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    • I Analyzed The Websites Of Barron’s Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors: Here’s What They Do Differently…
    • 4 Things I've Learned From Testing 3.2 Million Financial Advisor Emails
    • What Is The Optimal Number Of Clients For A Financial Advisor? (My Answer May Surprise You...)
    • Will Financial Advisors Become Obsolete? (Future Outlook For Financial Advisors)
    • How To Become A Virtual Financial Advisor (Plus Traits And Tools To Help You Work Remotely)
    • An Open Letter To Financial Advisors With Imposter Syndrome (Plus 4 Tips For Overcoming It)
    • How To Overcome Objections As A Financial Advisor (The Right And Wrong Way)
    • 7 Priceless Tips For Financial Advisors Who Want A "Lifestyle" Practice
    • 9 Research-Backed Stress Management Tips For Financial Advisors (That Actually Work)
    • 3 Powerful Ways Financial Advisors Can Use Webinars To Get More Clients
    • 10 Catastrophic Ways Financial Advisors Sabotage Their Own Success
    • These 5 "Weird" Tips Can Help Financial Advisors Form Better Habits
    • 5 Financial Advisor Follow-Up Tips (That Won't Annoy Prospects)
    • How Financial Advisors Can Write A Book (And Use It To Get Clients)
    • 7 Ways To Make Your Financial Planning Firm More Profitable
    • 7 Actionable Goal Setting Tips For Financial Advisors
    • 10 Of My Favorite Productivity Tools For Financial Advisors
    • How Financial Advisors Can Make A Phenomenal First Impression
    • 3 Reasons Financial Advisors Should (And Shouldn't) Start A Podcast
    • Financial Advisors: 4 Reasons Why Buying Leads Is Like Burning Money
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    • 7 Traits Successful Financial Advisors Have (From Someone Who Has Worked With Thousands Of Advisors)
    • 6 Common Financial Advisor Interview Questions (And How To Answer Them)
    • 5 Things Financial Advisors Should Know Before Buying A Book Of Business
    • Looking For A Financial Advisor Internship? Here Are 10 Things You Should Know...
    • How Hard Is The CFP® Exam? (Plus 5 Of My Favorite Tips To Help You Pass)
    • 10 Insurance Marketing Tips, Ideas, and Strategies (That Actually Work)
    • How to Become a Financial Advisor In 5 (Not So Easy) Steps
    • How To Make Six Figures As A Financial Advisor
    • 11 Lucrative Cold Calling Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 10 Things I Wish All Entry Level Financial Advisors Knew
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    • 7 Reasons Why Most Financial Advisor Sales Training Completely Fails
    • Pros and Cons of Financial Advisor Coaching - Should Financial Advisors Hire a Coach?
    • 9 Elevator Speech Tips for Financial Advisors
    • A Day In The Life of a Financial Advisor: 7 Things You Can Expect
    • 7 Awesome Content Marketing Tips for Financial Services
    • Pros and Cons of Being a Financial Advisor: The Dirty Details Nobody Tells You
    • 8 Things Nobody Tells You About Being a Financial Advisor
    • 10 Things Financial Advisors Wish They Could Do Differently
    • 10 Awesome Content Marketing Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 12 Best Financial Planning Questions to Ask Clients
    • 5 Online Reputation Management Tips for Financial Advisors
    • Here's Why Clients Fire Financial Advisors
    • 5 Things Financial Advisors Should Never Do With Their Clients
    • 9 Cold Email Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 7 Tips for Avoiding Burnout as a Financial Advisor
    • 9 Tips for Creating a Financial Advisor Business Plan
    • 7 Must-Know Google Ads Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 7 Awesome Tech Tools for Financial Advisors
    • 10 Insurance Email Marketing Mistakes You Need to Avoid
    • 12 Facebook Marketing Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 3 Lessons From An Advisor Losing $1,000 Every Day
    • 7 Easy & Actionable Social Media Marketing Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 7 Door-to-Door and Cold Knocking Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 5 Things People Really Want From Financial Advisors
    • 5 Client Loyalty Strategies to Help You Retain More Clients
    • 7 Client Referral Ideas to Help You Get More Referrals
    • 8 Tips for Attracting UHNW Clients (With Proof That They Work)
    • Top 10 Best Books for Insurance Agents (2020)
    • 15 Financial Advisor Prospecting Ideas & Techniques That Work!
    • 11 Awesome Client Appreciation Event Ideas for Financial Advisors
    • Life Insurance Leads - Should You Buy Them?
    • 5 Ways Financial Advisors Can Improve Direct Mail Marketing Results
    • 7 Reasons You'll Fail as an Insurance Agent
    • 7 Horrible Insurance Marketing Ideas
    • 5 SEO Strategies For Financial Advisors (That Actually Work)
    • Social Media Tips for Financial Advisors: Experts Weigh In
    • The Secret Behind Awesome Financial Advisor Value Propositions (Plus Examples)
    • 5 Tips for How to Sell Insurance Over the Phone
    • 15-Step Client Onboarding Checklist: Onboarding Process for Financial Services
    • The Best CRM for Financial Advisors (CRM Software for Financial Services)
    • 10 Actionable Seminar Marketing Tips for Financial Advisors (That Actually Work)
    • 9 Effective Appointment Setting Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 19 Financial Advisor Email Marketing Tips
    • 5 Ways to Overcome Call Reluctance
    • How to Handle Rejection In Sales: Overcoming Your Fear of Rejection
    • 7 Reasons Why Most Financial Advisor Websites Are Terrible
    • 27 Financial Advisor Marketing Ideas & Strategies That Work!
    • How to Become a Successful Financial Advisor: Your First Year
    • Top 10 Best Books for Financial Advisors
    • 7 Fatal Prospecting Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make
    • 5 Ways to Generate Leads Without Cold Calling
    • 7 Ways Prospecting Is Like Dating
    • 5 Reasons Why You're Not Getting Referrals
    • 5 LinkedIn Tips for Financial Advisors (Plus 3 Things They Should Be Tracking...)
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    • 11 Reasons You'll Fail as a Financial Advisor
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    • 5 Best Niches for Financial Advisors
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    • How Advisors Can Get Out of Their Comfort Zone
    • 5 Characteristics of Successful Insurance Agents
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5 Things People Really Want From Financial Advisors

