Targeting an ideal client market will make your work life easier and your marketing efforts more effective, regardless of whether you’re a new advisor starting out or simply wanting a little more focus.

“You’re going to be doing this for a long, long time, so you really want to be working with [clients] that you’re drawn to work with because you’ll end up showing up more authentically, more confidently,” says Steve Mitten, president of acoach4u.com in Vancouver.

Here’s a few tips for finding that target market.

Who do you like?

Look at you current clients to see whom you work best with to find your ideal market.

“[Be] honest with yourself to say who are you working with, who do you enjoy working with, what sort of brand do you reflect that will attract that market,” says Jeff Malcolm, president of Toronto-based AdvisorBranding. For example, you may work mostly with business owners but didn’t realize this was a special interest of yours.

Personal strengths

Use your personal strengths and experience to find a market — don’t simply follow the pack.

For instance, it could be difficult for you to connect with boomer clients in their 50s and 60s if you are only in your 30s, says Mitten. Instead, it would be easier to work with a demographic such as Generation X, who are just starting to build up assets.

As well, think about where you spend your time outside the office. Whether it’s working with charities or playing golf, these interests can help build relationships, says Mitten: “Where is it that you can enjoy your life but raise your visibility and credibility with a number of your ideal clients.”

What to choose?

There may be a few different markets you feel that you can work best with, so narrow the list down.

First of all, make sure you have found an actual niche, says Mitten: “A niche is an identifiable group of people with an identifiable set of challenges.”

To find your target market, Mitten suggests listing all possible niche markets and then ranking them on a scale of one to 10 to see: how excited you are to work with each group; how well your strengths allow you to add value and credibility with that group; how open that market is (i.e., is there enough people and need to make it feasible?); and, finally, how easy it would be for you to meet and connect with that group.

A quick tally of the scores for each group will give a clear indication of which market to focus on.

Don’t restrict yourself

Remember: just because you’re targeting a specific market doesn’t mean you have to turn down clients. Although focusing on a niche helps streamline your business and make marketing more effective, you can still work with clients who have different needs.

“You’re not going to turn them away,” says Malcolm. “It’s just that you’re not going to actively go looking for them.”

Ask for help

Create a team to help find the right market for you. Find a group of people you can bounce ideas off of and from whom you can get an honest opinion, says Mitten.

“You want to be judicious,” he warns. “You want to look for people that have a feel for the industry, that know you well, and that are going to give you candid opinions.”


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