Industry Events
Why a Marketing Firm Goes to a Dealmaking Summit
On paper, Ficomm might stick out in a room full of investment bankers, lawyers, and capital partners at Echelon Partners Deals & Dealmakers Summit (DDM). As a marketing agency focused on organic growth, you might be wondering: why are you going?
Every conversation at DDM eventually becomes about growth, and that’s where we connect with decision-makers at every level.
Organic growth is the number under the number
Buyers and capital partners want to understand whether a firm can keep growing once the deal closes, and whether that growth depends on a system or on a founder’s relationships.
- Sellers get asked to explain their growth, and “we’ve had a few great years” won’t pass due diligence.
- Buyers and capital partners are trying to determine whether growth will continue once the firm’s rainmakers are taken out of the equation.
- Next-gen leaders inherit growth numbers without a concrete plan.
Marketing sits within all three as the infrastructure that determines whether growth can continue without the person whose name is on the door.
The growth paradox we see up close
Growth fixes problems but also creates new ones. The firms we work with aren’t necessarily struggling, but after crossing a few billion in assets or closing a couple of deals, something about their strategy starts to feel off, and what got them to this point is no longer working.
What we often see from firms that are stuck is:
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Two or three acquired brands living on the website, each with its own tone and brand promise
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Advisors in different offices describing what the firm does in different ways
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A value proposition that was on point five years ago, but has now become the same thing competitors are saying
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Marketing spend that rises every year, with no line connecting it to new client revenue
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A founder’s referral network is doing the heavy lifting with no system built to replace it
What the research says converts
In The New Growth Equation, our 2026 study conducted across 1,000 HNW investors who work with an advisor, it’s clear that a firm’s digital presence matters more than ever before. And the way you show up across digital touchpoints can be a key driver of organic growth.
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What the research found |
What it means for firms at scale |
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73.8% said the top factor in hiring their advisor was feeling understood |
Specificity converts, while generic language loses the client before the first meeting |
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64% of touchpoints that led investors to their advisor were digital |
Your digital presence does the work that founders used to do in person |
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4+ touchpoints used by investors under 45 before deciding |
Every channel must tell a consistent story |
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46% of clients referred someone last year |
Clients are willing to refer, but they need a story worth sharing |
What we’re looking forward to at DDM
There are several sessions on the 2026 DDM agenda that caught our eye: The Growth Paradox: Why Success Creates Complexity and How Leaders Win runs on day one, and Beyond the LOI: What Successful Sellers Learned Along the Way opens day two.
But we’ve found that at DDM, so much of the value comes from conversations between sessions. We’re looking forward to speaking with industry leaders about:
- What buyers are paying a premium for right now
- What sellers wish they had built earlier
- Where marketing sits in the value creation plan after closing
These answers shift from year to year, and hearing them from people who close deals is worth far more than reading a recap. With a select group of C-suite executives and subject-matter experts in attendance, the workshops, dinners, and conversations at DDM help shape our strategic thinking for the rest of the year.
If you are headed to this year’s conference, come find us. We would love to hear what you are building, where you have seen growth stagnate, and your vision for the future.
