10 effective lead generation strategies for financial advisors

Knowing how to generate leads as a financial advisor is key to expanding your book of business and achieving sustainable growth. That’s why it’s important to have several financial advisor prospecting tools you can lean on anytime to bring potential clients into your pipeline.

While lead generation for financial advisors has usually relied on traditional channels such as networking events, cold calls, or referrals, embracing innovative marketing strategies could help advisors tap into new pools of prospects faster.

This article is a comprehensive guide on how to generate leads for financial advisors who want to establish themselves as trusted experts, forge meaningful connections, and create a steady stream of qualified prospects. We share 10 effective financial advisor leads strategies that range from time-tested approaches to the latest digital marketing tactics that bring you more leads and grow your business. 

Traditional financial advisor prospecting methods

Some of the most common lead generation approaches that successful financial advisors have used to grow their AUM for decades are still relevant today. We outline these four below and offer tips that may be helpful to consider in 2023 and beyond to boost the effectiveness of these strategies. 

1. Host educational events and seminars

One of the best ways to increase brand awareness and boost expertise so that people learn about how you can help them is to host educational events and seminars. These are a time-tested financial advisor prospecting tool because they allow you to demonstrate your expertise to a target audience who fits your criteria for the kinds of clients you’d most like to serve.

Subject to your firm’s policies and compliance, you might consider hosting events around topics like:

• Market insights and updates
• Common financial planning strategies
• Retirement planning strategies
• Financial planning for business owners
• Estate planning and wealth transfer

 The topics you talk about will affect the types of people that attend, so be conscious of creating events around topics that will attract qualified wealth management leads. For example, partnering with an estate planner to discuss the 2026 estate tax exemption sunset could help attract prospects who’ve accumulated a significant level of wealth they want to preserve. 

2. Attend networking events and leverage common interests

One of the most common approaches to prospecting for financial advisors is attending networking events. This can include local community events for business owners or chamber of commerce events. These present an opportunity to build meaningful connections, generate leads, and expand your professional circle.

Additionally, you can leverage your own interests and hobbies as a fun yet effective way to meet new prospects. Whether it’s playing tennis, golf, running, or participating in other recreational activities, it’s likely that affluent prospects in your area also participate in these past-time activities. By proactively seeking out and participating in these activities, financial advisors can generate leads in a fun and enjoyable manner.  3. Adapt Cold Calling To Today’s World

Many successful financial advisors have built their businesses by dialing numbers from the phone book, turning strangers into clients through cold calling. If you’re looking to generate leads in 2023 and beyond, you might be wondering whether cold calling is still a useful lead generation strategy for financial advisors.

The answer depends on who you want to reach. According to Pew Research Center, eight out of ten Americans do not answer calls from unknown numbers. In the age of Do Not Call lists and countless tools to stop telemarketing calls, reaching individual consumers directly might be too time-consuming to make this strategy worthwhile.

If you’re looking to reach business owners, however, cold calling can still yield effective results when used strategically. The key is doing research and being targeted, so that when you reach out, the prospect can see what you are offering is tailored to their challenges or needs. Focus on building relationships and providing true value rather than just pushing a product or service. And don’t forget about the importance of creating a genuine connection with the gatekeeper!

 3. Adapt Cold Calling To Today’s World

Many successful financial advisors have built their businesses by dialing numbers from the phone book, turning strangers into clients through cold calling. If you’re looking to generate leads in 2023 and beyond, you might be wondering whether cold calling is still a useful lead generation strategy for financial advisors.

The answer depends on who you want to reach. According to Pew Research Center, eight out of ten Americans do not answer calls from unknown numbers. In the age of Do Not Call lists and countless tools to stop telemarketing calls, reaching individual consumers directly might be too time-consuming to make this strategy worthwhile.

If you’re looking to reach business owners, however, cold calling can still yield effective results when used strategically. The key is doing research and being targeted, so that when you reach out, the prospect can see what you are offering is tailored to their challenges or needs. Focus on building relationships and providing true value rather than just pushing a product or service. And don’t forget about the importance of creating a genuine connection with the gatekeeper!

