The most successful advisers have two common traits: high-activity and high-quality relationships, says Todd Fithian, one of the guest presenters at MDRT’s week-long 2020 Global Conference.
During his on-line presentation – Evolutionary Advisor: From Generalist to Niche – he said that while the industry is a numbers game of finding enough people to talk to, specialising could produce better results.
“When I came into the business my mentor taught me that for every 10 names you get, three will meet with you, and one will buy,” said Fithian. “While it was a solid approach for the first year or three, it was also incomplete.”
He says the numbers game of helping one in 10 clients is an industry error and suggests advisers shift from high activity to high quality clients.
“There are three things that are critical for advisers if they want to have the business, the clients and the life they want,” says Fithian. “These disciplines will allow you to make the shift to a business that balances the qualitative with the quantitative and become an evolutionary adviser.”
They are:
- Define your niche and market to it
- Embrace the “F” word: “fiduciary”
- Develop the one skill that will competitor-proof your business
Fithian admits that defining and sticking to a niche can seem risky, but believes it is critical to attaining the next level of success.
“To clarify, there’s an important difference between sales and marketing,” he says. “For sales, it’s appropriate to work with anyone where you can provide good value and be compensated accordingly. But when you’re marketing, you are the one spending the money, and it needs to be done accurately and powerfully.”
…when you’re marketing, you are the one spending the money, and it needs to be done accurately and powerfully…
However, Fithian says you can still do business outside of your defined niche.
“You are not limited; you’re empowered,” he says. “When you choose a niche, it allows you to become known as the go-to expert for that group, it allows you to concentrate your efforts and it allows you to deliver meaningful messages.”
Fithian says to define your niche all you need do is look at your business and ask if there is a group of clients that represents the group you would like to duplicate.
“It might only represent 10 percent to 20 percent of your overall client base today, but it likely represents your profitable clients with problems you can solve and who you enjoy serving. This is where you begin to define your niche.”
Fiduciary responsibility
Fithian also says there has never been a better time for delivering quality advice and developing high-trust relationships.
“We’ve seen regulatory changes across the industry with a primary focus on the imperative for advisers to act in the best interest of clients and to be prepared to defend their actions,” says Fithian.
…this is a tremendous opportunity for the best and brightest advisers to step forward…
“What it means to be a fiduciary, and how you operate in that context, is under a magnifying glass, and this is a tremendous opportunity for the best and brightest advisers to step forward.”
He says the leading advisers of the future will embrace this change toward client outcomes as their focus.
“In fact, they will take an advocate’s stance on behalf of what is important to their clients and serve that above all else,” he says.
“Thinking, and more importantly operating, in this way will set advisers apart from their competition and set them up for success beyond their expectations. Run toward this change and take a leadership role in its purpose.”
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Todd Fithian is based in Massachusetts, owns Advisor Growth and co-authored The Right Side of the Table: Where Do you Sit in the Minds of the Affluent? He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences throughout North America and is a board member at Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy, and the International Association of Advisors in Philanthropy.
