When it comes to focusing on a niche for financial advisors, business owner clients can be an appealing target as they can have complex financial planning problems ranging from cash flow management to tax planning to acquisition strategies. However, while business owners can be compelling clients, they can also be difficult to find and prospect in the first place. One component that feeds this dynamic is that business owners have many people vying for their attention; another is that business owners have limited time and resources. So, the dilemma for advisors looking to find business owners and convince them to become clients often comes down to finding business owners who can benefit from (and want) financial planning services and demonstrating expertise in a way that can build trust.
An effective strategy for attracting business-owner clients is to engage with a CEO Peer Group. These support groups, typically comprising 10–12 business owners, generally meet monthly and allow members to discuss issues, brainstorm solutions, and share resources. Most importantly, CEO Peer Groups provide space for business owners to work ‘on’ their businesses – rather than ‘in’ their businesses – with highly trusted peers.
Advisors have a few options for getting involved in a CEO Peer Group. One is to become a Strategic Partner (SP) and create a new group, serving as both sponsor and host. This option allows advisors to establish themselves as experts and resources for other Peer Group members, where they can also better understand what business owners want and need from the complex situations they discuss with their Peer Group. Additionally, when the advisor shows up and facilitates fruitful discussions every month, providing relevant resources as the group’s SP, business owners begin to see the real value the advisor can offer. Group members get to know and trust the advisor in a non-sales environment, making them more likely to become prospects (and then clients) of the advisor.
Instead of engaging with a CEO Peer Group by serving as a Strategic Partner (which can be relatively time intensive), a second way for advisors who are firm owners to engage with peer groups is to become members themselves. This lets them reap the benefits of having both the support and guidance of a Peer Group and access to a level of prospective outreach through networking within the group as a group member. A third way for advisors to engage with a CEO Peer Group is to partner with a peer group moderator to serve as a Center of Influence for the group, allowing the advisor to connect their own network of resources with group members to help solve their various problems, or even providing members with resources through their own planning services to answer questions on issues such as taxes, insurance, and scaling.
Ultimately, the key point is that for advisors who work with (or would like to work with!) business owners, CEO Peer Groups can provide an organic way to connect with, market to, and ultimately onboard new clients. Whether serving as a Strategic Partner, a group member, or a Center of Influence, CEO Peer Groups can provide advisors with a valuable opportunity to learn from like-minded business owners to help them expand their own network of trusted peers!
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