4. Speak at relevant conferences or events

Is there a certain niche you’re wanting to attract? Perhaps business owners within a certain industry or area? Or retirees who share a common interest or values? The more you segment the types of people you’d love to work with, the easier it can be to find places where you’re likely to start meaningful conversations with them.

Make it part of your prospecting plan to keep an eye on events, conferences, and summits within your area where you might meet new qualified prospects in person. Then, subject to your firm’s policies, ask to be a speaker at these events so you can share your expertise with insights relevant to the audience you want to reach.

To make the most of this wealth management lead generation tool, have a plan to stay in touch with the people you meet. As you speak with people one-on-one, ask for their contact information. When you speak to an audience, encourage them to visit your website and download a free resource to get them on your email list. 

Referral-based strategies to increase financial advisor leads

5. Ask for Referrals

We know you’ve heard this one before…but how consistently do you do it? Asking for referrals is often the quickest way to gain new qualified leads yet it’s often overlooked by even the largest advisory teams. 

Instead of leaving asking for referrals to chance, incorporate this into your client meeting routine. Add a reminder to your meeting checklist or agenda to ensure you don’t forget to ask who your client might know that could also benefit from your services. 

6. Partner with parallel service providers

Lead generation for financial advisors becomes easier when you leverage partnerships with those who are already serving people that fit your target market. 

Many of your clients probably have a tax accountant and estate planning attorney already. Make it part of your onboarding process to ask for their names and contact information. Get permission from your client to contact them. Introduce yourself to let them know you’re available to help. Use this opportunity to explore mutually beneficial strategies that could eventually lead to referrals from the other provider.

In your conversations with tax advisors and estate planners, you might even consider sharing how you provide holistic advice beyond traditional financial planning. With estate planning attorneys, for example, you could demonstrate your commitment to helping clients visualize their estate plan by showing them how you map out their assets and legacy. Schedule a demo to see how Vanilla allows you to visually map out a client’s estate plan in just a few steps!

Publicity and digital marketing to drive financial advisor leads

7. Establish authority through publication 

Publishing articles in reputable magazines, newspapers, or online platforms can position you as an authority and thought leader so qualified leads are more likely to reach out to you directly. 

To increase your chances of attracting qualified leads, look to be featured in publications that align with your target market’s interests or values. This is where segmenting and marketing to a very specific audience can bring you truly great results. For example, if you focus on serving female entrepreneurs, you could publish articles in magazines and platforms that offer business advice to females. By ensuring your article provides value and new perspectives within a publication or platform your audience is familiar with, you increase credibility and trustworthiness.

Paired with an effective website that you can link to at the bottom of your article, this financial advisor prospecting tool could bring you leads for years to come as new people come across your article in the future. And of course, be sure to have your firm’s permission before publishing anything online or in print.

8. Strategically use advertising to generate new leads

Should financial planners pay for leads? When it comes to paying for wealth management lead generation, you may typically think of buying cold-calling lists. And while that might work in some instances, such as if you’re reaching out to business owner prospects, another resourceful way to leverage your lead generation budget might be paid advertising.

To amplify your reach most effectively, it’s important to advertise in the right places. So what platforms should financial advisors use to advertise? Here are a few tips:

• If you’re a financial advisor looking to attract more leads in your geographic location, consider advertising in local magazines that target a demographic that would likely meet your investment minimums.
• If your practice serves audiences all around the nation or is mostly focused online, then consider advertising on websites where affluent people seek information related to finance such as Barron’s or the Wall Street Journal.
• Use social media advertising to increase brand awareness or drive traffic to your website by offering free guidebooks, ebooks, or videos in exchange for you prospect’s email. The power in social media advertising is that it also enables you to be extremely targeted in terms of who you reach so you’re more likely to get your message in front of the right people so you don’t waste money advertising to those who wouldn’t be qualified prospects anyway.

For maximum effectiveness, it’s important to know your target audience and do thorough market research in any type of advertising. This allows you to deliver a customized message that lets your audience know you understand their specific challenges and needs. When your message resonates, they’re more likely to visit your website, get on your email list, or schedule that discovery call with you.

9. Leverage the power of inbound marketing for lead generation

While traditional financial advisor prospecting methods often rely on the advisor to find and reach out to a potential client, inbound marketing is a way to have prospects find and reach out to you.

