Independent financial planners know the utmost importance of niche strategies in order to scale their businesses, but how do you become the expert that people turn to when they are met with challenges?
When it comes to deep knowledge in a specific niche, Ashby Daniels is the expert. He specializes in retirement planning and everything he does is intentionally in that space. From authoring books to developing relationships within the community to his long-standing blog, he is well-versed in all things retirement and happily shares his expertise with his audience.
So I sat down with him to learn more about the value he provides, day in and day out, to his niche—and what he recommends for other advisors trying to master their own niches.
His best advice is to find a niche and then provide your unique thoughts, best practices, and tips focused on that one specific area. For example, Ashby’s main focus is in the retirement planning realm, so it makes sense that he knows a thing or two about Medicare. But what you might not expect is that he learned everything he could on the topic and wrote a book on it.
He was receiving many questions about the subject from his niche, so he started doing some research. While reading the books that were out there, he soon realized that he had his own point of view to share.
Now Ashby’s able to let his expertise (the book) introduce him to potential clients, new engagements, and opportunities, and further strengthen his reputation as a thought leader in his niche.
How can you replicate his method for your own financial planning practice? Here are three ways to embrace your niche and lead with your expertise:
1. Find a way to provide value to your niche
Whether it comes in the form of a blog, book, or a TikTok, what can you do to truly serve your current clients and potential clients without asking for (or expecting) anything in return? When you provide value for nothing in exchange, your audience will notice and most likely share your content with others in their network. For example, when Ashby shared his most recent book with his current clients, he found that they were sharing it with their peers—who were also close to retirement and had specific questions about Medicare that their current advisor couldn’t answer.
2. Continuously publish content
Creating content is simply not enough these days. With so many platforms and channels, it’s impossible to keep up with all of them. But what is possible is to pick a medium and then stick to it. So whether your content comes in the form of tweets, videos, or newsletters—make sure your audience knows you’re committed to showing up. That means posting regularly, engaging with the communities, and publishing content on a regular cadence.
3. Offer free advice
When you’re the expert on a certain topic, it’s expected that you will be bombarded with questions—so answer them, for free. It may sound counterintuitive to give away free advice, but by doing so, you’re actually better positioned to win new clients, get referrals from existing ones, or become the “go-to person” for your niche. While it may be free right now, it could potentially lead to growth opportunities in the future.
To convey your expertise to your niche means you must prove to your audience that you can cover a specific area in-depth and create tactical, thorough content. A proven way to do so is to not only provide your audience with new information but to also give them a resource they can go back to and reference for help time and time again. If you can do that, you’re reliable and trustworthy—which are great characteristics for a financial planner to have!
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this video by the participants are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Altruist Corp or its subsidiaries. No compensation was provided.
