5 Creative Ways to Find Retirement Clients

The passive part: Prospects reach out to Anspach after reading her articles.

“MarketWatch has been the best free marketing I’ve ever done,” she says, noting that in a week, “hundreds of thousands” read her stories, prompting a minimum of 15-30 inquiries.

Five years ago, surfing the internet about retirement issues, the fee-only FA discovered that About.com was looking for a retirement expert to address baby boomers. Six weeks of writing auditions later, she was named the site’s guide for that ripe market segment.

Then, this past spring Anspach offered her pointed observation to a MarketWatch writer that only three of the site’s 38 RetireMentors were female, a puny 9% representation, she said; women constitute 50% of the population. By June, the editor offered her a RetireMentor spot.

Anspach entices readers with articles like “10 Ways to Wipe Out Your Retirement Savings” (MarketWatch) and “10 Things Your Financial Advisor Might Not Be Telling You” (About.com).

Heading her Top 10 prospecting to-do list for advisors: Develop an expertise. “When someone hears about you, they’re likely to put your name into Google. You need to have things that show, ‘Yes, I’m an expert and am working with people like you.’ Create a niche in the retirement market,” she says. “Learn all the ins and outs so that you become the go-to expert in your area.”

On Twitter, she tweets articles by other experts, in addition to her own. “You have to share content,” Anspach says. “It shows that you’re out there diving into your specialty.”

The key value of social media? “It’s another way,” she stresses, “to verify you’re legitimate and an expert, and that other people like you—silly as that sounds.”

The Politician

Craig Adamson, president; Adamson Financial Planning; Marion, Iowa; broker-dealer: LPL Financial; AUM: $25 million

Every one of his assistants has told Craig Adamson: “If you can get in front of somebody, there is no way they’re not going to become a client unless they’re a jerk,” the FA says.

A retirement specialist, Adamson, 40, has been up to the task for 13 years now, having gone independent after four years with Wells Fargo. As a bank broker, there was little need—and no time—to prospect clients beyond the firm.

These days, prospecting comes with the territory for this City Council member, running for re-election in Marion, Iowa. The FA is out there meeting, greeting and helping residents solve problems.

Then there’s his extensive involvement with the local alumni association of Iowa State University, from which he graduated in 1996.

“I have a decent amount of name recognition, and that gets me into conversations,” he says. “They open the door to getting a first appointment.”

Typically, the scenario begins with connecting with fellow University alumni. They then learn that Adamson sits on the City Council. He talks investments in neither role; but when people learn he’s an FA, they often introduce themselves to seek help.

One man, for example, wanted him to make sure his advisor was recommending appropriate investments.

“He was getting some pretty bad advice. I told him [what] wasn’t right—and suddenly I had half-a-million dollars in new assets,” the advisor recalls.

As a City Council member, Adamson mails welcome letters to new residents. He follows that with his quarterly newsletter.

One new prospect in town, receiving the newsletter for about 18 months, emailed: “It seems like you really know what you’re doing. I’ve been investing on my own. But I’m getting closer to retirement and want to find out how to turn the money into income. Can my wife and I sit down with you?” Adamson recalls.

He is now the process of bringing in that million-dollar-plus client. “I’ve gotten five clients in the last 12-14 months just by sending out paper newsletters to new residents. People aren’t used to being paid attention. In a lot of cases,” he says, “wirehouses just herd them through like cattle.”

The Party Thrower

Andrew Kowitski, senior vice president-financial advisor; MKM Group; Morgan Stanley; Morristown, N.J.; AUM: about $300 millionHappy Birthday, dear client! Happy Birthday to you!

Andrew Kowitski throws birthday parties for his clients. They’re a cause for celebration for him too, especially when the client’s friends—invited as surprise guests by the wife or husband—turn out to be hot prospects.

Over the years, parties have been a wellspring of new assets for Kowitski, 44.

But “I don’t talk about investing, even if they ask me,” says the FA, whose niche is high-net-worth retirees and retiring business owners.

Social media is “a cold way to network,” he maintains. “Face-to-face contact is very important—otherwise you’re a commodity. If you can’t look into someone’s eyes and trust them, then why would you give them your money?”

At one client birthday luncheon, Kowitski met a successful manufacturer of metal buckets, who mentioned that he was considering selling the business but was unsure if he’d realize enough money to retire. Kowitski ultimately created a comprehensive plan for the entrepreneur, which showed how he could earn more in retirement than if he continued to work.

To get to know their families and friends, the advisor sometimes hosts social gatherings at clients’ homes. He also has parties for select clients at his own home.

“A lot of clients have become friends over the years,” Kowitski says. “Eighty percent of my book knows my wife Jennifer.”

Yet the advisor is well aware that “clients are living assets and as such, will pass on. Eventually, your whole book will die. I still have another 30 years before I retire. By then,” he says, “most of my clients will be dead. That’s why you always need to keep prospecting—and to get to know your clients’ heirs.”