While larger firms may handle these strategies for advisors, RIAs and those who have the ability to manage their online presence should utilize the latest digital marketing approaches to expand their client base without having to spend so much time figuring out how to generate leads as a financial advisor.

Here’s a high-level overview of a few inbound marketing strategies to consider to maximize your financial advisor leads:

• Content Marketing for Financial Advisors : Create and share informative and educational content through blog posts, articles, videos, and podcasts. Offer valuable insights on financial planning, investment strategies, tax-saving tips, retirement planning, and more. Be sure to have a way to capture people’s emails through a lead magnet or contact forms so you can stay in touch with them. No time to write helpful content? Consider hiring a professional finance copywriter.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Financial Advisors: Optimize your website and content with relevant keywords and meta tags to help you rank higher on search engines like Google. Ensuring that your website copy and content are optimized based on what your target audience is searching around finance can bring you qualified leads who are actively seeking financial advice.
• Social Media for Financial Advisors: Use social media platforms to grow, educate, and engage your audience. Tailor your social media presence to match the preferences and online habits of your ideal clients. If your audience consists mostly of working professionals and business owners, LinkedIn might be your best bet. If you’re seeking to attract leads on the level of shared interests or values, other platforms such as Instagram or Facebook might also be a viable option. 
• Utilize Your Website, Webinars, and Workshops: Ensure your website exudes professionalism and is easy to navigate. Consider offering webinars or workshops that your ideal client can easily sign up for on your website in exchange for their email address. Be sure to include compelling calls-to-action (CTAs) on each page of your website and at the end of your webinars or workshops to let people know what to do if they want to work with you.

Lead generation for financial services becomes much easier when you have a solid strategy to deploy these inbound marketing tools to attract prospects directly to you.

10. Use estate planning to stand out 

Assisting clients in navigating the complex world of estate planning allows you to better serve their total wealth needs and goals. These discussions often touch on important life goals and make clients feel deeply understood which strengthens the client-advisor relationship. It also establishes you as an expert in their eyes, reinforcing their trust and loyalty. This can be key in helping you acquire more referrals.

One way that estate planning helps with lead generation is that it differentiates you from other advisors. Vanilla allows you to show prospective clients how their wealth will pass on so they can plan better for today and tomorrow. By going beyond expectations and showing prospects their estate plan visually, you stand out as someone who truly cares about supporting all aspects of your clients’ wealth.

Providing guidance on estate planning strategies also allows you to connect to second generations and other family members. This might present opportunities to gain introductions to client’s family members and other trusted individuals who might be looking for financial guidance now or in the future.

Not sure how to start estate planning conversations with your clients or what questions to ask? Save our estate planning checklist for financial advisors and use it to help your clients make the most of their estate planning – along with referring them to a trusted estate planning attorney.

Help your clients picture their estate plan so they can clearly understand what’ll happen to their assets upon death by utilizing our estate planning software for financial advisors who want to grow their business while serving clients better. 

A few final prospecting tips for financial advisors

If you’ve been wondering how to generate leads as a financial advisor, we hope this article gave you several ideas you can implement in your practice today. The most successful advisors often use a combination of many or all of these strategies to keep their wealth management leads growing at an expanding rate. 

Ultimately, the best lead generation strategy will be one that fits your target market and that you and your team will be able to execute consistently. Here are three additional tips that can help you in your prospecting efforts:

• Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box and come up with other creative ways to source leads.
• Have a system in place to track leads (such as a CRM software) and have a strong follow-up process to ensure leads turn into clients.
• Maintain a long-term mindset, knowing that relationships built today can potentially translate into valuable partnerships or clients down the road.

Just like investing, remember that prospecting is a long-term game that will generate the highest ROI if you stick with it. Once you’ve experimented with several lead generation strategies and found the ones that work for your team, put a system in place that allows you to grow your leads and your business reliably and sustainably.

[1] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/12/14/most-americans-dont-answer-cellphone-calls-from-unknown-numbers/

 

The information provided here does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice or tax advice; it is provided for general informational purposes only. This information may not be updated or reflect changes in law. Please consult with your financial advisor or estate attorney who can advise as to whether the information contained herein is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation.