January 08, 2025

How to find more ideal clients in 2025 as a financial advisor?

How to turn client meetings into favorable introductions

Financial advisors get extremely busy working with clients at the start of the year. In the first quarter, financial professionals try and see everyone, review their investments and plans and do a whole bunch of service work. Is this how elite advisors run their practice? Absolutely not. They have all of their ideal clients mapped out in their progress update schedule for the year. They typically see their best clients in the spring, do goals and planning meetings ( naming the types of meetings they are having) and see them again in the fall and deliver their tax investment and estate planning meeting. In between the two meetings, they contact their best clients three to six times by phone a year. This is the massive difference between an average advisor-client meeting and an elite advisor-client meeting.

Most advisors try to do a quick meeting, so they can see as many people as possible. A massive mistake. Elite advisors plan a primary meeting ( approximately one hour) and a secondary meeting ( a second hour) when meeting with their best clients. For example the primary meeting is from 11:00 AM to noon to go over investments planning and portfolio. The secondary meeting is to take them out for lunch from noon to 1 PM and curate deeper conversations. They turn client meetings into favourable introduction meetings, family meetings, and Centres of influence introductions. . These conversations take time and elite advisers have planned the time out with their best clients to have these conversations. This is the fastest way to clone your best clients. 

Secondary meeting conversations

What are the conversations that the elite advisor is having with their clients at the lunch meeting? The first conversation is to talk about their family and introduce the client to their "Family plan" and offer the family plan to the rest of their extended family, including siblings brothers parents, etc. Here are three questions you can ask. "What was money like growing up in your household? Who in your family did you get your money values from? Who in your family do you talk with about money?" Your personal money values are constant and rarely change, so understanding their money values is critical to understanding them, regardless of whether they refer you to their siblings or parents. It's an important conversation to have. Always talk about your "Family plan offer and turn ideal clients into ideal families. The second conversation is to talk about events. What events and organizations you're involved in? What events and organizations your clients are involved in? For example, I remember talking to my clients about lawn bowling. they invited me to the Lawn Bowling Club and asked me to sponsor their championship trophy. I ended up becoming a sponsor and meeting good friends of theirs who also became clients. I also sponsored the golf handicap computer at the Golf Club and met several people through sponsorship at the Golf Club. Instead of planning your own events, go to their events and ask for introductions to people they know. I truly believe your clients will introduce you to everyone, but they might not refer you to everyone.

Your network of professionals

Back at the lunch meeting, talk about your network of professionals and how you coordinate with their professionals, or they can tap into your network of professionals such as accountants, lawyers, mortgage experts, realtors, commercial real estate etc. Tell them how you will coordinate the planning and advice with these additional professionals. In a matter of three minutes, you can give and get three to six names at every single meeting. If this is not part of your process now but you would like more centers of influence, contact me at grant@ghicks.com  to show you the process on how to build your network of professionals through your best clients.

How to find more ideal clients in 2025

The title of the article suggests how you can find more ideal clients this year. It starts by having two meetings with your best clients. One meeting to deliver your value and help them with their planning and a secondary meeting to introduce you to family friends or colleagues at events and centers of influence. The second meeting takes time,  but this is where the value is. Position the secondary meeting by having a lunch or a coffee meeting or a follow-up coffee meeting or conversation. if you were doing virtual meetings plan to have a 15-minute virtual coffee and position it." I want to get to know you better and understand you and your values, your family, and your network of professionals,” 10 extra hours could mean 10 new ideal clients. 

Where do you want to be in three years (2028) ? 

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We are here to serve your practice, let’s talk

 Jeff Thorsteinson

www.advisorpracticemanagement.com

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Grant Hicks, CIM, is President of Advisor Practice Management and co-author of “Guerrilla Marketing For Financial Advisors” 1st and 2nd editions. www.advisorpracticemanagement.com for speaking, workshops, or coaching, contact Grant at grant@ghicks.com   

Jeff Thorsteinson  and  Grant Hicks and Advisor Practice Management's combined financial advisor clients manage over 8 billion AUM, and earn over $80 million dollars combined! 

Grant Hicks, CIM, President
Advisor Practice Management
www.advisorpracticemanagement.com

PO Box 382 Lantzville BC V0R 2H0
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PS Where do you want your financial practice to be at the end of 2025? AUM, Revenue, and time off? 

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