Kevin Brennan • Hartland, MI
Michigan Financial Planning • Voya Financial Advisors Inc.
When I first started out as a financial advisor, I saw that other advisors placed great emphasis on clients who were about to enter or already in retirement. Many advisors were using seminar marketing programs to develop prospects who fit this profile. That made sense from a business perspective, as retirement clients have a strong need for financial guidance in many areas.
But I also saw an opportunity that I thought could work well for my own practice. I asked myself, “Who in my area is actively targeting younger clients?” I thought it was an underserved area to explore, and it has since become the primary focus of our practice. Our ideal prospective clients are married couples with young children, approximately 30 to 45 years old, with a relatively high income. They may not necessarily have a large net worth, but they are decades from retirement and have many financial needs other than pure retirement-income planning. As I develop clients of this type, I feel confident they will be working with our firm for many years to come.
We have found that sponsoring family-oriented events that are targeted at both children and their parents has been a very effective way to get our name out into the community and build our network of potential prospects. We explore opportunities of this nature in surrounding towns and get involved in many of these types of community events over the course of the year.
At these events, we will typically sponsor an activity such as a magician or bounce house. If appropriate, we may have a booth set up with information regarding planning for college funding and an information-gathering card that the parents can fill out regarding their financial-planning needs. From here, we will follow up with those parents who were interested to determine if they would like to schedule a complimentary consultation. In many cases, this has been the beginning of a new client relationship with our firm.
- Get involved with family-oriented events to expand your network.
- Sponsor an activity at these events, adding value for attendees.
- Set up a booth stocked with informative handouts about your practice.
Disclosure: Investment advisor representative and registered representative of, and securities and investment advisory services offered through, Voya Financial Advisors Inc., member SIPC. Brennan Investment Services is not a subsidiary of nor controlled by Voya Financial Advisors Inc. 36504864_IAR_0820D.
Post-publication note: As of this update (Dec. 8, 2021), Mr. Brennan is registered with Cetera Advisor Networks LLC.
Photography by Richard Lim
