How to Grow Your Practice in a Bull Market

By Amy Parvaneh, CEO of Select Advisors Institute.

Warren Buffet once said that it’s only when the tide goes out that you discover who’s been swimming naked.

In other words, any investor can make money in a bull market—it’s the bear market that’s the real test. If you’re an advisor, Buffett’s words contain a great clue about how to position your business for growth.

Over the past six years, advisory clients have seen their account balances rise steadily, and they’ve been pleased with their advisors as a result. But when the market turns, many advisors will struggle, and their clients may look to make a change. This is a great opportunity for you to grow—but the key is to start preparing now.

Our research has shown that the advisors who are the best at capturing growth are always planning ahead. They anticipate those brief moments when money will be in motion, and as a result they can grow by $250 million or more a year. What can these advisors teach us about building a foundation for growth?

First and foremost, get out of your office and make friends. The key to building your business is growing the network of people who like you and enjoy spending time with you, and vice versa. Friends can be centers of influence, college friends, your kids’ friends’ parents. Especially valuable are people you identify as “connectors”—those who like introducing people who can benefit from knowing each other. 

Client appreciation events are a great way to grow your circle. Encourage your clients to bring friends; wealthy people know other wealthy people, after all. And rather than investing seminars, consider spiritual retreats, discussions about kids and wealth, or outings to concerts or baseball games. Make sure the activities are ones you’ll authentically enjoy. 

The key is to build relationships rather than pitching people: Make your friends trust and like you, and when they need a second opinion about their advisor, they’ll come to you. 

This is also a great time to invest in infrastructure. Build a technology, compliance and operational machine that’s on par with the big Wall Street firms’. That’s where you’ll be winning a lot of your clients from, after all, and they’ll expect you to be world-class in these areas. 

Finally, successful advisors tell us that they like to survey their clients about the advisor’s strengths and weaknesses. This information helps them correct shortcomings, and also give them ammunition to use in pitching prospects.   

Don’t expect prospects to come knocking down your door in a bull market. But remember that all bull markets come to an end—and if you’re prepared, that transition can mark the beginning of serious growth for your practice.

For more information on how Select Advisors can help, reach us at amy@selectadvisorsinstitute.com 

Why is it so hard for financial advisors to get their articles read?

By Amy Parvaneh, CEO of Select Advisors Institute.

It happens time and again: An advisor writes an article that is timely and full of good information. And then—nothing.

The article may be published as a blog, only to generate little or no readership or feedback. Or the advisor may shop it around to media outlets, only to be ignored. 

Why is it so hard for advisors to get their articles read? A big reason is that countless stories are produced every day by advisors and other financial experts. They’re all competing for eyeballs—readers’ and editors’—and yours just doesn’t stand out against the competition.   

To cut through the noise and earn attention, your articles must have not just substance but also sizzle. And a good way to do that is to write about topics that are controversial or contrarian.   

Let’s be clear: We don’t mean drumming up fake controversy in order to generate interest. That’s just not necessary. The fact is that most advisors dohave a unique, contrarian perspective on certain subjects. Maybe you have something to say about how advisors should be paid. Or why investors should ignore Wall Street’s latest product fad. Or maybe you’re convinced that Americans are thinking about college funding all wrong. 

Wherever you and conventional wisdom part ways, you have the raw material for a compelling article. Identifying that topic and creating an story with some sizzle can mean the difference between getting 40 views and getting hundreds of views. 

Now for a reality check: The fact is that it is difficult for those who are not professional writers or publicists to pull off such articles. Not only do you have to select the right subject, spin and tone, but then you must create a cogent, polished piece of work. For many advisors, it’s a little like figuring out how to play the piano on the spot. 

Rather than invest precious time learning to write and place articles through trial and error, successful advisors turn to us to create articles for them. 

At Select Advisors, our team pinpoints compelling topics based on our in-depth knowledge of the advisor and his or her areas of expertise. Our ghost-written articles are created by a team of professionals, with journalism backgrounds. Our advisors retain full control by reviewing and approving the articles before they are distributed. 

There are no shortcuts in this process: From brainstorming to writing to placement, creating each article takes about 10 hours total. But it’s well worth it: Because of the product we produce—and our relationships with editors and journalists—we are typically successful in getting our stories published in national or local media. 

In the age of information, it’s more challenging than ever for advisors to stand out against the crowd. Our job at Select Advisors is to make sure you beat the odds.