By Rebecca King
Are you maximizing every opportunity to grow your business? We asked the FPA Research Group1 to provide insight into their sources of new business and found some interesting trends that can help you identify untapped sources of new business.
The more industry experience you have, the more likely you are to rely on your current clients to provide additional business, and the more likely you are to rely on your referral network to generate quality leads.
Less-experienced planners gain more of their new business through new clients who are not referrals. While this is a predictable outcome, it also shows some areas where you can differentiate yourself and capitalize in specific areas.
Use this grid to compare your sources of new business to the mean2 of what other advisers are reporting with your level of industry experience, and then read the following paragraph that applies to you:
|
|
Industry Experience |
||||
|
< 5 years |
5-10 years |
11-15 years |
> 15 years |
Average |
|
| Current clients adding new services or AUM |
39% |
45% |
49% |
52% |
47% |
| New clients who were referrals |
35% |
34% |
32% |
31% |
33% |
| New clients who were not referrals |
25% |
21% |
19% |
17% |
20% |
| Read as: "For advisers with less than five years of experience, an average of 39% of new business comes from current clients adding new services or AUM. | |||||
My sources of new business are similar to this chart.
Think about ways to maximize your growth by tapping into areas that
are a less common source of new business.
Example: Bob3 has been in the industry for 18 years but is still working to grow his business. He can look at ways to solicit new business from clients who are not referrals, knowing that most planners with his experience are not focusing on that area, and it is not as important to them in terms of new revenue. This may be a great opportunity for Bob to use mainstream marketing to highlight his expertise and years of experience to differentiate his practice and boost his clientele base.
My sources of new business are different from this chart. There may be an opportunity for you to gain new business from the sources you receive less business from on average.
Example: If Mary, a planner with seven years of industry experience, only receives 11 percent of her new business through referrals, she should consider ways to leverage referrals more effectively. She could expand her professional network or hand out her card to clients and ask them to pass it on to individuals they know that could benefit from her service.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that you should be looking for new business in all three areas. Don't rely solely on new clients who are not referrals or your existing clients for business growth or you may miss golden opportunities.
Endotes
- This survey was conducted online with the FPA Research Group from Jan. 7 to Jan. 26, 2009. Three hundred and sixty members completed the survey, providing a 5.2 percent margin of error for the FPA membership.
- These means are based on grouped data. Means for grouped data are calculated using the midpoint of each range and are less accurate than a mean based on exact numerical figures provided by the respondent. The lowest-valued group is represented by its largest value; the highest-valued group by its lowest.
- Names and scenarios are fictional.
