself and your company
This is sometimes easier said than done as impostor syndrome can affect anyone. It makes a world of difference when you believe that you and your company can provide the best service to your customers. Trust your skills and the difference your company can make for your customers. Success depends primarily on your belief in yourself and your ability to perform.
Know who your target customers are
Amazon can get away with marketing for everyone, but you won’t. Most of the newly formed independent consulting firms have limited resources to market themselves. Taking the time to evaluate who to work with will make your marketing efforts more targeted and impactful. You should be able to describe your ideal client, including demographics (age, gender, and occupation) as well as psychographics (values, desires, goals, interests, and lifestyle choices).
When you want to specialize in a niche market it becomes a lot easier to target your perfect customer. Financial advisors who narrow their client focus typically get more business. One caveat: if you’re just starting out and haven’t pulled an established ledger with you, it makes sense to work with enough clients to meet your financial obligations, even if they’re not always your sample clients.
Be ready to market yourself
If you give in to fear of rejection or put yourself out there, you will be doing yourself a great disservice. Now you are partly a financial advisor, partly a salesperson, tasked with marketing your services. When you’re a solo shop, you need to reach as many potential customers as possible.
Marketing and related activities are not natural for everyone, so work with a marketer to come up with a plan to promote yourself.
Build a prospect list beyond family and friends
It’s not embarrassing to work with family and friends. In fact, many new financial advisors start out this way. The family-and-friends pipeline tends to dry up quickly, however, so building a prospect list outside of these groups is a good idea. To stay in business it takes a steady influx of new prospects and you need a solid marketing strategy to keep your sales funnel full.
Understand your customers’ needs better than they do
Most financial firms say they offer high quality, bespoke services, but often they don’t have a clear idea of how to customize their services for their clients. Assumptions are made about what clients really want and financial advisers miss the opportunity to build a profitable, long-term relationship. New independent financial advisors who understand their clients’ needs beyond investing can help them plan milestones such as retirement, college, travel, and weddings. This is how you stay close to what is most important to you.
Show your customers that you are helping them meet their needs and also empower them to evaluate their financial life. Think about how you can meet your customers’ needs and solve their problems before they have spoken them out to you.
Know the difference between working on your company and working in it
Working in your company encompasses everything you do to manage your company’s activities and perform tasks that are in line with its goals. This includes conducting customer meetings, analyzing financial plans, making pension projections and everything else related to the provision of your services.
However, working on your business encompasses everything strategic like planning the business, working with a business coach, creating a marketing strategy, selling to your ideal client, and making decisions that support the company’s vision.
Many new independent consultants focus entirely on the work in the company, not on it. Why is the distinction important? Working on your business keeps you close to why you started your consulting practice in the first place, reminds you where the business should go, and keeps your course correction ability sharp.
Practice makes you experienced, not perfect
Financial advisors who have just become self-employed must not be paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes. You don’t learn the ropes until you dive in. The most successful consultants know that there is no such thing as perfection and are not afraid to let experience guide them. After enough experience stepping out and testing, new financial advisory firms will find their best path and how to prepare for success.
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