Exchange is a conference built for advisors, by advisors. As the Exchange Advisor Council (EAC) works on making Exchange 2025 a value-packed conference for financial advisors, one subject that has come up is business development.
We surveyed hundreds of advisors about what is top-of-mind for their business in the next 12-18 months. The top response was “business development.”
Business Development Challenges
The job of a financial advisor is complex. Accordingly, many advisors have their attention split between several high priority tasks. This can leave little to no time or energy available to focus on business development. Figuring out how to scale and grow a practice is challenging for many.
According to Christine Kalivas, CFP®, CDFA®, Fortune Financial Group, one of the biggest challenges facing advisors is “Finding capacity to acquire new clients, service existing clients, and manage portfolios.”
The #1 Business Development Challenge: Marketing
Because current, real clients always take precedence over prospective future ones, many financial advisors face growth challenges – particularly around marketing yourself and your practice. These challenges can also be compounded depending on what type of advisor you are.
Jorie Johnson of Financial Futures noted, “Marketing is one of the biggest obstacles. Fee-only fiduciary independent advisors do not have the marketing budget that national larger firms possess. The biggest obstacle was educating people that firms like mine exist.”
Taking Your Business to the Next Level
There is no magic bullet solution to growing your practice. However, a valuable option is taking some time out of your year to intentionally focus on learning. Accordingly, advisors can learn from both experts as well as other advisors facing similar challenges.
“I attend conferences like Exchange to take a pause, get out of the office, and focus intentionally on practice innovation,” said Autumn Soltysiak CFP®, Partner and Wealth Management Advisor at & Wealth Management.
In year’s past, the Exchange conference has hosted hands-on advisor-only coaching sessions with Carson Coaching. Carson Coaching held workshops designed to help advisors take their practice to the next level. Additionally, the conference has featured peer-to-peer learning opportunities on various practice management topics. These topics included leadership, featuring Andrew Marsh, Vice Chairman of Dynasty Financial Partners, building multi-generational practices, and leveling up your marketing with Samatha Russell of FMG Suite.
Exchange 2025 will host sessions to answer some critical questions that are top of mind for advisors right now, namely:
- How can I market my business when I’m slammed doing the work of advising and portfolio management?
- I’m overwhelmed by the amount and variety of tools available to help my business – where do you even start?
- I need to figure out how to differentiate myself in the marketplace and need to develop more expertise.
The EAC will provide personalized input into the agenda for Exchange 2025. Therefore, attendees can expect an experience focused on delivering a value and addressing advisor challenges.
Exchange promises to be a showcase of these solutions and the advisors who attend will be better equipped to scale and grow their practices.
Register for the 2025 Exchange conference here.
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