How to Win Over the Huge Advisor-Averse Market

Changing It Up

To make that happen, though, advisors need to change their traditional scripts.

When they meet with prospects, most advisors explain things like the value of working with a fiduciary, why financial planning is important, which investing approach is wisest or why a certain fee model is best.

The advisor-averse individual doesn’t want to hear all that. It sounds to them like sales propaganda.

Instead, they’re looking for practical information about investing and managing finances — such as why they should dollar cost average, or how they can go about choosing one mutual fund or ETF over another.

They might want to know the best way to calculate their retirement funding needs, or how to tell the best time to exercise stock options.

When you walk a client through how to accomplish practical tasks, they begin to trust you. They see that you have practical knowledge and ability, that you’re not simply spouting salesy talking points.

And critically, they get a glimpse of all that they don’t know. In this process, we see clients begin to value expert advice. And that paves the way for them to move from being die-hard do-it-yourselfers to paying consumers of financial advice.

But don’t expect these reluctant consumers to hand you the keys to their financial life. After you have shown them that you know things they don’t, it’s time to position your services.

For the advisor-averse set, the tone should not be “let me show you all the things I can do for you,” but rather “let’s look at all the activities we can partner on.” These clients want someone to work with them, not to do it all for them.

That might be a challenging model for some advisors. Until recently, we’ve assumed that clients—at least the desirable ones—want to delegate. But consumers are increasingly choosing to take more responsibility for their finances, a trend that has been fueled by the pandemic.

To penetrate this big market, advisors have to be willing to share responsibilities with clients, to let them be co-pilots. Talk about the things you’ll be responsible for and the things they will be responsible for. That will allow clients to maintain the sense of control that they value so highly.

The client’s perspective should not be that they’re simply going to be told what to do, but that they and the advisor will work to find joint solutions.

Pandemic Effect

During the COVID-19 era, more people have been tackling their own investing and financial affairs. Considering that, it’s critical that advisors remove the judgments we have about what’s right and wrong for consumers.

One client might be tech-averse when it comes to communication, preferring to talk through the issues with an advisor. Another might want to text back and forth.

Other clients might be withholding the full picture of their financial activities for fear of judgment. Our research has shown that women especially avoid reaching out to advisors due to fear of judgment.

To expand into the market of reluctant individuals — the largest available pool of potential new clients — advisors must learn to withhold judgment and communicate differently.

We must also learn to accept collaborative relationships. It’s a shift, and it might not be something every advisor can get comfortable with. But there’s no disputing the fact that there’s a huge market of potential new clients on the sidelines, waiting to be served on their terms.