3 Ways to Empower Community and Grow Business

The past year has shown how impactful a financial advisor can be. In 2020, 28% of Americans with an advisor saw an increase in their household income, according to a recent MDRT study.  However, many people without financial advisors lost their jobs or businesses over the past year, and the impact was especially devastating to those who were not high-net-worth individuals. In fact, 40% of respondents with household incomes of less than $50k say their household income decreased.

As financial advisors, we have a responsibility to our communities to empower those who cannot afford a financial advisor or who might not know that they need one. These three strategies can help you positively impact your community and strengthen your business' presence:

1. Use Social Media to Educate
Many of us are already using social platforms to promote our businesses, but we can also use our platforms to give back by including educational content in our social media plans. By addressing essential topics such as financial literacy or managing day-to-day finances, you’ll provide free, expert advice to those in your community who may not otherwise have access.

Creating accessible, sharable content uplifts those who are not as economically well-off as your traditional clients and provides them with the ability to navigate the nuances of finances. In turn, the more people who see the content you create, the more your exposure increases, as does your reputation. Depending on your practice’s compliance requirements, consider incorporating platforms such as Instagram and TikTok into your social media portfolio as well. These allow you to reach a younger audience and equip them with sound financial advice while demonstrating the benefits of having a financial advisor to the next generation.

2. Use a Service Minded Business Model
This approach to social media can be translated into a service-minded business model for your first meeting with a new client. For example, I host initial meetings with prospects free of charge and send them recommendations based on my initial thoughts after the meeting.

If they become clients, they know what to expect from their plan and understand I’m working in their best interest, which improves our client relationship. If that person is not in a position to afford a financial advisor at the time, they are still walking away with recommendations that benefit them. Highlighting potential areas for financial improvement might later put them in a position to be a client.

3. Build Your Good Will
You only get one chance to make a first impression, and you tend to make lasting ones when you help people in ways that don't benefit you upfront.  People who leave with these positive impressions become unintentional sources of referrals when they later share your acts of goodwill. For example, a prospect who ended up not becoming a client shared that my social media advice helped them buy their first home. These kinds of stories persuade other people to want to work with you. Even if you don’t see an immediate monetary return, giving back to your community always returns in good favor to you by some extension.

As we continue into 2021, let’s utilize the lessons learned in the past year. Our communities are full of people trying to rebuild their finances who could benefit from your free financial expertise. Investing in and emboldening our communities encourages growth not only within the community but within our practices as well. Support our communities by preparing them for the future bumps in the road and setting them up for success moving forward. 

Brenton D. Harrison is a Financial Advisor with Henderson Financial Group, Inc., focusing on healthcare practitioners, business executives, and religious leaders. Through excellent communication and service skills, he earned the coveted New Associate of the Year Award for Innovative Financial Group in 2010, and in 2015, was named as one of Top 30 Advisors under 30 by LifeHealthPro magazine. Brenton is also a qualifying member of MDRT, one of the premiere organizations for financial professionals around the world.