Rachel Staggs

Many Advisers I talk to wish to attract more of the affluent client, the perception being that they can afford advice and are experienced in paying for it. That said, the more affluent the client the more significant the fee, the more likely perceived expert status will play in the buying decision.

As the advice becomes more complex, the more the affluent client will look for a bona fide expert to help them solve their problems.  By positioning and presenting yourself as an expert, you have the opportunity to gain competitive advantage, justify your premium fees, make yourself more attractive to the affluent client and open the door for media acceptance and promotion.

Some may tell you that at this stage credentials are not so important to the affluent. They respect grit and hard work rather than qualifications – unfortunately I don’t agree with that. In this profession, qualifications shout credibility!  So lets assume you have all the right credentials to be able to work with the affluent members of the community.  The next step is to present and position you accordingly.

Below are three steps I would suggest you review and implement to help attract more of the affluent client:

Step One – Get published or self publish

People love to be able to say that their Adviser is an author; it has a kind of expert ring to it. You don’t need to rush away and write a book, although that is gold, instead you can publish white papers, E-books even newsletters. To present yourself as a knowledgeable expert you need a platform to achieve that and authorship allows you that platform.  Being an author has a kind of magical expert connotation to it.

At a minimum you should be authoring a monthly newsletter, quarterly white paper, annual E-book all of which will position you as an expert and allow others to share your material. If you have a book in you waiting to get out great, if not, perhaps you could co-author one?

Step Two – Self promotion

Now you have something to promote instead of just your services, it provides you with a natural competitive edge. Don’t think of self promotion as a nasty phrase because it’s not – it’s business and it’s helping position you so that you can help your ideal client solve their problems; nothing selfish about that.

Step Three – Publicity

Before becoming an author you may have found it hard to get noticed by media companies but now having written “7 BIG investment mistakes smart people make about money” you have given them an instant angle on a story, an interview or a reason to be one of their guest presenters.

Positioning is key to being perceived and received in the right way. Becoming an author of any kind isn’t the complete answer but it’s a logical way of differentiating yourself and informing affluent clients that they are dealing with an expert because that’s what they will pay for.

By Rachel Staggs, SRS Coaching & Consulting

The post How to attract more affluent clients appeared first on AdviserVoice.