With lead lists getting colder, firms across the country are returning to the basics to drive organic growth—but with a modern twist.
I’m Candice Carlton, EVP and Head of Consulting and Innovation at Ficomm. I lead strategy across all our clients to ensure that what we recommend actually works. This report is your cheat sheet to my top insights and learnings right now so you can apply in your firm to drive meaningful growth.
In recent years, RIAs have poured significant time and resources into corporate lead generation (think paid ads and content) hoping it would be the one-hit solution to their organic growth challenges. But what we're seeing, as advisory firms come to us, is that they now have big lead lists they’re struggling to engage and convert.
In short, their lead gen efforts didn’t produce the results they expected and lead lists have gone cold. Now they’re rethinking their approach.
At the same time, many firms are beginning to realize that they’ve been participating in various marketing activities without a clear, cohesive strategy. For the first time, we’re hearing a widespread admission from firms: We don’t have a plan. This awareness has allowed firms to look at their growth marketing efforts in the most elemental way to ensure that their efforts start driving real results.
So the questions are ... “What can you do to engage those lead lists?” and “What is actually working?” Cue the return to fundamentals but in a modern way that addresses current consumer buying behavior with a modern or as we refer to it – a “New Skool” twist. Here’s your cheat sheet to accelerating client referrals, expanding and activating COI referrals, expanding wallet share and engaging those lead lists.
Have you ever created a client avatar only to immediately forget about it? You’re not alone. Typically, this avatar is “make believe” and created through an intellectual and often esoteric exercise which makes it difficult to apply and actually use effectively. Instead, apply this same idea or concept to focus your organic growth efforts by basing it in the reality of your best clients.
Identify the top 10% of your firms clients—the ones you love working with, who value the work you do, and who, if cloned, would make your business thrive. Think wildly profitable and viable. This is your sweet spot and should be your focal point.
Understand what these clients care about, what keeps them up at night, and where they spend time both from a digital and physical location perspective. Ask them what type of content they consume, in what format and what social platforms they’re on? Next actually ask them what they want to hear about from you and how often? Old school concept but applied with a “living in reality” spin.
Focus all your messaging, content and marketing to these people and apply the feedback they share.
Next, your COI network should be an invaluable source of referrals for your firm. It’s time to re-examine your COI strategy with a fresh perspective. Centers of influence are typically estate planning attorneys or accountants or maybe divorce lawyers. Most firms have ad hoc or passive COI engagement strategies that do not take full advantage of this high value lead source.
A modern approach would be to understand all the professionals your best clients are regularly in front of. To think of COI’s as not just people but places too. Who are your best clients spending time with for needs and services? Or where are your best clients physically spending time in their day to day. Where feels authentic to you to connect, show up and add value?
Instead of focusing your time on teaching your advisors how to ask for referrals, coach them on how to build authentic relationships with these people and places by leading with value. How could you add value to their clients or audience? How do you add so much value that referrals are a natural outflow? Think about inviting these people on your podcast, creating educational opportunities for their clients etc. Strengthening these relationships can expand your reach and credibility with potential clients.
Give clear directions to your COI on who you serve best and what you actually do. Often, even our closest friends don’t know what we do at work- don't take that for granted. They should know exactly who to refer to you. Include your COIs in your client communications, connect with them on social, and invite them to your events so they can see first-hand the kind of high-value content you’re providing.
NOW we’re getting down to it...all those leads that have been generated and left untouched. I left it for the third on the list very intentionally. This isn’t your highest ROI audience for immediate growth. Once you have your client and COI content streams up and running, you can build on that for your cold lead list, which is a lower-effort, higher-impact approach than constantly developing new prospect-only content.
So, what do you do with those cold leads? Our advice is simple: integrate them into your existing client communications – the truth is your best prospects care about exactly what your best clients care about. If you’re already creating that content for clients, repurpose it for your lead list. This ensures that the touchpoints with these leads remain useful and relevant.
Twice a year, make them a specific offer—but not a hard sales pitch. Instead, create a compelling offer that addresses a pain point you know your ideal clients experience. For instance, if your target clients are concerned about their tax strategies, offer a free tax review. If they worry about estate planning, create a checklist that addresses their needs.
The goal is to consistently add value, not pressure. This approach helps keep your brand top of mind and builds trust over time.
You’re probably seeing a pattern here. The content we create for our best clients feeds the content we offer COIs and cold leads. That’s by design. It keeps all of your content aligned to what your best clients (and therefore your best prospects) care about. It also makes for a simpler operational approach, allowing you to create once and repurpose multiple times instead of constantly creating more, more, more.
When it comes to which format to use for clients, COIs and leads, ask the fundamental question: what will this audience actually use? Think about social media, long-form content, blogs, videos—whatever resonates most with your ideal clients. Every piece of content you produce should speak directly to their needs, pain points, passions and aspirations. If your content isn’t doing this, it’s time to refocus your messaging and content strategy.
At Ficomm, we’re seeing the effects of this approach first-hand. As we’ve been watching the impact of these New Skool fundamentals, we see them as part of a larger framework – Inside-Out Marketing.
It all starts with your best clients and the message that resonates with them to maximize client referrals and share of wallet.
From there, it extends to COIs, integrating them into the client experience to accelerate this referral channel.
Next, we look at diversifying your lead sources and doubling down on what’s already working.
And finally, with a well-aligned, disciplined approach to growth marketing in place for the firm brand, we work to turn each advisor into an individual growth channel.
This systematic, progressive approach is working for RIAs in a way that’s more practical and predictable than jumping right to digital lead gen efforts that can take years to bear fruit. Yes, digital lead generation needs to be part of the strategy. No, it is not the only part.
In this new era of advisor marketing, firms that embrace a strategic, client-centered approach will be the ones who thrive. And those who nail their fundamentals will build a bullet-proof growth engine over time. Organic growth isn’t about finding the perfect lead list—it’s about connecting with the right clients, delivering consistent value, and aligning your marketing efforts for maximum impact.