During the good times, the phrase I heard most was "a rising tide raises all boats." Advisors and their clients were doing well as the economy roared.

Now, as the tide of growth rushes out, we're all struggling to stay afloat. This year, you need strategies for survival—and tactics for making them work. I spoke to advisors around the country who are flourishing right now. For the most part, it isn't special circumstances or luck that helps them thrive, but flexible business models that help them adjust quickly and take advantage of new opportunities.

Here are some best practices culled from talking with advisors who are managing to survive and even grow. Their approaches vary widely, and you won't apply all they learned. But you can experiment with some of their great ideas.

Multiply Income Streams

Several advisors found having more than one kind of income stream to be a good strategy. "We're still paying the bills," says John L. Jenkins, president and CEO of San Diego-based Asset Preservation Strategies. While AUM was down 24% for 2008, gross revenue was down just 2.8%. "We made up the revenue differential through alternative investment sales and planning fees. I'm especially proud of this, given that we changed broker-dealers in the midst of all the market turmoil," he says. "We lost only two clients." Jenkins' firm also collects commissions from retail or brokerage business and fees for in-depth planning and analysis. "I believe a business should have three lines in the water. We're not just dependent on AUM," he stresses.

Lisa Dickholtz, of Dickholtz Wealth Management in Northbrook, Ill., also credits a mixed income stream for part of her success. She's moving into a fee-based model and works with a wide variety of products: "We've been working on commodities, futures, real estate—a range of non-correlated investments," she says. "We'll be making more from planning fees going forward." Her 2008 revenues rose 35%, thanks to her renewed focus on marketing and product placement.

Pat Hinds, of Granite Financial in St. Cloud, Minn., upgraded her business on several fronts. Early in 2008, she sold part of her book of business, so she could focus on her most profitable clients. With a smaller group, she can boost client communications and concentrate on sophisticated yet low-cost marketing initiatives. Though other advisors may feel now isn't the time to shed clients, Hinds has no regrets about her partial book sale. "It's freed me to work with my best clients and has led to better referrals, since top clients know other potential top clients."

Though Hinds' AUM has fallen, mostly due to the market, she's seen only a 3% dip in revenue. As with other advisors, she's found it pays to be diversified. "We're moving more toward a fee-based model, but we still sell products, such as variable annuities and REITs," explains Hinds, who also receives financial planning fees and insurance policy commissions.

Conquer Discontent with Great Communication

As the market sank, Jenkins says, communication became essential to keeping clients happy. His firm expanded its "touch points" with newsletters, phone calls, email updates and extra client meetings. He also instituted a series of town hall meetings for clients, strategic partners and their guests—about 40 people came to one of the sessions. "We spoke about the markets and gave our professional opinions," he says. He had tax, legal and real estate experts in the room to help present information and answer questions. Clients felt reassured as he explained how we got into this mess. "We got rave reviews from clients, as well as our strategic partners," he says.

The town halls brought two advantages: First, the firm has already picked up two new clients and has meetings scheduled with other prospects. Second, the outreach to strategic partners—CPAs, attorneys, and mortgage and real estate professionals—has led to new referrals. Jenkins also says some prospects are finally ready to talk with him after getting his newsletter and seminar invitations for five years or more. "It's true what the marketing experts say: It takes a triggering event for people to finally make the call," he observes. "Our job is to stay visible and position ourselves as a credible resource until they're ready."

Hinds also turned on the client outreach last year. In addition to calls and emails, Hinds scheduled major client events. In October, Granite hosted a Meet the Managers event, and twice the number of expected clients attended. Granite also held a dinner cruise and a holiday open house. "Our events were a mix of education and fun," Hinds says.