If you find yourself struggling to connect with ultra-high net worth individuals, especially those in their 50s and 60s—or even younger high net worth clients—then take comfort in knowing you are not alone. They’re tough to find and land when competition is so ferocious and when other means just don’t seem to work. Many a financial advisor fails at times to attain visibility or prove their worth to prospective clientele.
Hi, I’m Dave Zoller, and along with Tim, we run Streamlined Financial—a wealth management firm with over $250 million in assets under management. We set up the channel so that we could share some of the insights and strategies that have worked for us in hopes that they may benefit you. In this post, I will outline how high net worth clients find their financial advisors, and also present some actionable steps on how you can increase the chances of working with them.
To attract highly valued clients, both older and younger, a strategic approach to enhancing one’s online presence and referrals will be required. This will be greatly enhanced through an understanding of how such clients find a financial advisor, and in implementing specific strategies for each in order to make huge improvements in visibility and appeal. It is about targeting both clients in their 50s and 60s and those under 45.
How High Net Worth 50 and 60 Year Olds Find Their Advisors
High net worth 50- and 60-year-olds find their new financial advisors through referrals. Perhaps this is nothing you don’t already know, but being able to harness this knowledge could change the way you’re bringing in clients. According to our studies and Oxley Institute data, referrals are still the number one way this age group finds their current advisor.
Referrals are key, but it is not all about asking the current client for them, either. We have been successful in employing a more strategic approach.
For example, increasing your web presence will greatly improve the referrals you do get.
Our Approach:
- LinkedIn: Posting regular content on LinkedIn proved quite efficient for us. We seek consistency in ensuring that at least we do one posting per week. Over time, it has helped us to garner some good levels of engagement and connection requests.
- YouTube: By opening a YouTube channel in 2020, we were capable of publishing valuable content and connecting with prospective clients who came through from the video views. This made sharing of our content with their networks quite easy to the viewers.
How High Net Worth Clients Under 45 Find Their Advisors
The younger affluent client, the ones under age 45, find their financial advisors online. This generation uses the web to research and choose an advisor.
Web presence: You need to be on the web. You don’t have to be on page one of Google. But your prospective client needs to find you..
Keys to Strategies:
- Persistent Content: Posting in these social media outlets like LinkedIn will work toward building your credibility and raising eyebrows. First, share information and news that is pertinent to wealth management.
- Video Content: Making entertaining videos, like those on YouTube increases your presence online, making life easier for potential clients when searching for you and, hopefully, referring you to others.
Putting Strategies into Action to Grow Your Business
Actionable steps from the information:
- Enhance Your Web Presence:
- Make profiles in LinkedIn, YouTube, and any other sites related to your work; put some time into their maintenance.
- Keep fresh content on your sites and engage with your viewers.
- Get Referrals via the Web Content:
- Use content to scale referrals by making it easy for current clients to share valuable information with their network.
- Be Consistent:
- Consistency in content creation and audience engagement will help you build credibility needed to attract high net worth clients.
Next Steps:
Specific guidance on how to craft effective posts, or curate an online presence—or whatever else—is what you’re looking for? Leave a message in the comments section below. We could give more specific tips and share our best practices.
Conclusion
It is important to understand how high net worth prospects find their financial advisor as an adjustment in approach to attract the right type of prospect for your practice.
Clients in their 50s and 60s: Your approach to gaining these clients can be very effective by focusing on referral generation through enhanced online presence.
Younger wealthy clients: Having an online presence and adding value regularly is key.
These strategies put you in a better position to connect with ultra-high net worth individuals and build your clientele. For any further questions or further insight into how to improve your online presence or referral strategy, please don’t hesitate to contact me.