Proven tactics to scale your advisory practice and ensure long-term success. From niche specialization to service expansion, discover the strategies top advisors use to grow their businesses.
Financial advisors may be busy helping clients achieve their long-term financial goals day to day, but planning for the future of their firms is just as important to ensuring their long-term success. Without doing so, financial advisors can get stuck in a rut that makes it difficult to grow revenue and expand the business over time.
Without growth, old clients that peel away are not replaced, and business is lost to competitors. Like any business, a financial advisor needs to keep growing their client base to stay ahead. Without growth, advisors may also fall into a rut and lose their passion for the job.
These are five key growth strategies you can use to help ensure a successful future for your financial advisory firm.
Many financial advisory firms provide their clients with a broad array of services to address the largest possible market. While this strategy effectively makes almost anyone a potential client, you're competing with every other financial advisory firm with very little differentiation.
Becoming an expert in a niche market—such as serving retired athletes or the tech community—is often a better approach. "Identify a niche early in your career and become known for it," suggests Ashley Folkes, a financial advisor in Hoover, Alabama. "Some of the most successful advisors specialize in specific strategies or planning techniques."
By developing domain expertise in the right niche for you, you can:
Consider specializing in one of these high-value niches:
David Flores Wilson, a certified financial planner at Sincerus Advisory in New York City, notes the strategy's risks: "Going all in on a niche can backfire if you don't have sustained passion for that niche down the line. Moreover, your niche could be less favorable during certain time periods."
When selecting your niche, consider:
Most advisors find much of their business through client referrals, yet many firms are content delivering standard services and reactively waiting for them. Over time, this can lead to other advisors cannibalizing your client base.
By going above and beyond expectations, your clients are more likely to become brand ambassadors for your firm and offer unsolicited introductions. Carla T. Adams, the founder of Ametrine Wealth and certified financial planner, works hard to help her clients see working with her as more than a "transactional relationship."
When starting with new clients, Adams sets "the tone for our relationship going forward" by putting "the client at ease and letting them know that their goals and dreams are important to me." She's quite literal about making clients feel at home: "For clients who live locally, I like to meet them at their homes, at least in the beginning, if they are comfortable. I can quickly notice a change in comfort level when I meet clients in their own homes versus in an office or virtually."
Ways to exceed client expectations include:
Don't wait for referrals to happen naturally. Implement systematic approaches:
Price is a contentious issue when running just about any business, particularly businesses where clients have many choices. In the financial industry, many advisors are concerned about raising prices for long-term clients despite adding new services over time that justify those higher prices.
By clearly identifying how you're helping clients achieve their long-term goals, price shopping becomes more difficult for them, and there's less client backlash from raising prices. The key is highlighting how your firm goes above and beyond typical services and achieves greater long-term value for them.
Consider these pricing strategies to maximize revenue while maintaining client satisfaction:
Many financial advisors working with smaller firms tend to be too laid back about their branding. Nevertheless, a financial advisor with an outdated LinkedIn profile could be sending the wrong message to clients by failing to indicate that they're working with a given financial advisory firm.
By keeping websites, social media profiles, and other parts of your digital presence up-to-date and consistent, clients can be more confident that your advice is up to date. Key components include:
Ways to build a brand include hosting an informative blog or posting educational content to media channels like YouTube, which can also help grow an audience and brand awareness over time. Something to remember is that a brand represents you—you're not all financial advisors everywhere. Don't be afraid to have a (professional) personality that shines through your materials.
Wilson suggests advisors "build a practice with strategies and techniques that suit their values, skills, and personality." Doing so will keep you far more motivated than pretending to be something you're not. "Whether it's writing content, personal networking, podcasting, digital marketing, or other avenues, what's most effective is the strategy you enjoy most since that's the strategy that you'll put the most hours into," he said.
As client expectations evolve, financial advisors are adapting to meet the growing expectations of clients. "Clients increasingly are looking for one place to handle everything, so being capable of offering tax and estate planning is imperative," said Brian M. Schmehil, managing director of wealth management at the Mather Group in Chicago, Illinois.
You might consider expanding your services beyond traditional investment advice to stay competitive and attract a broader client base. One strategy is to provide comprehensive financial planning that addresses various aspects of a client's financial life, such as:
You don't need to learn very different fields in finance suddenly. Instead, you can use strategic partnerships with other professionals, such as accountants, attorneys, and real estate agents, to broaden your service offerings.
Modern advisory practices can differentiate themselves through advanced technology capabilities. This is where platforms like SharpeMetrix provide significant advantages:
Monitor these KPIs to measure the success of your growth strategies:
Solution: Implement systems and delegate operational tasks. Use technology to automate routine processes and free up time for growth activities.
Solution: Focus on niche specialization and unique value propositions. Invest in advanced capabilities that competitors can't easily replicate.
Solution: Demonstrate clear value through quantified outcomes. Implement tiered service models that justify pricing differences.
Solution: Build a team culture focused on client service. Use technology to maintain personal touches at scale.
Solution: Invest in continuous education and technology upgrades. Partner with innovative providers who stay ahead of industry trends.
Expanding your clientele as a financial advisor requires different approaches that go beyond traditional investment advice. By offering a more comprehensive suite of services, leveraging strategic partnerships, specializing in niche markets, and focusing on client relationships, you can meet the diverse needs of your clients and differentiate yourself in a competitive market.
The five strategies outlined—niche specialization, relationship building, value-based pricing, brand development, and service expansion—work synergistically to create sustainable competitive advantages. Success requires consistent execution and continuous refinement based on market feedback and performance metrics.
In an evolving industry, staying adaptable and continuously improving your service offerings is key to long-term success and growth in your practice. The advisors who thrive in the coming decade will be those who embrace change, invest in differentiation, and consistently deliver exceptional value to their clients.
Remember that growth is not just about adding clients—it's about building a sustainable, profitable practice that can weather market cycles and continue serving clients effectively over the long term.
SharpeMetrix's institutional-grade analytics and alternative data capabilities can be a key differentiator in your growth strategy. Stand out from competitors with advanced investment technology.