Re igniting Your Organic Growth Strategy: Webinar Recap
About this session:
This session focused on reigniting organic growth strategies for advisors and discussed industry trends, research, and action steps for building an organic growth engine.
Insights Surfaced:
- The rate of organic growth for advisors is declining, prompting a focus on marketing strategies.
- Advisors should rediscover their marketing muscles and focus on building an organic growth engine.
- It’s important to have a clear strategy and target market for marketing efforts.
- Differentiated value propositions and content marketing are crucial to attract clients.
- Digital marketing channels, such as social media and email campaigns, can help reach potential clients.
Meet the Speakers
Tim Welsh
Timothy D. Welsh, CFP®, is the President, CEO, and founder of Nexus Strategy, LLC, a leading consulting firm specializing in the wealth management industry. With a focus on marketing products, services, and technology to independent advisors, Nexus Strategy works closely with top organizations. Tim has a strong background in business consulting, practice management, and marketing, with experience at Schwab Advisor Services and Merrill Lynch. He is recognized as an industry expert, frequently quoted in media, and actively contributes as an author and speaker. Tim holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and an MBA in Finance, and he is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) who has served on the Financial Planning Association’s National Board of Directors.
Meg Carpenter:
Meg Carpenter is CEO and Co-Founder of FiComm Partners, an award-winning growth marketing and advisor coaching firm. For over 20 years, Meg has enjoyed working alongside advisory firms and wealth management businesses, helping their leadership teams identify meaningful growth opportunities. Meg and her team are widely recognized across the industry for their New Skool mindset, which is all about embracing vulnerability and authenticity to drive impact and change. Meg serves on multiple boards and is currently the Chair of the CFP Board’s Workforce Development Advisory Group. She is also a sought after industry speaker and contributor to the media, and is honored to have been the recipient of many industry awards including InvestmentNews 40 Under 40.
Gary Foodim:
Gary brings 20 years of marketing experience to the Mercer Advisors team. In his role as CMO, Gary leads new client acquisition efforts, helps drive client engagement, develops a prospect and client event strategy, and the evolution of the Mercer Advisors brand. Prior to joining Mercer Advisors, Gary was the CMO of Strategic Financial Solutions, a financial services firm focused on helping Americans in challenging financial situations. Before joining Strategic, Gary was the VP of Consumer Marketing at Conde Nast where he oversaw all consumer marketing efforts for many of their iconic brands. Gary earned an MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and an undergraduate degree from Binghamton University. Gary lives in New York City with his wife and children.
Watch the Entire Webinar
Takeaways
Takeaway 1: Organic growth is crucial for financial advisors
Organic growth requires a combination of strategy, targeting specific audiences, and leveraging digital channels.
The panelists discussed the importance of organic growth in the financial advisory industry. Meg stated that “there are so many different lanes for every type of advisor that exists.” Gary emphasized the need for advisors to focus on their target market and differentiate their value proposition, as well as the importance of using digital channels like social media and search engine optimization. Meg also highlighted the need for a strong strategy, starting with understanding the “why” and the “who” of an advisor’s business.
Gary explained that to achieve organic growth, financial advisors must be willing to test and learn, using a balanced approach to marketing tactics. He mentioned paid search, social media, and content marketing as some channels to leverage. Meg also encouraged advisors to start small, be consistent, and only invest in marketing tools that make sense for their specific business. She said, “pick one thing that you believe will get you in front of more of the type of people that you want to serve and commit to doing it.”
Takeaway 2: Marketing should be viewed as a critical component of an advisor’s business
A successful marketing strategy should focus on providing a seamless prospect and client experience.
Meg explained that marketing needs to be integrated across all aspects of a financial advisor’s business, from the executive level down to the individual advisor. She suggested focusing on building a prospect experience that nurtures relationships before connecting with the potential client. This includes providing a seamless client experience, providing value-added resources, and delivering personalized, authentic messaging.
Gary agreed, emphasizing the importance of focusing on the middle and bottom of the marketing funnel to drive conversions and nurture leads effectively. He suggested that advisors should have a keen focus on landing pages, email campaigns, and the overall prospect experience. Meg added, “We’re seeing a lot of firms in the industry today who are like marketing firms who do wealth management, which gets me super excited because I think that there’s this subset of advisory firms who no one knows, who are really going to change the face of the industry in coming years.”
Takeaway 3: Leveraging AI and new marketing technologies can help financial advisors gain efficiencies and scale their businesses.
The panelists discussed the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the financial advisory industry. Meg stated that there are many new tools and platforms available to help advisors take advantage of AI to improve their marketing efforts. She mentioned Catchlight as an example of an AI-driven tool that can help advisors target specific audiences and predict which prospects are more likely to convert.
Gary suggested that while it’s still early days for AI in the industry, advisors should stay up-to-date on the latest developments and be prepared to pivot their strategies as needed. He also emphasized that AI should be viewed as a way to drive efficiency and scale, rather than replacing traditional marketing tactics. Meg agreed, saying, “I think a lot of the custodial benchmarking studies lump business development and marketing together.”
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