Unicorn holding a sign that says people want good financial advisors
​​​​​If you’re a financial advisor, this will be one of the most important articles you ever read. Print it out and put it on your desk if you want.

I recently had a chat with someone who handles the hiring, training, etc. for a very large financial services company. He expressed concern about the high turnover rate among his company’s financial advisors.

This is a company that has probably put MILLIONS of dollars into training their people and they still get mediocre results.

Why?

It’s because the whole thing is built on a flawed foundation.

Imagine buying a Ferrari that needs a little TLC. You then labor for MONTHS, updating the interior, sanding and painting the body, installing a sound system, and even dangling some fuzzy dice. You get the vehicle completely restored and decide to reward yourself with a drive.

This is it. Months of hard work will pay off as soon as you turn the ignition and hear that Italian motor roar. You sit in the brand new leather seats (which you installed), put the key in, and crank….

Nothing…

There’s no engine.

That’s what it’s like training financial services professionals with a flawed foundation.

You can make people read books, attend lectures, and even give them “mentors”, but none of it matters if they don’t understand what the end consumer wants from a financial advisor.

It’s like training to become an Olympic weightlifter, only to find out you’re competing in track and field.

Until you understand what real people really want from a financial advisor, you’ll always be driving with the brake on.

Fortunately, I’m going to share with you what people really want from financial advisors.

Newsflash: it’s NOT fancy credentials.

It’s NOT necessarily your investment strategy.

It’s NOT the nicest suit or flashiest Rolex.
Picture

1. They Want Someone Who Will Understand Their Situation.

How well do you understand your prospects? Can you empathize with them and relate to their struggles?

This is why I don’t understand why so many older financial advisors are trying so hard to understand and market to millennials. Why? Just work with older people. It sounds harsh to put it that way, but it’s just easier for someone to feel you understand him or her when you’re both similar.

