Tactics for Finding Warm Leads as a Financial Advisor

Building a sustainable advisory business requires a steady flow of incoming leads. The more warm leads you can generate, the more opportunities you may have to convert prospects to clients. And adding some tried and true strategies to your marketing toolbox can help you attract warm leads for financial advisors.

SmartAsset’s Advisor Marketing Platform (AMP) offers financial advisors services like client lead generation, automated marketing and more. Learn about SmartAsset AMP today.

5 Sources of Warm Leads for Financial Advisors

Warm leads are prospects who have shown an interest in your services or made initial contact, but have yet to take the next step. So where do these leads come from? Here are some strategies you can use to find them.

1. Encourage Referrals

Referrals can’t be underestimated as a marketing tool. When your current clients or professionals in your network refer an investor to you, that’s a sign of trust in your abilities and expertise.

Prospects on the receiving end of referrals may already know a little about you. In a best case scenario, the person referring you has taken the time to sing your praises. By the time a prospect reaches out to schedule a chat, they may already be half-sold on the idea of working with you.

So how do you get more referrals as a financial advisor?

On the client side, it’s all about providing a superior experience. Clients are generally more likely to refer you when they feel appreciated and valued, and when what you’re delivering exceeds their expectations. You can ask for referrals directly or encourage them indirectly, depending on your comfort level.

If you’d like to get referrals from attorneys, CPAs or other financial professionals, you’ll need to invest some time in network-building. Attending financial advisor conferences or reaching out on LinkedIn, for example, can help you cultivate centers of influence.

2. Boost Your SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization, is a marketing approach that’s designed to bring traffic to your website or social media accounts.

Optimizing your website tells search engines what your business is about. When a prospective client searches for a keyword like ‘financial advisor near me,’ you want your site to be at the top of the rankings.

If that prospect clicks through to your site, you have an instant opportunity to turn them into a warm lead. For instance, you can encourage them to fill out a contact form to schedule an initial consultation or offer them a free lead magnet in exchange for their email address. Once they’re subscribed to your email list, you can start a conversation and build a rapport,. This could then lead to a conversion.

Implementing SEO strategies starts with incorporating keywords into your landing pages and website content, but it’s more than that. Learning more about SEO for financial advisors can help you determine what you may need to address to improve your site’s visibility in search.

3. Seminars

An advisor reviews networking strategies to gain more warm leads for their firm.

Seminar marketing allows you to connect with warm leads, either online or offline, in a low-pressure environment. You choose the topic you want to cover, decide how to offer the seminar and market it to encourage people to sign up.

The key is choosing a topic that’s relevant to your target audience. Say, for example, that your ideal clients are mid-career married couples with children. In that case, a virtual seminar on balancing retirement planning with college planning might immediately grab their attention.

Here are some other tips to leverage seminars for warm leads:

Once you settle on a topic and format, market your seminar through social media, email and on your website.
Decide how many people will be able to attend and encourage your followers, subscribers and website visitors to reserve a spot early via email to create a sense of urgency.
Include time for a Q&A near the end to give prospects a chance to interact with you and ask questions.

After the seminar ends, you can send a follow-up email letting attendees know you’re available for a more in-depth chat. You can include a link to your scheduling tool in the body of the email so that it’s as easy as possible for prospects to get on your calendar.

4. Collaborate

Collaborations and partnerships can also help you expand your reach and get more eyes on your business.

For example, you might appear as a guest on a financial podcast to discuss retirement planning. Or take part in an online roundtable discussion with other financial experts. You could work with a financial influencer on a series of blog posts, TikTok shorts or YouTube videos — the possibilities are endless.

If you have limited time to spare, it’s important to focus on collaborative efforts that put your business in front of prospects who fit your ideal client mold. Otherwise, your messaging may not resonate with those who hear it.

5. Get Involved Locally

A lot of advisor marketing is digital these days, but there’s still plenty of value to be had from marketing in-person. Getting involved in your local community is another way to warm up leads and potentially bring in new clients to your business.

Again, you may need to be selective about how you spend your time. Some of the possibilities for connecting with warm leads may include:

Charitable events, which could put you in contact with high-net-worth donors
Local colleges that offer free financial education programs for seniors
Business leagues or associations, or your local chamber of commerce
Local libraries and nonprofits that encourage financial education

The type of clients you’re hoping to meet can ultimately influence where you get involved in the community.

Bottom Line

A woman researches where financial advisors can find warm leads.

Warm leads can significantly accelerate your business’s growth, if you know where to find them. These are prospects who have already shown interest in your services, making them far more likely to convert than cold leads. By incorporating smart, targeted strategies into your marketing plan, you can not only attract more warm leads, but also build stronger relationships from the start. With the right approach, you’ll be well-positioned to level up your client acquisition game and drive long-term success.

Tips for Growing Your Advisory Business

If you’re interested in connecting with qualified leads, you may consider working with an advisor marketing platform. SmartAsset AMP (Advisor Marketing Platform) is a holistic marketing service that financial advisors can use for client lead generation and automated marketing. Sign up for a free demo to explore how SmartAsset AMP can help you expand your practice’s marketing operation. Get started today.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is another tool you might use to find warm leads. Sales Navigator can help you identify individuals who have interacted with your business in some way, whether it’s viewing your profile or reacting to content you’ve posted. You can use built-in search features to find potential leads based on criteria of your choosing.