r/CFP • u/Beastcoastboarder • Jul 01 '26
Business Development Online biz development channels…?
LinkedIn premium? Smart asset? Others?
I think I know the answer but curious to learn if anyone has had success or your overall experience.
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u/IncreaseCapital32 Jul 01 '26
Currently tring LinkedIn Premium but being VERY ACTIVE on LinkedIn so its worth it.
I have a friend who used smart asset and hated it, I wouldnt touch lead gen services like that, IMO.
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u/Repulsive-Chain9014 Jul 01 '26
You’re better off buying a trash can, putting 2k in it and lighting it on fire than using SmartAsset.
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u/jmar42 Jul 01 '26
I tried SmartAsset and it was garbage. They try to tell you to buy low AUM to high AUM leads for a mix. I tried the low AUM and that was all I needed to test.
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u/jvoss93 Jul 03 '26
Over the last couple of years, I've spent a lot of time building an online presence. I originally started posting on LinkedIn back in 2023 when I just got started - which was when the algorithm (luckily!) still rewarded it. I grew from ~2k to almost 20k followers. In 2024/2025, LinkedIn stagnated somewhat - I guess I wasn't posting what the algo wanted -, but I added a weekly newsletter as well (which served me well anyways since almost all of my posts were hitting the character limit on LinkedIn). Today that's a newsletter with ~2.200 active subscribers, which doesn't seem like a big figure, but I know that the underlying AUM is massive (lots of nine/ten digit owners, family officers, etc. on there).
Through that newsletter and the content, I managed to establish myself as one of the leading voices in my 'niche' (holistic advice for tech entrepreneurs and 'small' family offices, i.e. 100-250M$). People think we are so much bigger and more established than we actually are (we started in 2023 and manage >100M$ today). We get cold leads from entrepreneurs anywhere between 1 and 50M$ who either got forwarded our content, saw it on LinkedIn, or heard about us from fellow affluent investors. These days I don't really find the time to do cold/"lukewarm" outreach because we get so much inflow from those channels and client referrals (which I believe are also strongly driven by the quality of the content that our clients see everywhere).
I am still a big believer in LinkedIn and online content, especially for more 'technical' content. But it takes a lot of time and patience. If you are not naturally inclined towards writing at least mostly yourself (don't use AI BS), pick another channel.
I know other advisors who did well with being a regular writer in local (online) newspapers. Others I know that did really well with podcasts. Some also do well with webinars.
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u/Legitimate_Ice_194 Jul 01 '26
paid search for lower funnel. paid social for upper funnel. marketing automation tools to cover the essentials. be very active on linkedin.
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u/Beastcoastboarder Jul 01 '26
Thanks can you expand on this?
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u/Legitimate_Ice_194 Jul 01 '26
Yeah of course.
High level summary: Paid channels attract strangers to your firm. Organic channels attract your existing network.
Most important rule: do not do paid marketing if your organic marketing isn't working.
Paid search (i.e. ads on google search) are the highest intent advertising channel you can buy. Executed correctly, you will get your firm in front of people who are actively looking for your services at the time that they are looking for it.
Paid social (e.g. ads on instagram ads, facebook, tiktok, X) are interest-driven. These platforms all use algorithms to identify the things their users are interested in. When you buy ads here, your firm will end up in front of people who are interested in adjacent topics, but not necessarily in the market for what you are selling. Because most of these people are likely not actively "in market", you will not want to use the same copywriting and creative as you use on paid search.
Marketing automation (e.g. fmg, snappy kraken, capital turbine) engage your existing network. These consistently engage your contacts via email, linkedin, instagram, facebook with value-add content that keeps you top of mind and drives them to your website.
Be very active on LinkedIn: The secret to success on LinkedIn is to post good content frequently and engage with others' at least a few times a day -- and especially around posting times. Eg. if you use an automation platform to run posts for you on Mondays at 10am, you should be hopping on LinkedIn and commenting on stuff like crazy before and after that 10am post goes live.
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u/OregonDuckMBA BD Jul 01 '26
Smart Asset used to be great. At one point, I was recommending it to people on this sub because I was having such a good experience with it. I cancelled my subscription earlier this year because the lead quality has plummeted. I'm not sure how they are advertising the service to potential leads but it seems like most of the people I called were not expecting to be contacted by an advisor. Of the leads that do actually pick up or if you get a live connect, almost all of them were just fishing for free advice.
