While we will gladly work with clients from any walk of life, we have found a niche target segment that has expanded to become the bulk of our client roster. Attorneys are excellent prospects for forward-thinking financial planning. They are affluent, consumed with their professional lives, and appreciate the principles of risk management in planning for their financial futures.
Targeting attorneys came about by a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work. It started with a thorough investigation of SIC codes to see what might be good target segments in the Washington, D.C., metro area. It became obvious that the legal profession was one of the dominant segments, with over 25,000 attorneys in the area.
We have developed several marketing and database methods to identify specific law firms and attorneys, and we have developed a communications plan to reach out to them. After many years of doing this, we have some expertise in what works and have a very good response rate leading to initial meetings. We average two or three new prospect appointments a week, plus additional follow-up meetings coming from contacts in our existing client base.
In addition to the marketing side of the equation, our core competencies as a firm are appealing to this audience. Attorneys can appreciate the sophisticated active investment management strategies that we employ. They are also very receptive to messages around risk management, for both their investments and their insurance needs. They like our focus on tax-advantaged financial planning and expertise in alternative investments. They also represent a good target for 401(k) investment management and generally have substantial assets in their plans.
This has become a very successful marketing focus, so the legal profession really no longer qualifies as a niche for us—it represents the bulk of our client roster. Other firms certainly target this segment, but we believe we do it exceptionally well by drilling into and understanding all aspects of their firms’ benefits and qualified plans. This enables us to assist our attorney clients in many more aspects of their lives. As such we have become the “go-to” financial planning firm for many of the law firms in our region. Currently, we are represented in over 60 law firms and have multiple clients in many of those.
Disclosure: Securities and investment advisory services offered through H. Beck Inc., member FINRA/SIPC and an SEC-registered investment advisor. H. Beck Inc. and Wagner Resource Group Inc. are not affiliated. Investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested.
This article first published in Proactive Advisor Magazine on April 9, 2015, Volume 6, Issue 2.
Post-publication note: As of this update (July 1, 2021), Mr. Wagner and Mr. Quattlebaum are registered with Grove Point Investments LLC.
Photography by Mike Morgan
