Angela Osborne: Effective Lead Generation Strategies for Advisors

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Hello and welcome to Barron's The Way Forward. I'm Greg Bartolis, and my guest today is Angela Osborn, the COO of Austin-based Blue Spring Wealth. Angela has held senior positions at Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, First Republic Bank, and Iperio, and will explain how advisors can understand and optimize their leads. Welcome to the program.

Thank you, Greg.

Tell us first of all about why this is so important. What's the scope of the challenge and of the problem?

Yeah, thank you. I think, you know, if we start by just pulling out and looking at the industry as a whole, we're in the business of life, and sadly life is finite. So unless advisors are constantly and proactively looking to regenerate their business by bringing in new clients, there's a very real risk that their business will become what we call a melting iceberg, and so that means that they will slowly and naturally lose clients over time, and that has consequences. Obviously, it has a direct impact on the value of their firm and also on the employees and clients that they work with.

And I'd imagine this is more of an acute concern given that organic growth is hard to come by.

It absolutely is. I mean, you know, at the end of the day, if you look at statistics and metrics that are out there, out there, growth is a constant challenge. Most of the average RIAs are pulling in about 2 to 3% a year in real organic growth, so that's excluding market activity. And at the end of the day, advisors are also trying to, you know, deal with the demands of a very busy practice. They're running a business at the end of the day, and that typically doesn't allow much time or room for them to incorporate new ideas. Around how to generate new leads.

So tell me some best practices. What are some effective ways to actually do this?

Yeah, I appreciate you asking. I think that some of the interesting things here— I'd start by saying, you know, there are a lot of large institutions that spend a lot of money, hundreds of millions of dollars, in trying to generate leads, and the average advisory practice is a small business. It doesn't have that luxury. But I would say that don't let that be disheartening. You know, don't try to buy the ocean, as we say. It's like, you know, start small. Realize that that first glass of water is really not that far away. There are some real tangible things that people can do for themselves. And then, you know, layer that in with expertise from larger practices such as ourselves at Blue Spring. You know, we try to provide a holistic, and by that I mean an end-to-end solution to help our partner firms grow organically. We do that by trying to augment and amplify and improve what they're already doing. And we call that our Bluespring Growth Blueprint. It looks at all the elements of a lead optimization engine, so not just generating, but optimizing what might already be there across all the dimensions, marketing, coaching, your digital and social media presence, Even sales training, this isn't just marketing, it's sales as well. And look and mine for the leads that might already be within your centers of influence. You know, a lot of firms work with accountants, attorneys, you know, how might you be able to better and more effectively leverage those sources as a, for referrals. Also clients, your clients are a source of referrals. And all of this is part of what we consider, you know, a good advisory firm's daily calisthenics. But these are also things, because advisors are so busy, they're typically overlooking. They're not even looking at their existing book to see how they might be able to leverage it. And then we have some tangible, you know, sort of actionable ideas around that as well, which I'm happy to share if you think that would be helpful.

Yeah, absolutely. I first want to— digress for a moment, for an advisor who might want to explore asking an existing client for a referral, but they might feel that reluctance or potential awkwardness, what's kind of an easier way for them to go there?

Yeah, look, I think that is probably the obstacle that most advisors feel is that they either find that crass to ask or maybe don't feel it's appropriate because they're, you know, the client. But I think the very, the reality at the end of the day, and look, it's classic for me as an English person, asking for referrals is inherently not what we do. But joking aside, I think, look, asking is okay. And I think sharing with your client how important they are to you and how, you know, important the business is and how it works and that it works on having referrals for more clients And if they feel like they're getting a really good experience, really good advice, is there anyone that they would recommend should come and speak to you? Look, it's not different to the car dealerships. They've certainly got it down, you know, please ask for, you know, please give me a 5 when I've been in for my car service. It's done everywhere else. I think we just need to get comfortable asking for it here in our advisory industry as well.

Yeah, and I think sometimes, people might just need a tasteful nudge. So they might like you and in their heart of hearts actually would recommend you, but they don't proactively think to actually recommend you.

I think that's exactly it, Greg. I mean, look, at the end of the day, our most priceless asset is time, and that's true of our clients as it is our advisors. So I think that they just, they need that nudge. And as soon as you ask for it, I guarantee the response, if you are providing a really great experience, will be, oh my goodness, absolutely, I'd love to do that.

