The wave of retiring baby boomers in the coming years will pave the way for advisors who wish to move away from traditional investment management and focus on specialized financial planning and wealth management services. Industry data also suggests that the majority of higher-net-worth investors among these soon-to-be retirees already have advisors or some type of professional financial guidance. So to acquire new clients, these prospects must view you as someone who is different—and better.

Setting yourself apart and demonstrating your value involves fine-tuning your client acquisition process. How you woo new clients now not only sets expectations for your relationships, but can also help you pull assets away from your competitors.

New Needs

In the past, many of your clients came to you because they needed help rolling over large retirement plans or managing an inheritance—or they simply realized they needed help. Many of them didn't have a preexisting relationship with a financial professional or, if they did, they generally came to you because their advisor failed to meet expectations.

Today, according to Economics of Loyalty, a study by Advisor Impact, the average satisfaction rating for a client/financial advisor relationship is 8.1 out of 10, which suggests that there may not be as many clients out there looking for a new financial professional. But they may be window-shopping because of the current turbulent market or because they feel their advisors haven't been addressing issues that are important to them.

As they get closer to retirement, many of these clients are shifting gears and focusing on financial planning issues. While they continue to work with the same investment-focused advisors they've had for years, they may keep their eyes open for an advisor who can coordinate the assets and the professional relationships that they've accumulated. Demonstrating that you can be that coordinator—as opposed to concentrating on accumulation or product solutions—can help you turn those window-shoppers into customers.

During the client-acquisition process, your services must be absolutely transparent. If you allow the focus to shift to investment products and returns, your potential clients won't notice any of the planning wisdom or coordination skills that you bring to the table—and this is what they are looking for.

This is not to suggest that there's a standard that every advisor should follow. Rather, it underscores the importance of examining your current approach, because everything you do speaks to the quality of service you deliver.

For example, suppose that you use investment proposals or Morningstar fact sheets early in a prospective client meeting to illustrate potential solutions—before the client actually transfers his or her assets to your business. You run the risk of giving the prospect's current advisor the opportunity to create doubt about your plan. Worse, the advisor could co-opt your plan.

Prospect to Client

Focusing less on product and investment solutions early in the client courtship can help set you apart and reinforce an emphasis on planning. Yet, if you make some tactical changes to your acquisition process to attract clients who are seeking financial coordinators, you may be able to take assets away from incumbent advisors. Here are some points to consider:

• Be sure your prospects are intimately familiar with your process. You need to develop a consistent planning and wealth management process, and you must be able to articulate how this process would impact your prospects' financial goals

   

  One way to do this is to use a pitchbook or other materials to provide information about you and your planning process. Pitchbooks should highlight your planning wisdom and your process and procedures; most important, they should address how this process has an impact on the prospective client's financial planning issues. Your ability not only to execute, but also to explain and illustrate your process will play a significant role in luring clients away from their incumbents.

• Don't focus on low-cost solutions. If you consistently focus on low-cost products and solutions, the prospect will likely end up viewing you as his or her largest expense.

   

  If prospective clients are seeking less expensive relationships or trying to price your services, be clear and firm. Expenses are an integral part of many decisions that you make, but they should not drive the results or figure prominently in your communications with prospects.

  Moreover, by constantly discussing your costs, you are invariably training prospects to focus on them. It teaches prospects to learn the cost of everything, but the value of nothing.

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