Advisors have long over-prioritized acquiring and pleasing high net worth clients. Wealth managers who want steady, long-term income streams must redirect their near-exclusive focus on landing and pleasing big fish clients and instead look toward the
Industry marketers, if empowered to do so, can facilitate this mindset shift by revamping training curricula and methods, researching sustainable investment alternatives for advisor and marketing campaign development and integrating new technology.
Here are four strategies marketers can use to nudge advisors out of HNW tunnel vision.
Make training a values discussion
Wealth managers generally assert that financial planning should be product-agnostic; hence, marketers
Sales training, however, tends to be misaligned with this philosophy. Traditional advisor training focuses on products and services that cater to the needs of "decision makers," a thinly veiled reference to C-suite executives and business owners who check the affluent box. The urgency to hit numbers can trump the patience required to lead with financial planning regardless of how a firm is contractually structured.
Moreover, while
Shifting training toward a values curriculum can empower advisors to have more authentic conversations with prospects from all walks of life, potentially opening business-building avenues beyond high net worth clients.
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Broaden client reach via sustainable strategies
When financial advisors focus on investments that bolster social and environmental responsibility, they position themselves as impactful and educational resources for the greater good.
A 2022 investor study showed that Generations X, Y and Z were not only eager to fund ESGs, but they were also willing to take a greater financial hit in the process. Though ESG investing has had
Additionally, since ESG investments and the high net worth sector aren't mutually exclusive, a focus on sustainable investing allows for intentional expansion into more traditional investor segments.
Trust tech
RIAs have had a foothold on fintech for some time with broker-dealers
The collective financial technology space has strategically marketed its offerings by equating innovation with high net worth client growth. Advisors and firms with affluent client tunnel vision may not see the larger opportunity that comes with increased technology.
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This is where financial marketers and trainers need to step up and make the case that a significant long-term benefit of fintech is the democratization of effective planning among everyday and up-and-coming investor classes.
Advisors and firms should resist the urge to limit fintech integration to high net worth segments and make it a part of all client interactions.
Rethink client acquisition
Pivoting away from any established view to consider a new approach can be uncomfortable, especially in the often methodical and conservative wealth management industry.
Still, it can be and has been done: Broker-dealer and RIA practices have adopted an agile ethos to stay viable amid
Mindful of compliance strictures, wealth management marketers continue to demystify such regulatory changes for advisors and clients. But such dexterity by necessity can also prove a catch-22, allowing firms and advisors to maintain the status quo of other processes — like exclusively prioritizing high net worth individuals for client service and acquisition. Such rigidity can keep marketing and training from having a dialogue around moving beyond this sole client focus.
It is essential that the industry cast a wider growth net. The time is now to reset sales training, allow for sustainable investments and embrace fintech for all beyond the coveted high net worth client.
