5 ideas from RIA marketing mavens

“I grow my business through referrals.”
I hear that all the time from financial advisers. And yes, referrals are a great way to grow your business — but only up to a point.
Those of you who want to accelerate your growth rate and create a consistent stream of new clients have to move beyond referral marketing and become a marketing machine.
On my latest podcast, I sat down with David Canter, head of Fidelity’s Practice Management and Consulting Group, and discussed how top RIAs establish a growth engine through marketing and business development.
After analyzing the results of a survey of more than 100 leading RIA firms, here are five key things the leading RIA marketers (dubbed Marketing Leaders) did to grow their client base 40% faster than non-marketing leaders (dubbed Other RIAs).
1. Prioritize growth
First of all, Mr. Canter said, “All firms that want to have lasting businesses start with growth as a priority. Marketing Leaders invest, on average, 2.4% of their revenue on marketing and business development activities spread across six key disciplines.”
The six key disciplines are:
• Working on marketing plans.
• Improving the sales process.
• Developing centers of influence.
• Optimizing client referral strategies.
• Aligning compensation with business development goals.
• Implementing PR strategies.
Take a close look at those six items. How much time and resources are you devoting to optimizing each one? For example, do you have a written marketing plan?
Not surprisingly, Marketing Leaders are much more likely to have a written marketing plan than Other RIAs.
Shockingly, of the RIAs that did not have a written marketing plan, 41% said they have a plan but it’s not written down.
Well, folks, as I tell my coaching clients, if it’s not written down, it’s not a plan.
2. Leverage the “Rule of 15”
Mr. Canter mentioned what he calls the “Rule of 15.” That simply means, identify your 15 very best clients across a number of dimensions and focus your marketing resources on replicating those types of relationships.
It’s similar to advice I’ve been sharing for years. To double your business, focus on doubling the number of your very best clients, not doubling your total number of clients.
To leverage this idea, I ask my coaching clients to send me a list of their top clients. We then spend a coaching call going through each one and identify the following:
• What’s the status of the relationship?
• When was the last time you talked to them?
• When was the last time you met with them in person and asked engaging questions so that you could learn more about who they really are?
• What’s stopping you from making this a better relationship?
• When was the last time they gave you a referral?
• When did you last ask for a referral?
• What new business opportunities can you pursue with them?
The point is, you should focus the vast majority of your client time on your very best relationships to deepen the relationship, add value and generate ideal referrals.
3. It’s not “about us”
One of the most frequently visited pages on any website is the “About Us” page. Turns out the Marketing Leaders are very intentional in how they describe their firms.
“The Marketing Leaders have specifically tailored their story to the needs of their clients,” Mr. Canter said.
For example, one RIA said they “work with people who are undergoing a marital transition in Silicon Valley and are married to technology executives. We help with all the elements of financial planning, separation, and concentrated stock positions.”
It’s pretty clear who their ideal client is!
Now, let me add one twist to this. Instead of thinking in terms of an “About Us” page, think of it as an “About You” page. Put yourself in your prospects’ shoes and write the page from their perspective. What would your prospect want to know in order to feel as if you were speaking directly to their specific needs?
And of course, be genuine, authentic and real.
4. Reach out and touch someone
AT&T may have originated the phrase but RIA Marketing Leaders have perfected the process of proactively reaching out to clients and centers of influence to generate referrals.
And it’s not just a one-way street. “If you are asking for referrals, think of ways you can also help the referring party,” Mr. Canter said.
In other words, don’t just be a taker, be a giver.
Maybe you can refer business to your referrer. Maybe you can connect your referrer to one of your clients or colleagues. Maybe there’s a tool or resource you can direct them to that will help them either personally or professionally.
5. Deliver a really big show
Marketing Leaders are masters at using events to generate new clients.
While event marketing is not new, there is a trick to making an event effective. Marketing Leaders devote substantially more time and money to make their events work compared to Other RIAs.
And here’s a tip. No matter how educational your events are, make sure there’s a fun component, even if it’s a few trivia questions and you give out golf balls to the winners. Everybody loves a little sugar with the medicine.
THE SILVER BULLET
Mr. Canter and I agree that there is no silver bullet to building a marketing machine.
However, the closet piece of advice to a silver bullet I can give you is this — make a commitment to growing your business.
If you make the commitment, then develop a plan and follow through to execution, there’s no way you won’t be materially more successful than you are today.
Steve Sanduski is an executive coach, business strategist and founder of BelayAdvisor.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SteveSanduski.