Women are a great niche market and can be more valuable clients than men and are more apt to provide referrals. Investment News reported this based on a study conducted by Delia Passi. At an Investment Management Consultants Association presentation, she made this statement, “Over a lifetime, women will make 26 referrals to their financial advisor on average, compared with 11 by the typical male client.”
Based on my experience working with numerous financial services providers, I believe this.
Here’s just one example: The owner of one of the country’s top producing wealth management firms located in Texas hired owner hired me to help improve his marketing materials, make recommendations for new and special events, and help him to create a service culture. The night before the our work was to begin, he took me to dinner and told this story:
In his own words, “When I started my business, I had to take out a loan from a friend and prayed I would be successful. I made up my mind that I wanted to target high net worth clients. Besides becoming active in hospital charity events where I could meet wealthy doctors who might possibly become clients, I joined the most prestigious country club in Dallas. I could barely afford the fee and had to be “approved” to join. Luckily, I had a friend who was a member.”
“I got to know the hostess at the country club very well. She was a single woman in her forties. Every time I’d come in and the club wasn’t busy, she’d pick my brain for financial advice. This went on for three years. She never revealed much about her financial situation and, because she was a hostess, I assumed she was just getting by. Nevertheless, my philosophy was to ‘help’ as many people as I could even if they did not have high net worth potential, believing this philosophy would lead me to success. My business grew quickly.”
“One day, I received a call from her. She wanted to come in to discuss investing a ‘little money’ with my firm. She said that I always had been so kind, helpful, and patient in answering her questions. The reason she had been asking for financial advice all this time was because her father would be selling his company and told her he’d be splitting the proceeds between her and her brother. For whatever reason, she did not want to use her father’s wealth management firm. She wanted to come in to discuss investing a ‘little money’ with my firm—$4 million!”
This story is true, and gets even better.
Over time, this client referred her wealthy single women friends to him and, in turn, they referred more business to him. You can figure out the rest of the story. Today, he is among the top three independent wealth management firms in the country of a well-known investment company. He has two main “niche” markets- medical professionals and single women.
A Classy Event
Every year, he holds a Valentine’s Day luncheon at an elegant restaurant for single, divorced, or widowed women. The invitation states that they can bring a female guest.
When entering, each guest receives a rose. A piano player plays any requested song. A delicious luncheon is served. There is no selling taking place, just words of appreciation to these women for placing their trust in their firm. Women are made to feel special and appreciated.
The result? More clients. Each year, this event gets bigger and better. Clients look forward to it, and tell both their male and female friends what a great job this firm does for them.
To grow your female-centric client niche, be an extrovert and be sure to ask for referrals. “We want more clients like you. Is there anyone you might recommend who might benefit from our services?” You might even consider hiring an all-female advisory board. Be sure to include female corporate executives with diverse backgrounds. They can provide you with valuable guidance in better understanding female clients, and tips on how to reach out to them.
You may not be able to afford holding such an event – but if you make women your niche-market or even just one of your target markets, and work hard to build trust, you are more apt to obtain referrals from women than from men.
About Christine Corelli
