Five Tested and True Steps to a Thriving Financial Advisory Practice—Part 2

Specialize in a niche.

You’ll be glad you did! There’s overwhelming statistical evidence that financial advisors who use a niche strategy make more money. They work less hours. And they get more and better referrals. The benefits of targeting a niche are as follows:

• It’s easier to find prospects who have common problems you can help solve
• You can learn their language so your messages resonate
• It’s easier to find clients who fit your passions, expertise and personality
• You’re separated from the crowd, seen as the elite company in your industry
• It’s easier to get referrals
• Your marketing plans will be simpler
• You can earn more money with less work

Yet many advisors shy away. They mistakenly believe offering their services to everyone gives them a wider net and they’ll collect more clients. They fear if they specialize they’ll lose potential prospects. Research has proven the opposite is true.

To have a thriving financial advisor practice, the fastest way’s to specialize in a niche. A niche is a narrowly defined group of potential clients.

Look for concentrations of wealthy people. Those that form an identifiable community with similar needs, wants, problems and lines of communication.

Every city or town has them. You want groups that are easy to find. They hang out the same places, attend the same events and read the same journals and magazines. They might even gather together on the social media.

An example would be radiologists at the Gotham City Medical Center. This is a proper niche; a narrowly defined group of potential clients.

A niche is easier to market to because they have the same hopes, dreams concerns, needs and wants. You’ll be able to find out exactly what people in a specific niche want in the way financial services. Because they will all want pretty much the same thing. You can craft one clear compelling message.

How to Find Viable Niches That Work For You

Focus on the wealthy. That way you can make a living from fewer clients. You can give these few clients superb service. You can get to know them on a deep level and make long lasting relationships.

You’re looking for groups of wealthy, like-minded individuals with common interests and wants who are easy to find and talk to.

Just to get your thinking started, here are four examples of viable niches.

• Top executives of Boeing, Dell, or General Motors
• Widows working with top estate planning attorneys
• Radiologists at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Retired Yankee baseball players
• Gulfstream jet aircraft salespeople
• Owners of 20+ Meineke Brake Services

I was talking to a wholesaler at an FPA meeting who said the most successful advisors he knew focus their efforts on a particular employer.

How to find them.

An excellent place to start is with your own best clients. Are some of these clients part of an identifiable, easy-to-find niche?

Or you can target a market you already have contacts with either directly or through some of your centers of influence.

Or you can choose a niche based upon your expertise or experience with some business or industry. Focus narrowly and get specific.

Test your potential niches for viability in the following categories...

• Accessiblity. Easy to find. You should be able to find them through professional associations, publications or clubs.
• Financial Status. Is your niche in the top 20% of the market?
• Motivation. Are they willing to seek financial help with their investments?
• Knowledge. How well do you know this group and how much expertise do you have? Do you know spheres of influence that could help you tap into this market?

You probably can identify three or four possible niches. You can pursue them all. However, start with just one—the one that resonates with you the most.

Having selected your possible niche, the next step is to gather insider information about your people. With this valuable information you can focus all your efforts to satisfy those wants.

That is Step 3. We’ll cover that next week.