Yeah, yeah. And if they don't, you know, at least if you ask in a tasteful, tactful manner, they'll appreciate your consideration and probably not, hopefully not judge or whatever.

That's right. And look, if you don't get the answer, oh, I'd love to do that, then you've now opened up an opportunity to have a discussion around why that might not be. And look, you know, one of the things I think is really important is the spirit of continuous improvement. And maybe that opens a door to, to learn about some improvements you could make somewhere else in your experience, in your service delivery that you weren't aware of before because it was just latent and nobody was saying it out loud.

So let's talk a little about more about the actionable tips that you have.

Yeah, sure. I think there's a number of different dimensions here around the lead generation itself and then how do you nurture those leads and those prospects and new clients. And then, you know, closing is a big one. And I'll start with lead generation. So I think, look, at a very high level, it's about enhancing your own firm-level marketing. Part of that includes digital presence. That means having a strategy. That's not always easy to do when you're a busy advisor. So, you know, start with some actionable things like messaging. Do you have an elevator pitch? Through which you can very clearly and quickly articulate what's your unfair advantage. That's what we call the, you know, the value proposition, but how's it different to what other advisors might be doing? You know, what is different about you and what you're delivering relative to all the other advisors out there? And you need to know that, and you need to be able to articulate it very crisply. And I think a lot of advisors can't do that. When you ask them, what's your unfair advantage, they're like, we have great client service and we work with retirees. Well, you know, how many other people are doing that too, right? It's not differentiated. So I would start there. And, and look, I think also it's not just about advisors having that knowledge, and I'll come back to that in a minute when I talk a little bit about closing and nurturing. But LinkedIn and Facebook profiles, look, I'm guilty of this myself. We tend to set them up and then forget they're there. But it's really important that whatever you are putting out into the world these days is consistent and also reflective of who you are and what your firm is offering today. Keep it fresh. Everybody is going to Google you. They're either going to Google to find you in the first place or they're going to Google you after one of their friends has referred them, referred you to them. And they're going to want to know more. So make sure that what they find when they Google is reflective of who you are and what you want them to see. So make sure the LinkedIn and Facebook profiles reflect currently, you know, the current firm and its ethos and speaks to what the clients are going to experience more so than who you are as a person. So I think that's, that's another piece. And that ties also to the website. Don't forget the website as well. I know that's a bigger lift than maybe updating a LinkedIn profile, but it has to be consistent across, across the board because that's what people see. That's their first impression.

Right. And it's still remarkable to this day how many are fairly indistinct or similar. Right. And it's a really, on one level, a quick and easy way to at least visually differentiate yourself and Yeah, make your stamp, project your identity.

Yeah, exactly. And look, I think it ties to that first point about being clear and crisp around what is your, um, you know, your value proposition, what is your unfair advantage, and make sure that comes through in your, in your materials, in your social media, in your website. Make it human as well, right? Don't make it look like every other corporate. Make it speak to who your clients are. All advisors know who their ideal client profile is. Does your website speak to those, those clients? Or is it just showing a faceless— does it represent a faceless corporate entity? On the second one, you know, I mentioned nurturing. I think, you know, this is about nurturing the leads. It takes time. This is a relationship-based business, so it's not transactional. Once you have a lead, you've got to make sure you nurture it. And obviously to the third part, you've got to be able to close it. So one thing you could do and consider is creating leverage for yourself as an advisor by prioritizing the leads that are in your pipeline. And also in your existing book, a lot of advisors have leads in their existing book that they're not getting time to address. So having a means to sort of score them helps you prioritize them. And look, there are, there are great resources out there like Catchlight who can actually apply some AI-based rules to help prioritize your existing book and the leads that are coming in and line them up with your ideal client profile. So you don't necessarily need to do it manually, although if you, you know, aren't using a Catchlight, then you can start manually. That, that's obviously a lot of work, but it then helps you prioritize your leads and you can start targeting them one by one with the ones that are most impactful, most, you know, aligned with you and your business. That list also translates into, you know, a more effective email campaign because now you can personalize what you're putting out to these potential prospects. Other things I might consider along the nurturing side is actually creating, you know, one of our firms has pulled together a wonderful one-pager that very clearly describes, you know, What is the experience going to be for me as a new client? So when I onboard, when I bring my accounts over to you, it's not like opaque. It's very clearly, here's who you're going to speak to, here's what that experience is going to look like, when it's going to happen, and how it's going to happen.

