Just as proactive advisors adapt portfolio management to changing market conditions, their messaging should adapt to where clients are in their lives.

A​ one-size-fits-all communication strategy will hurt even the most credentialed advisor’s reputation. With intentional changes, though, you can share the right message at each distinct life stage to deepen relationships, drive retention, and elevate your expertise as a trusted voice in an industry full of look-alike messaging.

So, why don’t more advisors lean into this opportunity? Because it’s inconvenient, requires core work, and is much harder than just asking an AI platform to do all the marketing work for you. Make no mistake: I’m certainly not anti-AI. But I am opposed to using AI to replace the relationship part of being an advisor, especially when it comes to communicating in a way that connects with your clients.

I review between 50 and 100 advisor websites every month for firms of all sizes, from solo advisors building incredible boutique businesses to multifamily offices managing several billion dollars for some of the most well-known names worldwide. Today, advisors communicate with their ideal clients on three different levels.

1. Zero differentiation in the sea of advisory sameness

Most advisors I’ve met use largely undifferentiated messaging across their entire digital presence. Their website, LinkedIn company info, Google Business Profile, and other online touchpoints are largely forgettable. In fact, for many firms, you could swap in virtually any other firm’s name and logo with little to no shift in sentiment.

There’s a reason InvestmentNews reports that 94 of the top 100 firms on the CNBC Financial Advisor 100 performed relatively poorly in terms of brand originality. Words like comprehensive, holistic, goal-based, and personalized become noise, distracting inspired investors as they search for a new fiduciary.​​

2. The simplified archetype

“We help medical professionals build wealth beyond their shifts” is a much better audience focus than “We help busy professionals retire sooner.” This is already a significant step up in marketing appeal based on what I hope is your earned and learned expertise. If you do nothing else with your firm this year, invest in crafting clear, distinct language for the exact niche you serve and the best-fit service that delivers the right results for that crowd.

3. The adaptable archetype

Advisors who frame each conversation, recommendation, and decision around a client’s current or future stage of life will retain more accounts, welcome more AUM into their care, and enjoy deeper conversations with the right type of investors. So, what does that look like in practice?

How do advisors adapt their messaging to fit each client’s stage of investing?

Stage 1. Early investors: Accumulation begins

Investors in their 20s and 30s aren’t thinking about RMDs, beneficiaries, or sequence-of-returns risk. They’re asking questions like this:

• “How can we afford a house? Where are we getting a down payment?”
• “Is it better to pay off my student loans or max out my employer match?”
• “Do we need to start a 529 for our newborn now or put that toward upgrading our house?”
• “Should we go on that vacation now or maybe wait until next year? That’s a lot of money for where we are.”

The monthly budget battle is less about contributions and more about lifestyle expenses. The urgency of investing simply isn’t top of mind when you’re stacking diapers or navigating elementary school drop-off lines.

If your client is a newly minted doctor, their medical school bills might seem as daunting as solo-climbing Mount Everest. Why bother investing today if they’re staring down $300,000 in student loans?

The messaging on your website, in person, and on your calls can adapt from “We help medical professionals build wealth beyond their shifts” to “Young doctors don’t have to choose between student loans and investing for a better financial future.”

This speaks to where they are right now, not where you hope they’ll be in 30 years. Instead of trying to convince them to invest, show that you understand the tension of the choices they face in their medical careers and in their lives right now. Plant the relationship now, and harvest later.

Stage 2. Accelerating investors: Accumulation gains momentum

This is arguably the most overlooked investor group. Their situation is more complex than a simple IRA, but many wire houses still may not see the account as “worthy enough” to move beyond the robo division. Unfortunately, even investors with $500,000 in investable assets often don’t grab many firms’ attention until they hit that magical $1 million mark.

This middle-child treatment could be enough to make accelerating investors believe they’re better off managing their own portfolios. Ambition and discipline are the one-two combo when communicating with these investors. Accelerating investors in their 40s and 50s typically also see rising income—and lifestyle creep. This is the stage where investors start comparing their portfolio returns to headlines (and to other family members’ and friends’ returns).

Phrases like the following further communicate that you understand the risk aversion and FOMO these investors face today:

• “Midcareer medical professionals trust us to accelerate their wealth without taking unnecessary risks.”
• “We work to protect what you’ve already built using our active management approach.”
• “We know what it feels like to have hard-fought success. What’s the right next decision for your wealth?”
• “You’re seeing a new level of income and opportunities in your career. How do you expertly handle new wealth?”

A more proactive approach goes beyond investment management in this scenario. You’re managing emotions and expectations, and encouraging greater discipline to match higher income potential. Speak to their emotions, and when necessary, hold their feet to the fire.

Stage 3. Near-retirement investors: Accumulation stabilizes

Based on my experience, investors within 10 years of retirement are at the greatest risk of not knowing what to do in their exact season of life. Near-retirement investors may already assume their portfolio will grow more. What they don’t always know is what mistakes could crush their entire nest egg. They’re asking questions like this:

• “Will one bad market cycle rewrite our entire retirement story?”
• “How does your process manage my risk?”
• “Who can we trust to help us transition well into retirement?”

What are some ways you can reinforce the right activity and strengthen your clients’ trust at this stage?

Many employers now allow advisors to actively manage 401(k) and 403(b) plans through an SDBA (self-directed brokerage account). SDBAs often involve a third-party investment manager. For clients still accumulating in employer-sponsored plans, you can offer an active, managed approach to one of their largest portfolio assets rather than letting it sit on autopilot in some target-date fund.

How can you communicate that with near-retirement investors? By using phrases like the following to match the SDBA opportunity:

• “We bring a seasoned, measured approach to help you take charge of your employer-sponsored plan.”
• “Would you rather hope your 401(k) delivers the results you want, or allow us to pursue risk-managed growth for a fee that makes sense?”

By approaching this opportunity with an active management perspective, you can help investors avoid potentially devastating drawdowns in their portfolio performance.

Stage 4: Retired investors: Distribution begins

Retirees are no longer focused primarily on growth. They simply want to know that their income can last as long as they need it to, which often shows up in questions like this:

• “Will we outlive our money?”
• “Are we protected in case anything changes?”
• “How do we live the way we want without worrying about the markets?”

You’ve likely worked with your retired clients for a good stretch of time. Whether they have worked with you for 30 years or became clients only recently, they now look to you as a trusted voice in living out their most relaxed years. At this stage, your process—how you talk about your distribution approach, investment monitoring, and other key benchmarks—is the product itself. Clients who followed your process from accumulation to distribution crave reassurance that the portfolio numbers match their reality.

Be the advisor who speaks to every season of your clients’ lives

Proactively managed clients deserve adaptive messaging, which requires knowing (and viscerally understanding) each client’s exact season. How are you currently speaking to your clients across your firm? Even if you have a concentrated audience of investors, your niche still has key stages that hold gaps and opportunities.

Analyze the exact audience you serve, segment them by life stage, and then write out the top questions you’re hearing from your investors at each stage. That’s your new messaging map, and it can inform how you communicate about those questions and concerns.

The advisors who will thrive in the next decade can confidently speak to every stage of their clients’ investment season. Is that you?

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and the sources cited and do not necessarily represent the views of Proactive Advisor Magazine. This material is presented for educational purposes only.