Profitable Business Lines for Financial Advisors
Expand Your Offerings to Generate New Streams of Revenue.
Profitability and gross revenue are very different. Understanding this concept is the first step to developing a sustainable financial advisor firm. As advisors look to expand the profitability of their firm and their client’s financial portfolio, it involves determining what services best meet their needs.
What are the most profitable business lines for financial advisors and their clients?
There are tons of ways you can gain new clients and grow your business—online seminars, live events, social media, search engine optimization, television appearances, etc. And while this type of marketing certainly deserves your attention, it’s a slow process. What if you could acquire new customers almost instantly? One sure way to do this is to incorporate different product offerings into your existing financial services business.
Tax Planning
Adding tax planning to your existing financial planning business is one of the quickest ways to generate additional revenue and add new leads to the your sales funnel while increasing the natural profitability of their customers’ financial portfolios.
Did you know that 92% of wealthy investors expect their wealth manager to provide tax planning advice, but only 25% are actually receiving that service? That means that many tax experts aren’t doing everything they can to help their customers plan for the future. This leaves the door wide open for you to make a strategic move in both your clients’ and your company’s best interests.
However, developing a tax practice from the ground up can be daunting for the most seasoned professional. Another option is to co-marketing clients from an existing business until you get more tax experience within your company.
Develop a relationship with a CPA or tax firm in your community to borrow their clients. After you have nurtured and developed your bond with them and their customers, you can start to look for longer-term solutions, like buying a tax practice or building your own.
One way to build rapport is by creating a business plan tailored to their company. Develop a presentation with accurate financials and a strategic marketing plan so they know you’re serious about creating value for both the business and its customers.
Medicare Practice
While some advisors rule out offering Medicare products to their clients based on the lower compensation models compared to other products, there are several benefits that come from adding this to their roster.
Unlike other investment vehicles such as mutual funds, real estate investment trusts, or hedge funds, Medicare products are seen by certain customers to have more value, especially as they are looking at their post-retirement planning.
By offering these services, investment advisors can create deeper relationships with their customers, ensuring that they do not have to refer them to others who specialize in the field.
As a benefit to the advisor, most Medicare products have trail commissions. Although the length of the trail may limit the years of the commission, it can easily become a viable revenue stream for firms of any size.
Insurance
There may be some negative biases toward the idea of a financial advisor marketing the benefits of different insurance policies. But the fact of the matter is that insurance policies are necessary for any serious financial plan.
There are many reasons why financial advisors might consider selling life insurance as part of the portfolio of services they offer clients. These include the ability to better meet client needs by providing more comprehensive wealth planning services and the opportunity to earn commissions. While there is the challenge of educating clients on the importance of these products, it has value when it is needed.
It may be easier for a financial advisor to focus on stocks, mutual funds, and designing investment strategies. Leaving the insurance part behind can leave their clients vulnerable to a severe income gap during critical situations.
Review Different Opportunities for Growth.
For your clients, finding the right financial advisor is a matter of understanding what products work in their best interest. As you continue to add products to your firm’s offering, it is important to think of what your ideal client wants and how you can service that need.