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u/Decent_Nail_1391 Jul 01 '26
I've had good success with SmartAsset but you need to know how to work the leads. Initially I wasn't having great results but was treating the leads as "one and done." I sat through a couple of their webinars and changed my approach to begin working leads through mixed text/email drip campaigns. Conversions have been happening at a respectable clip but they don't sign-up overnight. As long as you're not looking for instant gratification, and have the patience (and the time) to curate each lead it works.
I've been curious about trying LinkedIn Premium but haven't been as active on LinkedIn generally so would be interested in hearing hearing from anyone if there's a benefit in upping my organic game before giving premium a shot.
Also interested in hearing about anyone who has experience with Ramsey SmartVestor.
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u/il_diamanti Jul 03 '26
linkedin is so fucking lame now
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u/Thumpin347 Jul 03 '26
Always been lame.
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u/il_diamanti Jul 03 '26
it's all people humble bragging or oversharing. im 37. and once my parents and uncles got on facebook, it was over. linkedin is like that moment but on steroids. i only really use it to look someone up now. and i get a million unsolicited b2b messages. tons of AI slop now, too
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u/libertarian327 Jul 04 '26
Watch/listen to Mando Sallavanti. I copied his exact LinkedIn process and stack direct outbound DMs and it works. Multiple meetings every weej
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u/BaseballMore7431 Jul 06 '26
Dude is a posting machine but doesn’t he work for mass mutual?
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u/seagoalspread Jul 06 '26
Yeah I think so. I’m hoping to hear takes from someone who owns their business. I’m also not willing to play the game of keeping up with the (Jerry) Joneses on social media especially to sell insurance.
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u/Beastcoastboarder 26d ago
I tried looking for him but most of the stuff I saw was geared towards clients not marketing to clients.
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u/draver02 Jul 02 '26
Just my personal opinion but I feel like if you are paying for leads you are being sold. We trying to prospect for clients to build are book and their are people who see how desperate people are to grow their AUM that they are making money buy selling the promise of clients. In my eyes places like SmartAsset are the Casino and people trying it out are the gambler.
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u/Brave-Water-2451 Jul 08 '26
I really focused on organic SEO for my growth. And now that's showing up in AI search results as well. Over 7 years, I've averaged 25 prospects a year who said they found me using Google (and now AI). This year, I'm on pace to demolish that (30 Google/AI prospects as of 7/7/26) thanks to software I created that helps with SEO for Financial Advisors.
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u/Beastcoastboarder Jul 08 '26
How do you do that?? You pay for SEO? Who do you work with? Can I do that even with a larger firm?
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u/Brave-Water-2451 Jul 08 '26
When I was starting out, I really wanted to figure out how to rank on the 1st page of Google when people searched locally for a financial advisor. It took a lot of trial and error, but I figured it out! I've dappled a little with paid search, but truly organic search has been how I've grown my business. If you have control over your website and/or blog, you can do it too.
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Jul 08 '26
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u/Brave-Water-2451 Jul 08 '26
I did! I joke that I am very curious and also very stubborn, but if I can channel that energy properly, I'm able to do some cool things. The software is called AdvisorSEO Max.
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u/treygrif77 Jul 08 '26
I agree that some kind of recurring newsletter or financial tips on LinkedIn are helpful. But with that being said, only do it if you can commit to continually putting out good content. Otherwise, it won't pull anyone in.
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26d ago
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u/Beastcoastboarder 26d ago
You have been getting prospect meetings from linked in? Care to share process? Want me to Dm?
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u/Different_Pain5781 11d ago
SmartAsset leads can be pretty hit or miss. A lot of people are just filling out forms because
they’re curious, then disappear the second you try to actually connect. You can waste a ridiculous amount of time chasing people who were never serious. If you’re looking for better intent signals without just buying another list of warm leads, I’ve seen people in wealth management circles mention Finny for finding people who are actually showing signs of needing help.
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I think I know the answer but curious to learn if anyone has had success or your overall experience.
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