Many advisors who I work with believe they are trustworthy (which they are), so it completely perplexes them as to why they don’t see a steady stream of new clients entering their business.
They say to me “Ari, I’m a trusted advisor in my space… why am I still having to hunt for new clients? Isn’t trust everything?”.
And I say to them, “In 2023, trust is only half of the equation, the other half is authority”.
The fact you are a trusted advisor with your current clients has zero relevance to your potential new clients, who don’t yet have a long standing relationship with you.
They may be aware of who you are, but they are seeing other advisors similar to you, offering similar services.
This may come as a shock, but the trust equity you have with your current clients ultimately has no leverage in acquiring new clients (except for occasional client referrals), who don’t know you.
That’s a hard pill to swallow for advisors who have been in the industry for many years, and especially those who’ve built a stable book of clients.
It’s easy to get comfortable inside your inner circle of contacts, with people who know you well. But the “real world” of potential new opportunities lies outside your inner circle, with potential clients who have yet to meet you.
Being a trusted advisor only has leverage AFTER a prospect becomes your client and has experienced your skillset in solving their specific problem. But pre-sale, you need to be a trusted authority.
Imagine how your sales process of acquiring new clients would change for the better, if by the time you have your first prospect meeting, your status as a Trusted Authority is so blazoned in their mind that you don’t have to sell yourself — they’re simply ready and open to working with you.
This is why the classic advisor mantra of: “Get me in front of the right kind of clients or prospects, and I’ll be fine. They’ll trust me and like me” has to change to “Help me create a Trusted Authority sales process so that BEFORE I meet a potential client, they ALREADY know and trust me.”
It’s not a pipe dream… it’s a reliable and repeatable process once you create your Trusted Authority positioning and sales system.
Unless you project authority to your ideal clients, you’ll be seen as “one of many”, and that is exactly what you need to avoid.
In 2023, to break away from being compared to other advisors, you’ll need to attract your ideal clients only, which means you need to differentiate yourself at the front end of your sales process, and be seen as the Trusted Authority in your market.