I imagine that'd be extra helpful for those who have never used an advisor. They have really— it's like this black abyss they're about to enter, and they're like, what is this? And you just kind of demystify it, give them the arc, and it's— Ostensibly reassuring.

Yeah, I think that's exactly it. You're right, Greg. And look, it's very human as well, right? These are real people. These are real relationships. And you're trying to create connection points and touch points with them that are very authentic. And it doesn't always have to be through in-person interactions. You can do that by providing information and material and transparency. And then closing, look, this is a big one, right? It's one thing to generate leads, it's quite another to actually close them and convert them into real clients. And you know, the question I put out there to the audience is, do you have a team of rainmakers or do you have a team of what we call, euphemistically call, declawed cats? And you know, that will probably resonate with a number of firms, but you know, Consider getting coaching to help advisors. There are always, there's always at least one rainmaker in the organization, and having them mentor other folks in the group is really helpful. There are also a lot of really great firms like The Collaborative who do coaching. FICOM is another one. So consider those for sales and for marketing aspects of what's required. But I think the other thing, you know, that we talked about at the beginning here is try to build a culture of referral through the whole organisation, not just with the individuals who are, you know, service or lead advisors. I think one of the best ones that I've seen, and I love this one, are the bring a friend events. They invite clients but ask them to bring a friend, make the events tailored to your kinds of clients, your geographical location. You know, it's not one size fits all. And I think the other thing I would say is don't focus just on your advisors and business development folks. There is a large group of very untapped client service associates, client associates, you know, who deal with clients every day. They're actually speaking to clients every day. Make sure that everyone in the firm knows that unfair advantage, knows how to tell the story, and that they practice active listening when they're engaging with clients in any way, and that they can identify those referable moments. They don't necessarily need to be the people who then close it, but they can identify the referable moment and pass it to a lead advisor. But then again, they may also be able to close it, so.

Right. And I wonder, for certain people, it'll be crystal clear when there is a referable moment. But I could imagine sometimes people might hear one and not really realize that they're almost too close to the situation. And then, but if they're proactive about looking for it, they'd be like, ah, that's a referral moment. Let's figure out what to do with this now.

Yeah, you're exactly right. And like, sometimes, you know, you can't see the wood for the trees when you're in the moment. But I think practice, and makes perfect, and this goes to, you know, the earlier point about continuous improvement. It's not gonna be perfect from day one, but don't be afraid to make mistakes. Don't be afraid to try. I think that, you know, track what you're doing, compare notes across the whole team, not just the advisors. People will start to learn from one another what a referable moment is. They'll start to learn from one another about the whole end-to-end process. And, you know, get that feedback from the team. And look, get feedback from your clients. Tell them what you're trying to do. Ask them what they've seen, particularly if you're doing any external campaigns that they may have actually seen. Ask them to look at your website, at your social media presence, and give them, you know, ask them to give you their feedback. I mean, that is the best kind of feedback. And then use that learning to inform and improve. And look, don't do it once, do it multiple times as time passes. There's always going to be an opportunity to discover something new and learn and then reinvest that learning into what you're doing.

Excellent. We're winding down. Is there anything else that you'd like to talk about that we haven't addressed?

Look, I think that there's— I think a lot of advisors get overwhelmed by what is happening out there with, you know, just how much money is invested. In trying to generate leads. Again, I would just reiterate, don't try to buy the ocean here. Try, you know, do start small, do what works for you. And look, why don't you go do your own podcast today on your smartphone? Start there.

There you go. Words of wisdom. Thank you for joining us. My guest has been Angela Osborne. For more advisor-specific podcasts, please check out barons.com/podcast. For The Way Forward, I'm Greg Bartolis.

This podcast was brought to you by Wells Fargo Advisors. Looking for a firm your clients can't outgrow? Wells Fargo Advisors offers financial advisors full balance sheet solutions with wealth planning, investment products, banking, and lending that meet the needs of affluent to ultra-high net worth clients. Build your practice your way and on your schedule with independent and employee model options designed to meet your needs today and tomorrow. Learn more at joinwfadvisors.com.