Another powerful way to let people know that you understand their situation is through social proof. You can do this by choosing a niche and focusing on that niche. When you do that, you can let prospects know that you specialize in working with a certain type of person. If your prospects fit that avatar, they will instantly feel as if you understand their situation.

ALSO READ: Pros and Cons of Being a Financial Advisor

2. They Want Someone Who Will Educate Them.

Dave Ramsey calls this having the “heart of a teacher”, and it’s pretty darn important.

But this is something that a lot of financial advisors get wrong. They hear this advice and try their best to educate their clients. Then they take it way too far.

The key here is to remember to keep it simple, Very simple.

Your clients aren’t naïve or stupid, but you probably know way more about finances than they ever will. Usually, the more you know about a particular topic, the more complex your explanations become (simply because you understand it more), which causes the “education” to go right over your prospects’ heads.

When this happens, the financial advisor will think the appointment went well while the prospect leaves confused, too embarrassed to speak up. And remember, the only opinion that matters is the prospect’s opinion!

Don’t use jargon and complex language to make yourself look smart. I know you think it elevates you in the eyes of your prospects, but it doesn’t. It usually intimidates them and people don’t want to entrust their financial fate to someone who intimidates them.

Oh yeah, and don’t assume that prospects understand more than they actually do. They will often act like they understand when they actually don’t.

ALSO READ: 9 Awesome Seminar Marketing Tips for Financial Advisors

3. They Want Someone Who Will Respect Their Assets, No Matter How Small.

One of the biggest reasons why people don’t seek out a financial advisor is because they feel as if they don’t have enough money to invest. 

There’s a perception that you have to be a millionaire or multi-millionaire before you even consider a financial advisor.

According to a survey by Harris Interactive:
​
  • 27% of people said they would feel comfortable meeting with a financial professional once they had $100,000.
  • 13% of people had between $50,000 and $99,999 as their threshold.
  • 12% of people had between $10,000 and $49,999 as their threshold.
  • 7% of people would feel comfortable meeting with a financial professional with less than $10,000.
  • 4% of people say that no specific amount of saving or investments is necessary to meet with a financial advisor.

Of course, if you have strict account minimums (which you should have if you have a solid book of business), then this doesn’t really apply to you. But if you need to grow your book of business fast, let prospects know that they don’t need $500K or more just to speak with you.

This is probably THE BIGGEST unspoken objection for financial advisors. Make sure you handle it.

ALSO READ: 5 Tips to Attract UHNW Clients
Clients want a financial advisor who will respect their assets
Clients want you to respect their assets even if they aren't driving one of these...

4. They Want Someone Who Will Solve Their Problems, Not Pitch Products.

This goes hand-in-hand with #1. If you understand your prospect’s situation, you will stand a better chance of solving his or her problems.

You don’t need to sell products themselves, but you do need to “sell” the idea of financial planning, saving for retirement, insurance, etc.

This could be a whole article by itself. Check out: How Financial Advisors Can Sell Without Being Pushy

Remember… the affluent don’t want a sales pitch.

5. They Want Someone Who Will Keep In Touch.

How often do you keep in touch with your prospects?

If you can’t keep in touch when you’re trying to earn their business, you give prospects the message that you won’t keep in touch if they become clients.

Face it - most people think of financial advisors as commodities. And until you develop a niche and/or a particular area of expertise, you ARE a commodity… unless you focus on the relational aspect of the business.

This part isn’t cut-and-dry as the rest. How exactly you keep in touch largely depends on your personality and your prospect/client base.
​

Some people want to meet with financial advisors every quarter, while others think that’s overkill. Some financial advisors like sending quarterly reports instead, summarizing current events and market news.

My personal recommendation is to look for “excuses” to contact not only your clients but people in your pipeline. If one just had a baby, congratulate him or her and send a gift if you want. If you find out someone is going to start a business, reach out and ask if he or she has thought about private disability insurance. The key here is to have a pertinent reason for staying top of mind.

