You’ve probably heard the saying “a small fish in a big pond” – which definitely applies to financial advisors today. There are hundreds of thousands of financial professionals and planning firms—not to mention the recent rise in DIY investment tools like roboadvisors.
When you’re trying to attract new clients in such a crowded space, it can feel nearly impossible to achieve your goals for growth.
So what can you do to reduce competition and more effectively showcase your expertise? Develop and market to a target audience, or niche. Rather than trying to be everything to everybody, honing in on a specific niche helps you attract more qualified prospective clients who are the right fit for your firm.
How to Find Your Niche
Don’t feel rushed to identify and create your niche overnight. It can be a gradual, explorative process that enables you to pursue different possibilities in order to find the target client that fits best with your experience, areas of interest, and geographic region.
You may have naturally gained clients of a certain demographic. It’s possible you already have a niche—and just have yet to define it. If you’re in an area with a number of large hospital networks, for example, perhaps your doctor clients have referred you to other healthcare professionals over time. Now, you’re well-versed in helping these types of clients address their unique financial hurdles (student loan debt, complex benefits packages, insurance, etc.).
The key is to find ways to bring value to this particular group of people by offering expertise and guidance other advisors may not be able to give. If you have extensive experience in helping young professionals manage student loan debt, for example, that’s a big differentiator between you and someone who only works with retirees.
Why Business Owners Make an Ideal Niche
One lucrative niche for financial advisors is working with small business owners, thanks to their exceptionally unique and complex financial landscape.
Small business owners don’t follow the traditional wealth journey of an employed individual. Their personal finances are tied directly to the success of their business, meaning they may not have access to traditional savings accounts (such as a 401(k)) or other commonly subsidized benefits like health insurance. Rather than rely on savings to support their lifestyle in retirement, they may be banking on the sale of their business to serve as future retirement income.
Business owners are also incredibly hardworking and busy people who don’t always keep a typical 9-to-5 schedule. They may work weekends, evenings, early mornings, and any other time of day depending on how involved they are in the day-to-day operations.
Because of this, their free time is limited, and they don’t want to spend it trying to manage their financial affairs. They prefer to offload the responsibility of wealth management onto a knowledgeable professional who understands their situation and can help them make the most of their personal and business finances.
Attracting Business Owner Clients
You need a competitive advantage that will solidify your position as the go-to advisor for small business owners. The core of your client's finances is their business, so in order to address their greater financial life, you must help them understand what their business is worth.
A real-time business valuation is something your clients are probably not used to having on demand—considering the “old school” method involves lots of time, money, and headache. This means you have a great opportunity to educate your clients and prospective clients on the advantages that real-time valuation platforms, like BizEquity, can provide.
Using this information, combined with your deep industry expertise, you can effectively address every aspect of your client’s financial world. Help them reevaluate their insurance coverage, prepare to present to new investors, build an accurate retirement income strategy, and more. Their business is their biggest asset, which is why they (and you) need to know what it’s worth.
In today’s competitive landscape for financial advisors, finding a niche is essential for growing your firm and attracting your ideal clients. By developing specialized expertise, you can more effectively differentiate yourself and serve clients who value your guidance. When clients feel confident that you’re the right partner for them, they’re much more likely to stay with you long-term and even refer other like-minded individuals. Because their needs are so unique, business owners are a great niche to focus on as you get started.
To learn more about how BizEquity’s online business valuation platform helps advisors more effectively serve their ideal target market, schedule a demo today.
