I recently blogged about attending this year’s Richmond PIMS forum, which was a marathon of 30 meetings over a two-day period.
Alongside the one-to-ones I had with some great adviser firms, we had also applied to be one of the chosen suppliers to run a seminar on a specific topic with a group of interested advisers. Richmond receives up to 35 applications each year and only a handful get selected by advisers so I was delighted to hear we got picked again.
My presentation was entitled: ‘There is No Going Back to ‘Normal’: How to Thrive in a Hybrid World’. Clearly, it was a topic that resonated because the room was packed and the feedback post-event was extremely positive.
The content drew upon insights from our white paper, ‘How to grow your business during lockdown’ (you can download it for free here). Although it was written to help advisers deal with the restrictions forced upon their business during the pandemic, the tips are still very much relevant now. Working practices have changed and may never be the same again.
Challenging times
Some of the issues we found when writing the paper included:
- 75% of advisers struggled to write new business during the lockdown.
- Clients in decumulation are causing a natural headwind for adviser AUA.
- The cost of doing business increases every year (PI cover, FSCS levies) so profits are coming under pressure.
To answer some of these challenges, our paper was designed to provide a practical guide for advisers. It includes:
- Case studies with four advisers who bucked the trend and continued to sign new clients during the lockdown.
- Ten practical suggestions on how you can find and sign new clients without meeting them in person.
- Tips on how to run a virtual business; how to get the most out of virtual meetings; how to keep connected with your team.
Dealing with the “new normal”
When concluding the session, I left the attendees with four main tips to help them grow their business (these were all gleaned from advisers rather than my own thoughts):
- Preparation & structure – you need to dedicate time and focus to formulating an action plan. This is not something you can do successfully in a spare 5 minutes
- Visibility – find ways to remind your clients/prospects that you exist. Social media and webinars are both good, cost-effective, routes to achieve this.
- Communication – frequency needs to increase and variety is key – don’t just rely on the written word. Add in videos, podcasts, social events.
- Data & analysis – if you’re trying new approaches, it is crucial to be able to judge what is and isn’t “Fail fast” and then refocus on the approach that is working.
‘If this sounds interesting, I definitely recommend you download our “ Insiders’ guide on How to Grow your Business during Lockdown” whitepaper here.
If you would like more information feel free to get in touch to find out more about my PIMS presentation via email at engagement@portfoliometrix.co.uk ‘