Here’s a rule of thumb you can use about communication: good communication alone will never sustain a relationship, but poor communication will almost always break it.

This whole piece assumes that you have both integrity and competency. An advisor should never lie, even by omission. A fiduciary standard is important. You also need to have the ability to help another person manage his or her finances. Without a baseline level of competency, you’re dead in the water. Assuming you operate competently and with integrity, you will be miles ahead of your competition if you remember the above five things.

P.S. If you're a financial advisor who wants to get more clients from LinkedIn, make sure you check out How to Get Clients With LinkedIn: How Financial Advisors Can Set Appointments and Convert Prospects With LinkedIn
​
MORE THAN 50,000 FINANCIAL ADVISORS SERVED... ARE YOU NEXT? CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE. 
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  • Home
  • Get Clients With LinkedIn
  • Webinar
  • For New Advisors
  • Products
  • Inner Circle
  • Blog
    • 50 Things I Wish Financial Advisors Knew About Marketing
    • What's A Good Financial Advisor Marketing Budget? Here's What I've Found...
    • 5 Reasons Why Hiring A Financial Advisor Marketing Agency Is A Bad Idea...
    • 5 Elements of High-Converting Landing Pages For Financial Advisors (With Examples)
    • Why "Branding" Is A Terrible Idea For Financial Advisors
    • 9 Inbound Marketing Strategies For Financial Advisors That Are Working Right Now... (With Proof)
    • Financial Advisors: Here's How To Get 3 New Clients In The Next 30 Days...
    • I Analyzed The Websites Of Barron’s Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors: Here’s What They Do Differently…
    • 4 Things I've Learned From Testing 3.2 Million Financial Advisor Emails
    • What Is The Optimal Number Of Clients For A Financial Advisor? (My Answer May Surprise You...)
    • Will Financial Advisors Become Obsolete? (Future Outlook For Financial Advisors)
    • How To Become A Virtual Financial Advisor (Plus Traits And Tools To Help You Work Remotely)
    • An Open Letter To Financial Advisors With Imposter Syndrome (Plus 4 Tips For Overcoming It)
    • How To Overcome Objections As A Financial Advisor (The Right And Wrong Way)
    • 7 Priceless Tips For Financial Advisors Who Want A "Lifestyle" Practice
    • 9 Research-Backed Stress Management Tips For Financial Advisors (That Actually Work)
    • 3 Powerful Ways Financial Advisors Can Use Webinars To Get More Clients
    • 10 Catastrophic Ways Financial Advisors Sabotage Their Own Success
    • These 5 "Weird" Tips Can Help Financial Advisors Form Better Habits
    • 5 Financial Advisor Follow-Up Tips (That Won't Annoy Prospects)
    • How Financial Advisors Can Write A Book (And Use It To Get Clients)
    • 7 Ways To Make Your Financial Planning Firm More Profitable
    • 7 Actionable Goal Setting Tips For Financial Advisors
    • 10 Of My Favorite Productivity Tools For Financial Advisors
    • How Financial Advisors Can Make A Phenomenal First Impression
    • 3 Reasons Financial Advisors Should (And Shouldn't) Start A Podcast
    • Financial Advisors: 4 Reasons Why Buying Leads Is Like Burning Money
    • 11 Tips For Writing A Stellar Financial Advisor Bio (With Examples)
    • 7 Traits Successful Financial Advisors Have (From Someone Who Has Worked With Thousands Of Advisors)
    • 6 Common Financial Advisor Interview Questions (And How To Answer Them)
    • 5 Things Financial Advisors Should Know Before Buying A Book Of Business
    • Looking For A Financial Advisor Internship? Here Are 10 Things You Should Know...
    • How Hard Is The CFP® Exam? (Plus 5 Of My Favorite Tips To Help You Pass)
    • 10 Insurance Marketing Tips, Ideas, and Strategies (That Actually Work)
    • How to Become a Financial Advisor In 5 (Not So Easy) Steps
    • How To Make Six Figures As A Financial Advisor
    • 11 Lucrative Cold Calling Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 10 Things I Wish All Entry Level Financial Advisors Knew
    • 6 Video Marketing Tips for Financial Advisors: Why Video Marketing Is So Powerful
    • 7 Reasons Why Most Financial Advisor Sales Training Completely Fails
    • Pros and Cons of Financial Advisor Coaching - Should Financial Advisors Hire a Coach?
    • 9 Elevator Speech Tips for Financial Advisors
    • A Day In The Life of a Financial Advisor: 7 Things You Can Expect
    • 7 Awesome Content Marketing Tips for Financial Services
    • Pros and Cons of Being a Financial Advisor: The Dirty Details Nobody Tells You
    • 8 Things Nobody Tells You About Being a Financial Advisor
    • 10 Things Financial Advisors Wish They Could Do Differently
    • 10 Awesome Content Marketing Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 12 Best Financial Planning Questions to Ask Clients
    • 5 Online Reputation Management Tips for Financial Advisors
    • Here's Why Clients Fire Financial Advisors
    • 5 Things Financial Advisors Should Never Do With Their Clients
    • 9 Cold Email Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 7 Tips for Avoiding Burnout as a Financial Advisor
    • 9 Tips for Creating a Financial Advisor Business Plan
    • 7 Must-Know Google Ads Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 7 Awesome Tech Tools for Financial Advisors
    • 10 Insurance Email Marketing Mistakes You Need to Avoid
    • 12 Facebook Marketing Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 3 Lessons From An Advisor Losing $1,000 Every Day
    • 7 Easy & Actionable Social Media Marketing Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 7 Door-to-Door and Cold Knocking Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 5 Things People Really Want From Financial Advisors
    • 5 Client Loyalty Strategies to Help You Retain More Clients
    • 7 Client Referral Ideas to Help You Get More Referrals
    • 8 Tips for Attracting UHNW Clients (With Proof That They Work)
    • Top 10 Best Books for Insurance Agents (2020)
    • 15 Financial Advisor Prospecting Ideas & Techniques That Work!
    • 11 Awesome Client Appreciation Event Ideas for Financial Advisors
    • Life Insurance Leads - Should You Buy Them?
    • 5 Ways Financial Advisors Can Improve Direct Mail Marketing Results
    • 7 Reasons You'll Fail as an Insurance Agent
    • 7 Horrible Insurance Marketing Ideas
    • 5 SEO Strategies For Financial Advisors (That Actually Work)
    • Social Media Tips for Financial Advisors: Experts Weigh In
    • The Secret Behind Awesome Financial Advisor Value Propositions (Plus Examples)
    • 5 Tips for How to Sell Insurance Over the Phone
    • 15-Step Client Onboarding Checklist: Onboarding Process for Financial Services
    • The Best CRM for Financial Advisors (CRM Software for Financial Services)
    • 10 Actionable Seminar Marketing Tips for Financial Advisors (That Actually Work)
    • 9 Effective Appointment Setting Tips for Financial Advisors
    • 19 Financial Advisor Email Marketing Tips
    • 5 Ways to Overcome Call Reluctance
    • How to Handle Rejection In Sales: Overcoming Your Fear of Rejection
    • 7 Reasons Why Most Financial Advisor Websites Are Terrible
    • 27 Financial Advisor Marketing Ideas & Strategies That Work!
    • How to Become a Successful Financial Advisor: Your First Year
    • Top 10 Best Books for Financial Advisors
    • 7 Fatal Prospecting Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make
    • 5 Ways to Generate Leads Without Cold Calling
    • 7 Ways Prospecting Is Like Dating
    • 5 Reasons Why You're Not Getting Referrals
    • 5 LinkedIn Tips for Financial Advisors (Plus 3 Things They Should Be Tracking...)
    • How Financial Advisors Can Build Client Trust
    • 11 Reasons You'll Fail as a Financial Advisor
    • How Financial Advisors Can Make More Money
    • 5 Best Niches for Financial Advisors
    • How to Sell Without Being Pushy
    • How Advisors Can Get Out of Their Comfort Zone
    • 5 Characteristics of Successful Insurance Agents
  • Contact